And the question is whether Chichikov really had the intention. When asked whether Chichikov really intended to take away the governor’s daughter and whether it was true that he himself undertook to participate in this matter, Nozdryov replied that it was true and that if it weren’t for him nothing would have happened
Test No. 10 (Chapter 9).
1. To whom did the “just nice” lady rush in the morning?
A). to the Box; B). to Chichikov;
IN). to a lady pleasant in all respects; G). to the protopopshe.
2. Who did they mean when they said: “In a word, the scandal has done something terrible: the whole village has come running, the children are crying, everyone is screaming, no one understands anyone, well, it’s just orrer, orrer, orrer!”
A). Nozdreva; B). Sobakevich; IN). Chichikova; G). Uncle Minya.
3. Insert the missing words: “Dead souls!...This was just made up as a cover, but the point is this:_____.”
A). he wants to pawn them in a pawnshop; B). he is Satan;
IN). he is Napoleon; G). he wants to take away governor's daughter.
4. Who is Korobochka staying with in the city?
A). at the archpriest's; B). at the governor's; IN). from a nice lady; G). son's.
5. What did Petrushka say about Chichikov?
A). his master is an official of the secret chancellery;
B). didn't say anything;
IN). his master is a counterfeiter;
G). his owner is an auditor.
6. Insert the missing word: “At a time when both ladies so successfully and wittily solved such a confusing circumstance, ____ entered the living room”:
A). governor; B). prosecutor; IN). Chichikov; G). Nozdrev.
7. About whom it is said: “___ suddenly turned pale; he imagined God knows what: didn’t the word mean “ dead Souls“patients who died in significant numbers in hospitals and other places from epidemic fever?”
A). about the chairman civil chamber;
B). about the inspector of the medical board;
IN). about an official from the office of the Governor General.
8. How did the governor’s daughter react when she heard gossip about her relationship with Chichikov?
A). she burst into tears, sobbed and could not understand a single word;
B). experienced great excitement as her rating increased;
IN). I felt sorry for Chichikov, because he is a very decent person;
G). laughed because it was complete nonsense.
9. How much money, according to Korobochka, did Chichikov pay her for dead souls?
A). 2 rubles; B). 15 rubles; IN). 100 rubles; G). 50 rubles.
10. Which of the landowners explained to the officials “that Chichikov, in his opinion, is a good man, and that he sold him the peasants to choose from and the people are alive in all respects; but that he does not guarantee what will happen in the future?
A). Manilov; B). Sobakevich; IN). Plyushkin; G). Nozdrev.
11. Insert the missing word: in the governor’s house “the doorman was given the strictest order not to accept ___ at any time and under any circumstances”:
A). Nozdreva; B). Plyushkina; IN). landowner Zavalishin; G). Chichikova.
12. Insert the missing word: “The ladies knew how to throw such a fog into everyone’s eyes that everyone, and especially the officials, remained stunned for some time. Their position in the first minute was similar to the position of ___, who... had a piece of paper filled with tobacco shoved into his nose.”
A). drunken sexton; B). schoolchild; IN). footman; G). archpriest.
13. Who answered the officials: “...for Pavel Ivanovich I am always ready to vouch, as for myself, that [I] would sacrifice all my property in order to have a hundredth share of Pavel Ivanovich’s qualities...”?
A). Nozdrev; B). Sobakevich; IN). governor; G). Manilov.
14. Who did the officials decide to gather with to decide “what and how they should do and what measures to take” in relation to Chichikov and “what exactly is he: is he the kind of person who needs to be detained and captured as ill-intentioned, or is he the kind of person who who can himself seize and detain them all as ill-intentioned”?
A). at the governor's; B). from the chairman of the civil chamber;
IN). at Chichikov's; G). at the police chief's.
15. Insert the missing word: “Of course, one cannot think that he [Chichikov] could make false papers, much less be _____”:
A). robber; B). Satan;
IN). national security agent; G). a fool.
Test No. 11 (Chapter 10).
1. Who was not afraid of new worries and anxieties, saying: “We know you, governors general! Maybe three or four of you will change, but for thirty years now, my sir, I’ve been sitting in one place”?
2. Insert the missing word: “In all our meetings, starting from the peasant lay meeting to all possible scientists and other committees, if they do not have one head managing everything, there is a decent ___.”
A). muddle; B). confusion; IN). turmoil; G). bustle.
3. Who suggested that Chichikov is Captain Kopeikin?
A). police chief; B). governor;
IN). postmaster; G). medical ward inspector.
4. What is the name of the story that the postmaster told?
A). The Tale of Colonel Rublev; B). The Tale of the Soldier Chervonets;
IN). The Tale of Captain Kopeikin; G). The story of ensign Storublev.
5. What did the capital Kopeikin lose in the campaign of the twelfth year?
A). family; B). arm and leg; IN). eye; G). estate.
6. To what city did Captain Kopeikin go to ask the sovereign for royal mercy?
A). to Moscow; B). to Saratov; IN). to St. Petersburg; G). in Paris.
7. What did your father say to Captain Kopeikin when he returned home from the war?
A). “I have nothing to feed you; I can barely get bread myself.”
B). “You are no longer little, look for the wind in the field”
IN). “Since you only rose to the rank of captain, then go and serve some more,”
G). “Parents should always take care of their children. I'm not an exception".
8. How many officials gathered to discuss the reasons for Chichikov’s presence in their city?
A). Five; B). six; IN). three; G). ten.
9. Insert the missing word: “One doorman is already looking __: a gilded mace, a count’s physiognomy, like some kind of well-fed fat pug; cambric collars, sewage!”
A). wolf; B). generalissimo; IN). general; G). king
10. What did the minister say to Kopeikin when he was granted an audience?
A). “Get out, don’t bother me with your stupid requests.”
B). “Okay, come see me one of these days.”
IN). “You can go home, we have already assigned you a pension.”
G). “Our state never abandons its heroes.”
11. How did officials react to the assumption that Chichikov and Kopeikin were the same person?
A). everyone was very doubtful; B). unanimously agreed;
IN). laughed; D) everyone was scared.
12. Insert the missing word: “..the officials... became thoughtful and, considering this matter each to themselves, found that Chichikov’s face, if he turned and stood sideways, looked very much like a portrait of ______.”
A). Napoleon; B), Kopeikin; IN). sovereign; IN). general.
13. Whom did the officials decide to ask thoroughly about Chichikov?
A). Sobakevich; B). Nozdreva; IN). Manilova; G). Plyushkina.
14. Who said that at school Chichikov was called a fiscal?
A) Nozdrev; B). postmaster; IN). Parsley; G). Selifan.
15. What did Nozdryov say when he was asked the question “whether Chichikov really had the intention of taking away the governor’s daughter”?
A). All this is nonsense, Chichikov only buys souls and makes false notes.
B). Yes, it is true that he himself undertook to help and participate in this matter.
IN). No, Chichikov is an honest person.
16. Which of the officials was most affected by all the rumors and opinions about Chichikov, “that when he came home, he began to think and think and suddenly, as they say, for no apparent reason he died”?
A). governor; B). prosecutor; IN). postmaster; G). police chief.
17. Why didn’t Chichikov leave the room for three days?
A). He got a slight cold and decided to sit in the room for three days.
B). He thought about where it would be more profitable to pawn the purchased souls.
IN). He decided to take a break, considering that attending balls was not for him.
G). He played cards with Nozdryov and could not tear himself away from the game.
18. Who was the first person Chichikov decided to pay a visit to after sitting in the room for three days?
A). to Nozdryov; B). to the governor; IN). to the prosecutor; D) to the police chief.
19. Who came to Chichikov’s room when he, in “some senseless reasoning about the strangeness of his situation, began to pour tea”?
A). prosecutor; B) Sobakevich; IN). Nozdrev; G). governor.
20. What did Chichikov decide to do after he managed to “sell Nozdryov as quickly as possible”?
A). There’s no point in dawdling anymore, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible.
B). Tomorrow I will go and repent to everyone.
IN). I will certainly leave this city, but I would like to leave with the governor’s daughter.
G). I'll kill this scoundrel, but tomorrow.
Test No. 12 (Chapter 11).
1. What troubles did Chichikov have at the beginning of Chapter 11?
A). the first - I woke up late, the second - Petrushka was completely drunk.
B). the first - the bill of sale was stolen, the second - the chaise was not yet mortgaged.
IN). the first - I woke up late, the second - the britzka had not yet been laid.
G). first - Selifan will contradict the master, second - breakfast is not served in the room.
2. How long did Chichikov live in the city of NN?
A). month; B). three weeks; IN). week; G). year.
3. Whom did Selifan offer to sell to Chichikov, since he was “just a nuisance, God forbid?”
A). Parsley; B). greyhound puppy; B) a forelock horse; G). blacksmith
4. What did Chichikov carry with him on the road “to instill appropriate fear in whoever should”?
A). gun; B). whip; IN). saber; D).bomb.
5. Why did Chichikov’s chaise, when turning into one of the streets, have to stop as soon as it left the hotel?
A). Chichikov was detained by the road patrol;
B). The britzka was attacked by robbers;
IN). A funeral procession was passing along the street.
G). Chichikov forgot the bill of sale in the hotel room, so he decided to return.
6. Why did none of those accompanying the funeral procession notice the carriage in which Chichikov was sitting?
A). All their thoughts were focused on thinking about the perishability of the world.
B). they wondered what the new governor-general would be like.
IN). They noticed something, but no one wanted to show it, since everyone despised Chichikov.
7. What sign did Chichikov remember when the funeral procession passed the street?
A). They say it means happiness if you meet a dead person;
B). They say you should spit over your shoulder if there is a funeral;
IN). However, it’s good if the funeral is on a sunny day.
G). If funeral procession large, it means the deceased was a good person.
A). with a dog; B). with a horse; IN). with a fly; G). with a bear.
9. How does Gogol characterize Chichikov, whom he took as the hero of the poem, at the beginning of chapter 11?
A). scoundrel; B). virtuous person;
IN). neither this nor that; G). Neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan.
10. What did the relative who was present at Chichikov’s birth exclaim?
A). Neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan.
B). He was born neither as his mother nor his father, but as a passing young man.
IN). Fist, fist, and a beast to boot.
G). Really, you pig, such a cattle breeder!
11. Why, having taken his son, did Chichikov’s father go with him on a cart to the city?
A). Enroll my son in a city school. B). Find your son to work.
IN). Sell into slavery; G). Buy goods at the fair.
12. Which one is the best? main advice, given by his father, did Chichikov remember for the rest of his life?
A). Love every day God has given you.
B). Value friendship and friends: only they will help you in life.
IN). Don’t be stupid and don’t hang around, but most of all please your teachers and bosses
G). The road is a spoon for dinner.
13. What did you do? former classmates Chichikov, when did they find out that the teacher, a lover of silence and praiseworthy behavior, who mercilessly punished guilty students, was expelled from the school and eked out a miserable existence?
A). They threw former teacher rotten eggs.
B). They assigned him to a charity home.
IN). They immediately raised money for him, even selling a lot of what he needed.
G). They took custody of him.
14. Who owns the words addressed to Chichikov? “Oh, Pavlusha! This is how a person changes! After all, he was so well-behaved, nothing violent, silk! I cheated, I cheated a lot...”
A). Father; B). governor; IN). clerk; G). teacher.
15. How did Chichikov manage to get his first promotion?
A). He hints to his boss that he wouldn’t mind marrying his ugly daughter.
B). Able to make the only right decision in difficult situations, and this was assessed by the production commission.
IN). Passed the test to fill a vacant position,
G). He gave a bribe to an important official.
16. Why did Chichikov have to leave his service in the commission to build some kind of government building?
A). This structure was successfully built, so the commission for its construction disbanded.
B). The new boss did not like Chichikov.
IN). The place of service was far from Chichikov’s apartment, and this did not suit him.
G). The commission was dissolved for lack of funds for construction.
17. Who owns the words: “Well, well! If you catch it, you drag it, if it breaks, don’t ask. Crying won’t help the grief, we need to do something”?
A). Chichikov; B). Nozdrev; IN). Parsley; G). Selifan.
18. What service “has long been the secret object of his thoughts”?
A). at school; B). at customs;
IN). at the police station; G). in the army.
19. In what way did Chichikov, in the words of his fellow customs officers, “just have a dog’s instinct”?
A). in teaching; B). in searches; IN). in anticipation of danger.
20. Why does everyone know about Chichikov’s conspiracy with the smugglers?
A). The smugglers did not like the new incorruptible official, and they framed him.
B). Chichikov was caught receiving a bribe right during its transfer.
IN). Chichikov is quarreling with a friend who participated in his conspiracy with smugglers, and his former friend sent a secret denunciation against him.
21. What thought especially bothered Chichikov when “he was in grief, vexed, grumbling to the whole world, angry at the injustice of people”?
A). What will my father say?
B). What will others think of me?
IN). How can you live in this world without money?
G). How can I not feel remorse knowing what my children will say later?
22. How does Gogol characterize Chichikov at the end of chapter 11?
A) usurper; B) owner, acquirer; B) scoundrel; D) simpleton.
23. What parable does Gogol give in chapter 11?
A) about Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich;
B) about captain Kopeikin;
C) about King Solomon.
Test No. 13.
1. Which of the following literary works does not belong to N.V. Gogol:
A) “Overcoat”, B) “Nose”, C) “Notes of a Madman”, D) “Over-Salted”.
2. Which of the following epigraphs refers to N.V. Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General”?
A) He’s in a hurry to live, and he’s in a hurry to feel.
B) Take care of your honor from a young age.
C) There is no point in blaming the mirror if your face is crooked.
3-6. Which of the definitions refers to concepts?
3. One of the types of comic, caustic, evil, mocking ridicule.
| A) satire, B) grotesque C) humor D) sarcasm
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4. One of the types of comic, the depiction in a literary work of any shortcomings, vices of a person or society in order to ridicule them.
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5. Artistic technique deliberate distortion of something, violation of the proportions of the depicted world, a bizarre combination of fantasy with life-likeness.
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6. One of the types of comic, does not reject the comic in life and affirms it as an inevitable side of existence, expressing cheerfulness and optimism.
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7. Which one literary genre refers to the work of N.V. Gogol's "Dead Souls?
A). novel B). parable C).short story D).poem
8. What is the conflict of the poem “Dead Souls”?”
A). In contrast to Gogol's contemporary reality, the spiritual forces of the people and their enslavement.
B). In depicting the state of the landowner's economy
IN). Beginning of the form
In depicting the moral character of the local and bureaucratic nobility
End of form
End of form
9-14. Which of the heroes of the poem “Dead Souls” corresponds to the following characteristics:
9. "...Mr., not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin, one cannot say that he is old, but not that he is too young.”
| A) Plyushkin. B) Manilov. B) Sobakevich. D) Box. D) Nozdrev. E) Chichikov.
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10. “The landowner... was not yet an old man at all, but had eyes as sweet as sugar.”
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11. “...They collect a little money little by little into colorful bags placed in dresser drawers. All the rubles are taken into one bag, fifty rubles into another, and a little money into the third...”
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12. “He was of average height, a very well-built fellow, with full rosy cheeks, teeth white as snow and jet-black sideburns. He was as fresh as blood and milk, health seemed to be dripping from his face.”
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13. “This time he seemed like a medium-sized bear... to complete the resemblance, the tailcoat he was wearing was completely bear-colored, his sleeves were long, his trousers were long, his feet walked this way and that, and he constantly stepped on other people’s feet.”
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14. “For a long time he could not see what gender the figure was. The dress she was wearing was completely indefinite, similar to a woman’s hood, there was a cap on her head... “Oh, woman!” he thought to himself.”
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15-18. Based on the description of the home of the heroes of the poem “Dead Souls,” determine who it belongs to:
15. “The manor’s house stood alone on the south, open to all the winds; the slope of the mountain was covered with trimmed turf. Two or three flower beds were scattered on it... A gazebo with wooden blue columns and the inscription: “Temple of Solitary Reflection” was visible.
| A) Sobakevich B) Manilov B) Plyushkin D) Box
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16. “The room was hung with old striped wallpaper; paintings with some birds, mirrors with dark frames... behind each mirror there was either a letter, or an old deck of cards, or a stocking.”
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17. “Ahead was visible a wooden house with a mezzanine, a red roof... and wild walls - a house like the ones we build for military settlements and German colonists.”
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18. “He stepped into the dark, wide hallway, from which a cold air blew, as if from a cellar... On one table there was even a broken chair, and next to it a clock with a stopped pendulum, to which a spider had already attached a web.”
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19. What role does the road motif play, which runs through Gogol’s entire work?
A). Helps enhance the emotionality and dynamism of the poem
B). Shows the vast expanses of the Motherland and the beauty of Russian nature
A). V. Beginning of the form
Serves as a link between landowners during Chichikov's travels
20-25. Which of the characters in the poem is characterized by:
20. Dreaminess, projectism, spinelessness, sentimentality.
| A) A box. B) Plyushkina. B) Sobakevich. D) Manilov. D) Chichikov. E) Nozdryov.
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21. Club-headedness, petty fussiness, ignorance.
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22. Kulaks, misanthropy, obscurantism, rudeness.
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23. Insatiable greed, stinginess, penny-pinching.
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24. Disorderliness, boasting, impudence, fairground heroism.
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25. Predatory tenacity, unscrupulousness, tendency to scams and adventurism
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26-29. Match the pictures of nature and the characters in the poem:
26. “The day was either clear or gloomy... but of some light gray color, which only happens on the old uniforms of garrison soldiers.”
| A) Box. B) Plyushkin. B) Sobakevich. D) Manilov. D) Nozdrev.
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27. “The rain continued for a long time”, “you can’t see the whip, it’s so dark!”, “it was so dark you could prick your eye out.”
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28. “The field... In many places it consisted of hummocks.”
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29. “Behind the house stretches an overgrown and decayed garden.”
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30-33. Which of the characters in the poem owns their characteristic “words and catchphrases”:
30. “Open, darling, little mouth,” “most respected, most kind,” “May day, name day of the heart,” “magnetism of the soul.”
| A) Sobakevich. B) Manilov. B) Chichikov. D) Nozdrev.
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31. “Sharpened his teeth on the face”, “you’ll get the devil bald”, “subtle superflue”, “scandalous”, “courage”, “breasted”, “it’s like a squadron spent the night in your mouth.” Russian language And literature, 1 qualification category I. Abstract In... final control ByRussianlanguage 9 Class. - M.: Intellect-Center, 2000. 4. Tests And testworkByRussianlanguage. / Under... Specification of test work in the Russian language for students in grades 11 of general education institutions for the 2011-2012 academic yearDocumentTasks for controlwork the following was used literature: 1. Options control-test tests and assignments ByRussianlanguage/ Comp. G.P. Vyalkova... RUSSIAN LANGUAGE 9th grade The information block contains systematized and generalized theoretical information on the Russian language for the 9th grade courseDocumentABOUT language 4. Repetition Number testworksByRussianlanguage.8-9 classes– M., “Bustard” 10. M.M. Razumovskaya. Guidelines. Russianlanguage. 8 Class ...
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N.V.Gogol. "Dead Souls".
Chapter 6.
Test work.
1.Chapter 6 opens lyrical digression O:
A). the beauty of the Russian language; B). about travel; IN). about greed;
G). O healthy way life.
2. Who does Chichikov take Plyushkin for at first?
A). for the key holder; B) for the peasant; IN). for the priest; G). for a convict.
3. Who is it talking about:
“The owner himself came to the table in a frock coat, although somewhat worn, but neat, the elbows were in order: there was no patch anywhere”?
A) about Manilov; B). about Pavel Ivanovich; IN). about Plyushkin; G). About Sobakevich.
4. Say Plyushkin’s name:
A). Bogdan; B). Selifan; IN). Stepan; G). Paul.
5. Once upon a time Plyushkin had a family:
A).wife, two daughters and son; B). wife, two sons, daughter; IN). wife, son and daughter.
6.Insert the missing words:
Plyushkin had ______________ children.
A). two; B). seven; IN). three; G). four.
7. What happened to Plyushkin’s wife?
A). She ran away with her lover; B). died; IN). went to her parents;
G). went to the monastery.
8. What was the name of Plyushkin’s servant?
A). Marfa; B). Moor; IN). Matryona; G). Matilda.
9. How old was Plyushkin?
A). fourth decade; B). seventh decade; IN). fifth decade.
10. Insert the missing words: “..the small eyes [of Plyushkin] had not yet gone out and ran from under his high eyebrows, like ____________.”
A). Fleas; B). hares; IN). cockroaches; G). mice.
11. About whom does Gogol say: “...finally turned into some kind of hole in humanity”?
A). About Proshka; B). About Chichikov; IN). about Plyushkin; G). about Selifan.
12. Having learned about the purpose of Chichikov’s visit, Plyushkin:
A). is indignant;
B). is filled with joy because Chichikov promises to pay for the dead souls;
IN). refuses because he is afraid of God's punishment;
13. What was Proshka wearing when he came to the master’s chambers?
A). in bast shoes; B). in boots; IN). in boots; G). in slippers.
14. What did Plyushkin want to treat Chichikov to?
A). Tea with crackers; B). flatbread with lamb side; IN). pancakes.
15. Does Plyushkin know exact number dead peasants?
A). No, that’s why I sent for the clerk; B). everything is included in a special piece of paper;
IN). Yes, but I remembered it for a long time and painfully.
16. How much dead souls Plyushkin counted since the last revision?
A). 80; B) 120; IN). 200; G). 50.
17. How many dead souls and runaway peasants did Chichikov acquire from Plyushkin?
A). 120; B). 700; IN). 200; G). 50.
18. What did Plyushkin decide to give Chichikov when he was left alone?
A). dead Souls; B). watch; IN). runaway peasants; G). cracker
19. In what mood did Chichikov leave Plyushkin’s estate?
A). in the most cheerful mood; B). angry at Plyushkin’s stinginess;
IN). upset by human degradation.
20. Where did Chichikov go after saying goodbye to Plyushkin?
A). To the hotel; B). to Sobakevich; IN). to Nozdryov; G). to the governor.
N.V.Gogol. "Dead Souls".
Chapter 7.
Test work.
1. How many souls did Chichikov acquire from the landowners?
A) 100. B). 300.V). 400 G). 700.
2. What did Chichikov think about when reading the lists compiled by the landowners?
A). about the Russian language; B). about the Russian people; IN). about the stinginess of the landowners.
3. Which of the landowners deceived Chichikov by selling him a woman - Elizaveta Vorobei?
A). Plyushkin; B). Sobakevich; IN). Nozdrev; G). Box.
4. Why did Chichikov decide to write the lists himself that had to be provided to the serf expedition?
A). so as not to pay anything to the clerks; B). so that everything looks beautiful;
IN). The lists written by the landowners were compiled carelessly.
5. Insert the missing word: “The incorruptible heads of the priests _____________ stuck out from the windows of the second and third floors and at that very moment they hid again.”
A). Fortune; B). Themis; IN). Fates; G). Sanctuaries.
6. About which landowner is it said: “The gentleman cried out, it was ____________.
... With joy, ___________ only had his nose and lips left on his face, his eyes completely disappeared. For a quarter of an hour he held Chichikov’s hand with both hands and heated it terribly”?
A). Sobakevich; B). Chichikov; IN). Nozdrev; G). Manilov.
7. What did the face of Ivan Antonovich, an official on the serf expedition, look like?
A). Jug snout; B). Overripe pumpkin; IN). Withered leaf.
8. Which of the landowners came to the city to register buying and selling dead shower?
A). Plyushkin; B). Sobakevich; IN). Manilov; G). Box.
9. Whom did Chichikov meet on the street: “He barely had time to go out into the street, thinking about all this... when, at the very turn in the alley, he also encountered a gentleman in a bear coat, covered with brown cloth, and in a warm cap with ears”?
A). governor; B). Manilova; IN). Sobakevich; G). prosecutor.
10. Why was Chichikov in such a hurry to the civil chamber?
A). was afraid of being late; B). wanted to bring the matter to an end as soon as possible;
IN). was recorded on certain time to the chairman.
11. Who volunteered to accompany Chichikov to the civil chamber?
A). chairman; B). governor; IN). Manilov; G). Sobakevich.
12. Who, looking at the lists of peasants, “sighed and said: “My fathers, how many of you are crammed here! What have you, my dear ones, done in your lifetime? How did you get by?”
A). Manilov; B). Plyushkin; IN). Chichikov; G). Box.
13. Insert the missing words: “We should describe the office rooms through which our heroes passed, but the author feeds_____________
to all public places."
A) severe timidity; B). vile disgust; IN). mystical fear of God.
14. Insert the missing word: “...behind a mirror and two thick books, the chairman sat alone, like ______________...”.
A). moon; B). Sun; IN). finger; G). pillar.
15. What did Chichikov do to speed up the process of the serf expedition to draw up the deed of sale?
A). asked the governor for assistance; B). gave a bribe to an official;
IN). persuaded the chairman of the chancellery, citing employment.
Gogol N.V. Dead Souls.
Chapter 8
Test.
1. What did they argue about in the city when they learned about Chichikov’s purchase?
A). Is it profitable to buy for the withdrawal of peasants; B). Was the purchase expensive for him?
IN). Is Chichikov a respectable citizen?
2. About whom is it said: “That ____________ was a notorious liar, this was known to everyone, and it was not at all unusual to hear decisive nonsense from him”?
A). about Chichikov; B). About the Chairman; IN). about Nozdryov; G). about Uncle Mityai.
3. Who did the governor’s wife introduce Chichikov to?
A). with a companion; B). with daughter; IN). with sister; G). with Grandma.
4. Who owns the words: “Damn you all who invented these balls. Well, what are you foolishly happy about? There are bad harvests in the province, high prices, so they pay for balls!”
A). Sobakevich; B). Nozdrev; B) Chichikov; G). to the governor?
5.Which work of Zhukovsky did the chairman of the chamber know by heart?
A). poem "Svetlana", B). poem "Lyudmila", V). "Cup".
6. What did Chichikov answer to the offer to use a convoy to escort the peasants he bought to their place of residence?
A) refused decisively; B). asked for assistance;
IN). thanked him, saying that he did not have the funds for this.
7. What word (in relation to Chichikov) made a special impression on the ladies of the city N?
A). millionaire; B). moonshiner; IN). trickster; G). alimony worker.
8. Insert the missing word: “The neglect shown by _________________
almost unintentionally, even restored the harmony between the ladies, which was on the verge of destruction on the occasion of taking possession of the chair.”
A) Nozdrev; B). Chichikov; IN). postmaster; G). prosecutor.
9. Who said at the ball that Chichikov bought dead souls?
A). Sobakevich; B). Box; IN). Manilov; G). Nozdrev.
10. Who owns the following words: “Ah, Kherson landowner, Kherson landowner. What? Did you sell a lot of dead people? Don’t you know, Your Excellency, he sells dead souls!”
A). Sobakevich; B). to the prosecutor; IN). Nozdrev; G). Box.
11. About whom it is said: “.. ...(he) was taken out a long time ago; for even the ladies themselves finally noticed that his behavior was becoming too scandalous. In the middle of the cotillion he sat down on the floor and began to grab the dancers by the skirts?
A). about Sobakevich; B) about Chichikov; IN). about Nozdryov; G). about the governor.
12. Which lady was especially interested in Chichikov at the governor’s ball?
A). daughter of a prosecutor; B). daughter of the governor; B) the governor's wife;
G). postmaster's daughter.
13. What did the carriage that entered the city at the end of Chapter 8 resemble?
A). tarantass; B). on a stroller; IN). thick-cheeked, bulbous watermelon;
G). wrinkled pumpkin.
14. Who came to the city at the end of chapter 8?
A). Nozdrev. B). Sobakevich; IN). Box; G). Chichikov;
15. Why did Korobochka come to the city?
A). decided to bring back dead souls;
B). decided to sell a few more dead souls;
IN). I decided to check if she had made a mistake by selling them too cheap.
G). Chichikov forgot her list on which the peasants were recorded.
Gogol N.V. Dead Souls.
Chapter 9
Test.
1. To whom did a simply pleasant lady rush in the morning?
A). to the Box; B). to Chichikov; IN). to a lady pleasant in all respects;
G). to the protopopshe.
2. Who did they mean when they said: “In a word, the scandal has done something terrible: the whole village has come running, the children are crying, everyone is screaming, no one understands anyone, well, it’s just orrer, orrer, orrer!”
A). Nozdreva; B). Sobakevich; IN). Chichikova; G). Uncle Minya.
3. Insert the missing words: “Dead souls!...This was just made up as a cover, but the point is this:__________.”
A). he wants to pawn them in a pawnshop; B). he is Satan; IN). he is Napoleon;
G). he wants to take away the governor's daughter.
4. Who is Korobochka staying with in the city?
A). At the archpriest's; B). at the governor's; IN). from a nice lady; G). son's.
5. What did Petrushka say about Chichikov?
A). his master is an official of the secret chancellery; B). didn't say anything;
IN). his master is a counterfeiter; G). his owner is an auditor.
6. Insert the missing word: “At a time when both ladies so successfully and wittily solved such a confusing circumstance, ____ entered the living room”:
A). governor; B). prosecutor; IN). Chichikov; G). Nozdrev.
7. About whom it is said: “_________suddenly turned pale; he imagined God knows what: don’t the word “dead souls” mean sick people who died in significant numbers in hospitals and other places from epidemic fever?”
A). About the Chairman of the Civil Chamber;
B). about the inspector of the medical board;
IN). about an official from the office of the Governor General.
8. How did the governor’s daughter react when she heard gossip about her relationship with Chichikov?
A). she burst into tears, sobbed and could not understand a single word;
B). experienced great excitement as her rating increased;
IN). I felt sorry for Chichikov, because he is a very decent person;
G). laughed because it was complete nonsense.
9). How much money, according to Korobochka, did Chichikov pay her for dead souls?
A). 2 rubles; B). 15 rubles; IN). 100 rubles; G). 50 rubles.
10). Which of the landowners explained to the officials “that Chichikov, in his opinion, is a good man, and that he sold the peasants to him to choose from and the people are alive in all respects; but that he does not guarantee what will happen in the future?
A). Manilov; B). Sobakevich; IN). Plyushkin; G). Nozdrev.
eleven). Insert the missing word: in the governor’s house, “the doorman was given the strictest order not to accept _________ at any time and under any circumstances”:
A). Nozdreva, B). Plyushkina; IN). landowner Zavalishin; G). Chichikova.
12). Insert the missing word: “The ladies knew how to throw such a fog into everyone’s eyes that everyone, and especially the officials, remained stunned for some time. Their position in the first minute was similar to the position of ____, who... had a piece of paper filled with tobacco shoved into his nose.”
A). drunken sexton; B). schoolchild; IN). footman; G). archpriest.
13. Who answered the officials: 2...for Pavel Ivanovich I am always ready to vouch, as for myself, that [I] would sacrifice all my property in order to have a hundredth share of Pavel Ivanovich’s qualities...”?
A). Nozdrev; B). Sobakevich; IN). governor; G). Manilov.
14. Who did the officials decide to gather with to decide “what and how they should do and what measures to take” in relation to Chichikov and “what exactly is he: is he the kind of person who needs to be detained and captured as ill-intentioned, or is he the kind of person who who can himself seize and detain them all as ill-intentioned”?
A). at the governor's; B). from the chairman of the civil chamber; IN). at Chichikov's;
G). at the policeman's.
15. Insert the missing word: “Of course, one cannot think that he [Chichikov]
could make false papers, and even more so be _________":
A). robber; B). Satan; IN). national security agent; G). a fool.
Gogol N.V. Dead Souls.
Chapter 10
Test.
1. Who was not afraid of new worries and anxieties, saying: “We know you, governors general! Maybe three or four of you will change, but for thirty years now, my sir, I’ve been sitting in one place”?
A). governor; B). prosecutor; IN). postmaster; G). police chief.
2. Insert the missing word: “In all our meetings, starting from the peasant lay meeting to all sorts of possible scientists and other committees, if they do not have one head managing everything, there is a decent _____________.”
A). muddle; B). confusion; IN). turmoil; G). bustle.
3. Who suggested that Chichikov is Captain Kopeikin?
A). police chief; B). governor; IN). postmaster;
G). medical ward inspector.
4.What is the name of the story that the postmaster told?
A). The Tale of Colonel Rublev; B). The Tale of the Soldier Chervonets;
IN). The Tale of Captain Kopeikin;
G). The story of ensign Storublev.
5.What did Kopeikin’s capital lose in the campaign of the twelfth year?
A). family; B). arm and leg; IN). eye; G). estate.
6. To what city did Captain Kopeikin go to ask the sovereign for royal mercy?
A). to Moscow; B). to Saratov; IN). to St. Petersburg; G). in Paris.
7. What did your father say to Captain Kopeikin when he returned home from the war?
A). “I have nothing to feed you; I can barely get bread myself.”
B). “You are no longer little, look for the wind in the field”
IN). “Since you only rose to the rank of captain, then go and serve some more,”
G). “Parents should always take care of their children. I'm not an exception".
8. How many officials gathered to discuss the reasons for Chichikov’s presence in their city?
A). Five; B). six; IN). three; G). ten.
9. Insert the missing word: “One doorman is already looking___________:
a gilded mace, a count's physiognomy, like some kind of well-fed fat pug; cambric collars, sewage!”
A). wolf; B). generalissimo; IN). general; G). king
10. What did the minister say to Kopeikin when he was granted an audience?
A). “Get out, don’t bother me with your stupid requests.”
B). “Okay, come see me one of these days.”
IN). “You can go home, we have already assigned you a pension.”
G). “Our state never abandons its heroes.”
11. How did officials react to the assumption that Chichikov and Kopeikin were the same person?
A). everyone was very doubtful; B). unanimously agreed; IN). laughed;
12. Insert the missing word: “.. the officials... became thoughtful and, considering this matter each to themselves, found that Chichikov’s face, if he turned and stood sideways, looked very much like a portrait _______________.”
A). Napoleon; B), Kopeikin; IN). sovereign; IN). general.
13. Whom did the officials decide to ask thoroughly about Chichikov?
A). Sobakevich; B). Nozdreva; IN). Manilova; G). Plyushkina.
14. Who said that at school Chichikov was called a fiscal?
A) Nozdrev; B). postmaster; IN). Parsley; G). Selifan.
15. What did Nozdryov say when he was asked the question “whether Chichikov really had the intention of taking away the governor’s daughter”?
A). All this is nonsense, Chichikov only buys souls and makes false notes.
B). Yes, it is true, “that he himself undertook to help and participate in this matter.”
IN). No, Chichikov is an honest person.
16 Which of the officials were most affected by all the rumors and opinions about Chichikov, “that when he came home, he began to think and think and suddenly, as they say, for no apparent reason he died”?
A). governor; b). prosecutor; V). postmaster; G). police chief.
17. Why didn’t Chichikov leave the room for three days?
A). He got a slight cold and decided to sit in the room for three days.
B). Was he thinking about where it would be more profitable to pawn the purchased souls?
IN). He decided to take a break, considering that attending balls was not for him.
G). He played cards with Nozdryov and could not tear himself away from the game.
18. Who was the first person Chichikov decided to pay a visit to after sitting in the room for three days?
A). to Nozdryov; B). to the governor; IN). to the prosecutor; D) to the policeman.
19. Who came to Chichikov’s room when he, in “some senseless reasoning about the strangeness of his situation, began to pour tea”?
A). prosecutor; B) Sobakevich; IN). Nozdrev; G). governor.
20. What did Chichikov decide to do after he managed to “sell Nozdryov as quickly as possible”?
A). There’s no point in dawdling anymore, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible.
B). Tomorrow I will go and repent to everyone.
IN). I will certainly leave this city, but I would like to leave with the governor’s daughter.
G). I'll kill this scoundrel, but tomorrow.
Gogol N.V. Dead Souls.
Chapter 11.
Test.
1. What troubles did Chichikov have at the beginning of Chapter 11?
A). the first - I woke up late, the second - Petrushka was completely drunk.
B). the first - the bill of sale was stolen, the second - the chaise was not yet mortgaged.
IN). the first - I woke up late, the second - the britzka had not yet been laid.
G). first - Selifan will contradict the master, second - breakfast is not served in the room.
2. How long did Chichikov live in the city of NN?
A). month; B). three weeks; IN). week; G). year.
3. Whom did Selifan offer to sell to Chichikov, since he was “just a nuisance, God forbid?”
A). Parsley; B). greyhound puppy; B) a forelock horse; D).blacksmith.
4. What did Chichikov carry with him on the road “to instill appropriate fear in whoever should”?
A). gun; B). whip; IN). saber; D).bomb.
5. Why did Chichikov’s chaise, when turning into one of the streets, have to stop as soon as it left the hotel?
A). Chichikov was detained by the road patrol;
B). The britzka was attacked by robbers;
IN). A funeral procession was passing along the street.
D) Chichikov forgot the bill of sale in the hotel room, so he decided to return.
6. Why did none of those accompanying the funeral procession notice the carriage in which Chichikov was sitting?
A). All their thoughts were focused on thinking about the perishability of the world.
B). they wondered what the new governor-general would be like.
IN). They noticed something, but no one wanted to show it, because
Everyone despised Chichikov.
7. What sign did Chichikov remember when the funeral procession passed the street?
A). They say it means happiness if you meet a dead person;
B). They say you should spit over your shoulder if there is a funeral;
IN). However, it’s good if the funeral is on a sunny day.
G). If the funeral procession is large, it means the deceased was a good person.
A). with a dog; B). with a horse; IN). with a fly; G). with a bear.
9. How does Gogol characterize Chichikov, whom he took as the hero of the poem, at the beginning of chapter 11?
A). scoundrel; B). a virtuous person; IN). neither this nor that;
G). Neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan.
10. What did the relative who was present at Chichikov’s birth exclaim?
A). Neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan.
B). Born neither as mother nor father, but as a passing fellow
IN). Fist, fist, and a beast to boot.
G). Really, you pig, such a cattle breeder!
11. Why, having taken his son, did Chichikov’s father go with him on a cart to the city?
A). Enroll my son in a city school.
B). Find your son to work.
IN). Sell into slavery;
G). Buy goods at the fair.
12. What was the most important advice given by his father that Chichikov remembered for the rest of his life?
A). Love every day God has given you.
B). You will do everything and ruin everything in the world with a penny.
IN). Don't be stupid and don't be silly.
G). The road is a spoon for dinner.
13. What did Chichikov’s former classmates do when they learned that the teacher, a lover of silence and praiseworthy behavior, who mercilessly punished guilty students, was expelled from the school and eked out a miserable existence?
A). They threw rotten eggs at the former teacher.
B). They assigned him to a charity home.
IN). They immediately raised money for him, even selling a lot of what he needed.
G). They took custody of him.
14. Who owns the words addressed to Chichikov? “Oh, Pavlusha! This is how a person changes! After all, he was so well-behaved, nothing violent, silk! I cheated, I cheated a lot...”
A). Father; B). governor; IN). clerk; G). teacher.
15. How did Chichikov manage to get his first promotion?
A). He hints to his boss that he wouldn’t mind marrying his ugly daughter.
B). He knows how to make the only right decision in difficult situations, and this was appreciated by the production commission.
IN). Passed the test to fill a vacant position,
G). He gave a bribe to an important official.
16. Why did Chichikov have to leave his service in the commission to build some kind of government building?
A). This structure was successfully built, so the commission for its construction disbanded.
B). The new boss did not like Chichikov.
IN). The place of service was far from Chichikov’s apartment, and this did not suit him.
G). The commission was dissolved for lack of funds for construction.
17. Who owns the words: “Well, well! If you catch it, you drag it, if it breaks, don’t ask. Crying won’t help the grief, we need to do something”?
A). Chichikov; B). Nozdrev; IN). Parsley; G). Selifan.
18. What service “has long been the secret object of his thoughts”?
A). at school; B). at customs; IN). at the police station; G). in the army.
19. In what way did Chichikov, in the words of his fellow customs officers, “just have a dog’s instinct”?
A). in teaching; B). in searches; IN). in anticipation of danger.
20. Why does everyone know about Chichikov’s conspiracy with the smugglers?
A) The smugglers did not like the new incorruptible official, and they
Framed.
B). Chichikov was caught receiving a bribe right during its transfer.
IN). Chichikov is quarreling with a friend who participated in his conspiracy with smugglers, and his former friend sent a secret denunciation against him.
21. What thought especially bothered Chichikov when “he was in grief, vexed, grumbling to the whole world, angry at the injustice of people”?
A). What will my father say?
B). What will others think of me?
IN). How can you live in this world without money?
G). How can I not feel remorse knowing what my children will say later?
22. How does Gogol characterize Chichikov at the end of chapter 11?
A). usurper; B). owner, acquirer; IN). scoundrel; G). dupe.
23. What parable does Gogol give in chapter 11?
A) about Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich; B). about captain Kopeikin;
B).About King Solomon.
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Having gathered with the police chief, the officials noticed that their tailcoats had become noticeably more spacious due to their worries and worries. The appointment of a new governor-general, papers about a counterfeit money maker and a fugitive robber finally left noticeable marks on their faces. Only the postmaster did not lose his presence of mind. “It’s good for you, Ivan Andreevich, you have something to do to receive and send mail,” said other officials. “But if you are tempted with a bribe every day, you don’t want to take it, but they shove it into your pocket, then, brother, you’ll sing differently.” The conversation that began revealed not so much a difference of opinions as their complete absence. One said that he was a maker of counterfeit money, and then he himself added: “or maybe not a maker”; another claimed that he was an official of the Governor General’s Office, and immediately added: “but who knows.” The guess that he was a robber in disguise did not find support. Suddenly the postmaster, who had been silent for several minutes, suddenly cried out:
Do you know, gentlemen, who this is?
Who? - the officials screamed.
This, gentlemen, is none other than Captain Kopeikin!
“Captain Kopeikin,” said the postmaster, opening his snuff-box. “Captain Kopeikin,” he continued, having already sniffed tobacco, “but this is entertaining story, in a way, a whole poem.
Everyone prepared to listen, and the postmaster began like this:
About Captain Kopeikin
“After the campaign of the twelfth year,” the postmaster began, “Captain Kopeikin was sent along with the wounded; you can imagine, he lost an arm and a leg in the war. Can't work. I was about to visit home, and my father said: “I have nothing to feed you, I can barely get bread myself.” My captain went to St. Petersburg to ask for royal favor. I asked where to go. There is, they say, such a commission, and the head there is general-in-chief such and such. And the sovereign was not yet in the capital at that time. Captain Kopeikin went to ask what to do. He somehow dragged himself with his piece of wood into the reception area. And there are people there - like beans on a plate. It’s not like our brother, but the colonels. Here and there a general. About four hours later they say: “It’ll be out now.” The silence became terrible, everything was trembling, waiting for a decision. The nobleman approaches one, then another: “Why are you here? Why do you?" Finally to Kopeikin. Kopeikin, gathering his courage: “So and so, Your Excellency...” The nobleman sees: a man on a piece of wood, his right sleeve empty: “Okay, he says, come and see me one of these days.” To rejoice that the matter had been resolved, Kopeikin indulged in the latter, even going to the theater. And in three or four days we will have an appointment again. The chief general recognized him: “This time,” he said, “I can’t say anything, we need to wait for the sovereign’s arrival, then the appropriate orders will be made.” Bow, you understand, and goodbye. Kopeikin’s situation became completely uncertain, he thought that tomorrow he would be given the money, but instead he had to wait for who knows how long. “Well, no,” I decided to myself, “I have to go again, explain that I’m finishing the last piece, I might, in a way, die of hunger.” He comes again, and they tell him: “He doesn’t accept it, come back tomorrow.” The next day - the same. The doorman won't let him in, that's all. You can imagine what his position is. I decided to break through by storm. I waited at the entrance, and there I slipped into the reception room with some general. The nobleman saw him and said: “After all, I have already announced it to you, you must expect a decision.” And Kopeikin said: “I don’t have, so to speak, a piece of bread...” And the nobleman responded: “Agree, I can’t support you, I have a lot of wounded... Arm yourself with patience.” “As you wish,” says Kopeikin, I will not leave until you give a positive resolution.” The general just looked at him and said: “Call the courier and escort him to his place of residence.” God's servant Kopeikin was captured and thrown into a cart. How and where he was delivered is unknown. And everyone forgot about Captain Kopeikin. But this is where the plot of the novel begins. As you can imagine, less than two months passed when a gang of robbers appeared in the Ryazan forests, and the ataman of this gang was none other. ..”
Just allow me, Ivan Andreevich,” said the police chief, “after all, Captain Kopeikin is missing an arm and a leg, and Chichikov has...
Here the postmaster slapped his hand on his forehead and tried to cheat, saying that wooden legs were invented in England - you can’t tell them from real ones. But they didn’t believe him.
There was another suggestion as to whether Chichikov might be Napoleon in disguise. From this it is clear that the officials are completely confused. And like a drowning man clutching at a straw, so did they. Having come up with nothing better, they sent for Nozdryov, although they knew well that he was a liar. Nozdryov answered all questions without hesitation. When he was asked if Chichikov was a spy, he replied: a spy, back in the school where they studied together, he was called a fiscal. Isn't Chichikov a counterfeit money maker? When asked whether Chichikov really intended to take away the governor’s daughter, Nozdryov answered: exactly; and provided interesting details. They hinted at Napoleon, but they themselves were not happy, because Nozdryov spouted such nonsense that the officials moved away from him.
All these rumors, opinions and rumors had the greatest effect on the prosecutor. He came home, began to think, and out of nowhere died.
Chichikov knew nothing about all this. He caught a cold and decided to stay at home for three days. He was only surprised that no one visited him. Finally he felt better and decided to go out Fresh air. He bundled himself up as a precaution and went outside. Pavel Ivanovich intended to make his first visit to the governor, but the doorman struck him with completely unexpected words:
Not ordered to accept!
Don't you recognize me? - Chichikov was surprised.
How can you not find out, and they didn’t tell you to let them in, but everyone else is welcome.
"Unclear!" - Chichikov thought and went to other officials. But they either did not receive him, or they received him so strangely, the conversation was so forced and incomprehensible that he doubted the health of their brains.
Returning to the hotel late, he sat thoughtfully. Suddenly the door opened and Nozdryov entered.
I pass by, I see light in the window, let me, I think to myself, I’ll come in. Yes, I must tell you that everything in the city is against you; they think you are making counterfeit money.
Am I making counterfeit money? - Chichikov screamed.
Why did you scare them so much? They went crazy with fear... And he died with fear, burial tomorrow. However, Chichikov, you have started a risky business.
What a deal.
Yes, take away the governor's daughter. And, I admit, I was waiting for this.
What are you confusing? How to take away the governor's daughter? - Chichikov's eyes bulged.
I came to tell you that I am ready to help you, only with an agreement: you must lend me three thousand.
The news that Nozdryov brought greatly frightened Chichikov. He decided that there was no need to delay any longer. Having ordered Selifan to be ready to leave tomorrow at dawn, he and Petrushka began packing things. Selifan very slowly left the room, scratching his head. What did this scratching mean? Scratching one's head means many different things to the Russian people.
If homework on the topic of: " "Dead Souls". Main Contents – Chapter Ten If you find it useful, we will be grateful if you post a link to this message on your page on your social network.
Essays on the topic
By ideological content Closely related to the theme of the people is “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin, clothed in the form of a postmaster’s story and as if standing
36
to scout out something, Nozdryov replied that he was a spy, that even at school, where he studied with him, they called him a fiscal, and that for this his comrades, including himself, beat him up a bit, so that it was necessary to assign him later two hundred and forty leeches to one temple - that is, he wanted to say forty, but two hundred said something by itself. When asked if he was a maker of counterfeit notes, he answered that he was, and on this occasion told an anecdote about Chichikov’s extraordinary dexterity: how, having learned that there were two million worth of counterfeit notes in his house, they sealed his house and put a guard on each door had two soldiers, and how Chichikov changed them all in one night, so that the next day, when the seals were removed, they saw that all the banknotes were real. When asked whether Chichikov really had the intention of taking away the governor’s daughter and whether it was true that he himself had undertaken to help and participate in this matter, Nozdryov replied that he had helped and that if it had not been for him, nothing would have happened - that’s when he realized it , seeing that he had lied completely in vain and could thus bring trouble upon himself, but he could no longer hold his tongue. However, it was difficult, because such interesting details presented themselves that it was impossible to refuse: they even named the village where the parish church in which the wedding was supposed to be located was located, namely the village of Trukhmachevka, priest Father Sidor, for the wedding - seventy-five rubles, and even then he would not have agreed if he had not intimidated him, promising to inform on him that he married the meadowsweet Mikhail to his godfather, that he even gave up his carriage and prepared alternate horses at all stations. The details reached the point that he was already beginning to call the coachmen by name. They tried to hint about Napoleon, but they themselves were not happy that they tried, because Nozdryov spouted such nonsense that not only did not have any semblance of truth, but even simply had no resemblance to anything, so the officials, sighing, all walked away away; Only the police chief listened for a long time, wondering if at least something would happen next, but finally he waved his hand, saying: “Devil knows what it is!” And everyone agreed that no matter how you fight a bull, you won’t get milk from it. And the officials were left in an even worse position than they were before, and the matter was decided by the fact that they could not find out who Chichikov was. And it turned out to be clear what kind of creature man is: he is wise, intelligent and intelligent in everything that concerns others, and not himself; what prudent, firm advice he will provide in difficult situations in life! “What a quick head!” the crowd shouts. “What an unshakable character!” But should some misfortune befall this quick head and he himself should be put in difficult cases life, where did the character go, the unshakable husband was completely confused, and what came out of him was a pathetic coward, an insignificant, weak child, or just a fetish, as Nozdryov calls it. All these rumors, opinions and rumors, for unknown reasons, had the greatest effect on the poor prosecutor. They affected him to such an extent that, when he came home, he began to think and think and suddenly, as they say, for no apparent reason he died. Whether he was suffering from paralysis or something else, he just sat there and fell backwards out of his chair. They screamed, as usual, clasping their hands: “Oh, my God!” - they sent for a doctor to draw blood, but they saw that the prosecutor was already one soulless body. Only then did they learn with condolences that the deceased definitely had a soul, although due to his modesty he never showed it. Meanwhile, the appearance of death was just as terrible in a small person, just as it is terrible in a great man: the one who not so long ago walked, moved, played whist, signed various papers and was so often seen among officials with his thick eyebrows and a blinking eye, now he was lying on the table, his left eye was no longer blinking at all, but one eyebrow was still raised with some kind of questioning expression. What the dead man asked, why he died or why he lived, only God knows. But this, however, is incongruous! This doesn't agree with anything! it is impossible that officials could frighten themselves like that; create such nonsense, so move away from the truth, when even a child can see what’s going on! Many readers will say this and kill the author with inconsistencies or call poor officials fools, because a person is generous with the word “fool” and is ready to serve them twenty times a day to his neighbor. Out of ten sides, it is enough to have one stupid side in order to be considered a fool over nine good ones. It is easy for readers to judge by looking from their quiet corner and the top, from where the entire horizon is open to everything that is happening below, where a person can only see a close object. And in the global chronicle of humanity there are many entire centuries that, it would seem, were crossed out and destroyed as unnecessary. Many mistakes have been made in the world that, it would seem, even a child would not do now. What crooked, deaf, narrow, impassable roads that lead far to the side have been chosen by humanity, striving to achieve eternal truth, while the straight path was open to them, like the path leading to the magnificent temple assigned to the king’s palace! Wider and more luxurious than all other paths, it was illuminated by the sun and illuminated by lights all night, but people flowed past it in the deep darkness. And how many times already induced by the meaning descending from heaven, they knew how to recoil and stray to the side, they knew how to find themselves again in impenetrable backwaters in broad daylight, they knew how to once again cast a blind fog into each other’s eyes and, trailing after the swamp lights, they knew how to get to the abyss, and then ask each other in horror: where is the exit, where is the road? The current generation now sees everything clearly, marvels at the errors, laughs at the foolishness of its ancestors, it is not in vain that this chronicle is inscribed with heavenly fire, that every letter in it screams, that a piercing finger is directed from everywhere at it, at it, at the current generation; but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new errors, which posterity will also laugh at later. Chichikov knew absolutely nothing about all this. As if on purpose, at that time he received a slight cold - flux and a slight inflammation in the throat, the distribution of which is extremely generous in the climate of many of our provincial cities. So that, God forbid, life without descendants would somehow end, he decided to sit in the room for three days. Throughout these days, he constantly gargled with milk and figs, which he then ate, and wore a pad of chamomile and camphor tied to his cheek. Wanting to occupy his time with something, he made several new and detailed lists to all the peasants he bought, he even read some volume of the Duchess of La Vallière, which he found in a suitcase, looked through the various objects and notes in the chest, re-read some of it another time, and all of this bored him greatly. He could not understand what it meant that not a single one of the city officials came to see him at least once about his health, whereas just recently droshky stood every now and then in front of the hotel - now the postmaster's, now the prosecutor's, now the chairman's. He just shrugged his shoulders as he walked around the room. Finally he felt better and was delighted, God knows how, when he saw the opportunity to go out into the fresh air. Without delay, he immediately set to work on the toilet, unlocked his box, and poured some water into a glass. hot water , took out a brush and soap and settled down to shave, which, however, was long overdue, because, having felt his beard with his hand and looked in the mirror, he had already said: “What forests have gone to write!” And in fact, the forests were not forests, but rather thick crops spilled out all over his cheek and chin. Having shaved, he began to dress quickly and quickly, so that he almost jumped out of his trousers. Finally he was dressed, sprayed with cologne and, wrapped up warmly, went out into the street, bandaging his cheek as a precaution. His exit, like any recovered person, was definitely festive. Everything he came across took on a laughing look: both houses and passing men, quite serious, however, some of whom had already managed to hit their brother in the ear. He intended to make his first visit to the governor. On the way, many different thoughts came to his mind; The blonde was spinning in his head, his imagination even began to go a little crazy, and he himself began to joke a little and laugh at himself. In this spirit he found himself in front of the governor's entrance. He was already in the hallway hastily throwing off his overcoat when the doorman struck him with completely unexpected words: “It’s not ordered to accept!” - Why, apparently you didn’t recognize me? Take a good look at his face! - Chichikov told him. “How can you not know, because this is not the first time I’ve seen you,” said the doorman. - Yes, you are the only ones who are not ordered to be allowed in, but all others are allowed. - Here you go! from what? Why? “Such an order, apparently, follows,” said the doorman and added the word “yes.” After which he stood in front of him completely at ease, not maintaining that affectionate appearance with which he had previously hurried to take off his overcoat. It seemed as if he was thinking, looking at him: “Hey! If the bars are chasing you off the porch, then you’re obviously some kind of riffraff!” "Unclear!" - Chichikov thought to himself and immediately went to the chairman of the chamber, but the chairman of the chamber was so embarrassed when he saw him that he could not put two words together, and said such rubbish that even they both felt ashamed. Leaving him, no matter how hard Chichikov tried to explain on the way and get to what the chairman meant and what his words could refer to, he could not understand anything. Then he went to others: to the police chief, to the vice-governor, to the postmaster, but everyone either did not receive him, or received him so strangely, they had such a forced and incomprehensible conversation, they were so confused, and such confusion came out of everything that he doubted his health their brain. I tried to go to someone else to find out at least the reason, but I didn’t get any reason. Like a half-asleep, he wandered aimlessly around the city, not being able to decide whether he had gone crazy, whether the officials had lost their heads, whether all this was being done in a dream, or if the crap was brewing in reality purer than sleep. It was late, almost at dusk, he returned to his hotel, from which he had left in such a good mood, and out of boredom he ordered some tea to be served. Lost in thought and in some senseless reasoning about the strangeness of his situation, he began to pour tea, when suddenly the door of his room opened and Nozdryov appeared in a completely unexpected way. - Here’s a proverb: “For a friend, seven miles is not the outskirts!” - he said, taking off his cap. - I’m passing by, I see the light in the window, let me, I think I’ll come in, I’m sure he’s not sleeping. A! It’s good that you have tea on the table, I’ll drink a cup of it with pleasure: today at lunch I ate too much of all sorts of rubbish, I feel like a fuss is already starting in my stomach. Order me to fill the pipe! Where's your pipe? “But I don’t smoke pipes,” Chichikov said dryly. - Empty, as if I don’t know that you’re a smoker. Hey! What the hell is your man's name? Hey Vakhramey, listen! - Yes, not Vakhramey, but Petrushka. - How? Yes, you had Vakhramey before. - I didn’t have any Vakhramey. - Yes, that’s right, it’s at Derebin Vakhramey’s. Imagine how lucky Derebin is: his aunt quarreled with her son because he married a serf, and now she has written down all her property to him. I think to myself, if only I had such an aunt for the future! Why are you, brother, so far away from everyone, why don’t you go anywhere? Of course, I know that you are sometimes occupied with scientific subjects and love to read (why Nozdryov concluded that our hero is engaged in scientific subjects and loves to read, we admit that we cannot say in any way, and Chichikov even less so). Ah, brother Chichikov, if only you could see... that would certainly be food for your satirical mind (why Chichikov had a satirical mind is also unknown). Imagine, brother, at the merchant Likhachev's
Having gathered with the police chief, the father and benefactor of the city already known to readers, the officials had the opportunity to notice to each other that they had even lost weight from these worries and anxieties. In fact, the appointment of a new governor-general, and these papers received with such a serious content, and these God knows what rumors - all this left noticeable marks on their faces, and the tailcoats on many became noticeably more spacious. Everything changed: the chairman lost weight, and the inspector of the medical board lost weight, and the prosecutor lost weight, and some Semyon Ivanovich, who was never called by his last name, wore a index finger the ring that he let the ladies look at, even he lost weight. Of course, there were, as happens everywhere, a few timid people who did not lose their presence of mind, but there were very few of them. There is only one postmaster. He alone did not change in his constantly even character and always in similar cases used to say: “We know you, governors general! Maybe three or four of you will change, but I’ve been sitting in one place for thirty years, my sir.” Other officials usually remarked to this: “It’s good for you, sprechen zi deych Ivan Andreich, you have a postal business: to receive and send an expedition; unless you cheat by locking your presence an hour earlier, charge a late merchant for accepting a letter at an unspecified time, or send another parcel that should not be sent—here, of course, everyone will be a saint. But let the devil get into the habit of turning up at your hand every day, so that you don’t want to take it, but he sticks it in on his own. You, of course, are in trouble, you have one son, and here, brother, God has endowed Praskovya Fedorovna with such grace that the year brings: either Praskushka or Petrushka; here, brother, you’ll sing something else.” This is what the officials said, but whether it is really possible to resist the devil is not for the author to judge. In the council that assembled this time, the absence of that necessary thing, which the common people call proper, was very noticeable. In general, we were somehow not created for representative meetings. In all our meetings, starting from the peasant lay meeting to all sorts of possible scientists and other committees, if they do not have one head managing everything, there is a fair amount of confusion. It’s hard to even say why, apparently, the people are already like this, the only meetings that are successful are those that are organized in order to have a party or dine, such as clubs and all sorts of vauxhalls on the German footing. And there is a readiness at any moment, perhaps, for anything. Suddenly, like the wind blows, we will start charitable, incentive and who knows what kind of societies. The goal will be wonderful, but despite all this, nothing will come of it. Maybe this happens because we are suddenly satisfied at the very beginning and already consider that everything is done. For example, having started some charitable society for the poor and donated significant sums, we immediately, in commemoration of such a commendable act, give a dinner to all the first dignitaries of the city, of course, half of all donated amounts; for the rest, a magnificent apartment is immediately rented for the committee, with heating and watchmen, and then the entire amount remains for the poor, five rubles and a half, and even here in the distribution of this amount not all members agree with each other, and everyone shoves in some of their own godfather However, the meeting that gathered today was of a completely different kind: it was formed out of necessity. The matter was not about any poor or strangers, the matter concerned every official personally, the matter concerned a misfortune that threatened everyone equally; therefore, inevitably there should be more unanimity here, closer together. But despite all that, the devil knows what happened. Not to mention the disagreements inherent in all councils, some even incomprehensible indecision was revealed in the opinions of those gathered: one said that Chichikov was a maker of state banknotes, and then he himself added: “or maybe not a maker”; another claimed that he was an official of the Governor General's office, and immediately added: “but, the devil knows, you can’t read it on his forehead.” Everyone armed themselves against the guess that the robber might be in disguise; They found that apart from his appearance, which in itself was already well-intentioned, there was nothing in his conversations that would show a man with violent actions. Suddenly the postmaster, who had remained immersed in some kind of thought for several minutes, either as a result of a sudden inspiration that struck him or something else, suddenly cried out:
- Do you know, gentlemen, who this is?
The voice in which he said this contained something amazing, so much so that it made everyone scream at the same time:- Who? - This, gentlemen, my sir, is none other than Captain Kopeikin!
And when everyone immediately asked in one voice: “Who is this Captain Kopeikin?” - the postmaster said:
- So you don’t know who Captain Kopeikin is?
Everyone answered that they had no idea who Captain Kopeikin was.
“Captain Kopeikin,” said the postmaster, who opened his snuff-box only halfway, for fear that one of the neighbors would stick his fingers in, in the purity of which he had little faith and even used to say: “We know, father: with your fingers, Maybe you go to God knows what places, but tobacco is a thing that requires cleanliness.” “Captain Kopeikin,” said the postmaster, having already taken a sniff of tobacco, “but this, however, if you tell it, it will turn out to be a very interesting poem for some writer.”
All those present expressed a desire to know this story, or, as the postmaster put it, a whole poem, in some way interesting for the writer, and he began like this:
The Tale of Captain Kopeikin
“After the campaign of the twelfth year, my sir,” the postmaster began, despite the fact that there was not just one sir in the room, but six, “after the campaign of the twelfth year, Captain Kopeikin was sent along with the wounded. Whether near Krasny or near Leipzig, you can only imagine, his arm and leg were torn off. Well, at that time no, you know, such orders had yet been made regarding the wounded; this kind of disabled capital was already established, you can imagine, in some way, much later. Captain Kopeikin sees: he needs to work, but his hand, you know, is left. I was about to visit my father’s house; the father says: “I have nothing to feed you, I,” you can imagine, “can barely get bread myself.” So my captain Kopeikin decided to go, my sir, to St. Petersburg to ask the sovereign if there would be some kind of royal mercy: “well, so and so, in a way, so to speak, he sacrificed his life, shed blood...” Well, somehow, you know, with carts or government wagons - in a word, my sir, he somehow dragged himself to St. Petersburg. Well, you can imagine: someone like that, that is, Captain Kopeikin, suddenly found himself in a capital city, which, so to speak, has nothing like it in the world! Suddenly there was a light in front of him, so to speak, a certain field of life, a fabulous Scheherazade. Suddenly, some kind of, you can imagine, Nevsky Prospekt, or, you know, some kind of Gorokhovaya, damn it! or there’s some kind of Foundry there; there's some kind of spitz in the air; the bridges there hang like hell, you can imagine, without any, that is, touching - in a word, Semiramis, sir, and that’s it. I was in the mood to rent an apartment, but all this stuff is terrible: curtains, curtains, that damn thing, you know, carpets - Persia in its entirety; you are trampling capital under foot, so to speak. Well, just, that is, you walk down the street, and your nose just hears that it smells of thousands; and my captain Kopeikin’s entire bank of banknotes, you see, consists of some ten pieces of paper. Well, somehow I found shelter in a Revel tavern for a ruble a day; lunch - cabbage soup, a piece of beaten beef. He sees: there is nothing to heal. I asked where to go. They say that there is, in some way, a high commission, a board, you know, something like that, and the chief is Chief General So-and-so. But the sovereign, you need to know, was not yet in the capital at that time; The troops, you can imagine, had not yet returned from Paris, everything was abroad. My Kopeikin, who got up earlier, scratched his beard with his left hand, because paying the barber would, in some way, amount to a bill, pulled on his uniform and, as you can imagine, went to the boss himself, to the nobleman. I asked around the apartment. “There,” they say, showing him a house on Palace Embankment. The hut, you know, is a peasant's: glass in the windows, you can imagine, mirrors half-length, so that the vases and everything that is in the rooms seem to be from the outside - could, in a way, be taken from the street by hand; precious marbles on the walls, metal haberdashery, some kind of handle on the door, so you need, you know, to run ahead to a small shop and buy soap for a penny, and first rub your hands with it for two hours, and then you’ll decide to grab it, - in a word: there are such varnishes on everything - in some way, a clouding of the mind. One doorman is already looking like a generalissimo: a gilded mace, a count's physiognomy, like some kind of well-fed fat pug; cambric collars, canals!.. My Kopeikin somehow dragged himself with his piece of wood into the reception room, pressed himself into a corner there so as not to jostle him with his elbow, you can imagine, some kind of America or India - a gilded, you know, porcelain vase of sorts. Well, of course, he stayed there for a long time, because, you can imagine, he came at a time when the general, in some way, barely got out of bed and the valet, perhaps, brought him some kind of silver basin for various, you know, these kinds of washings. My Kopeikin had been waiting for four hours, when finally the adjutant or another official on duty came in. “The general says he’ll go to the reception room now.” And in the reception area there are already as many people as there are beans on a plate. All this is not that our brother is a serf, all are fourth or fifth class, colonels, and here and there a thick macaron glitters on an epaulette - generals, in a word, that’s what it is. Suddenly, you see, a barely noticeable bustle flashed through the room, like some thin ether. There was a sound here and there: “Shu, shu,” and finally there was terrible silence. The nobleman enters. Well... you can imagine: statesman! In person, so to speak... well, in accordance with the rank, you know... with high rank ... that’s the expression, you know. Everything that was in the hallway, of course, at that very moment, in order, awaits, trembles, awaits a decision, in some way, fate. A minister or nobleman approaches one, then another: “Why are you here?” Why do you? what do you want? what is your business?“ Finally, my sir, to Kopeikin. Kopeikin, gathering his courage: “So and so, Your Excellency: I shed blood, lost, in some way, an arm and a leg, I can’t work, I dare to ask for royal mercy.” The minister sees a man on a piece of wood and his empty right sleeve fastened to his uniform: “Okay,” he says, come see him one of these days.” My Kopeikin comes out almost delighted: one thing is that he was awarded an audience, so to speak, with a first-ranking nobleman; and the other thing is that now they will finally decide, in some way, about the pension. In that spirit, you know, bouncing along the sidewalk. I went to the Palkinsky tavern to drink a glass of vodka, had lunch, my sir, in London, ordered a cutlet with capers, asked for poulard with various finterleys; I asked for a bottle of wine, went to the theater in the evening - in a word, you know, I went on a spree. On the sidewalk, he sees some slender Englishwoman walking, like a swan, you can imagine. My Kopeikin - the blood, you know, was running wild in him - ran after her on his piece of wood, trick-trick after - “no, I thought, let it be later, when I get my pension, now I’m going too crazy.” So, my sir, in about three or four days my Kopeikin appears again to the minister, waiting for the exit. “So and so,” he says, “I came, he says, to hear the order of your Excellency regarding diseases and wounds…” and so on, you know, in official style. The nobleman, you can imagine, immediately recognized him: “Oh,” he says, “okay,” he says, “this time I can’t tell you anything more, except that you will need to wait for the arrival of the sovereign; Then, without a doubt, orders will be made regarding the wounded, and without the monarch’s, so to speak, will, I can’t do anything.” Bow, you understand, and goodbye. Kopeikin, you can imagine, left in the most uncertain position. He was already thinking that tomorrow they would give him the money: “On you, my dear, drink and have fun”; but instead he was ordered to wait, and no time was assigned. So he came out of the porch like an owl, like a poodle, you know, which the cook doused with water: his tail was between his legs and his ears hung. “Well, no,” he thinks to himself, “I’ll go another time and explain that I’m finishing the last piece, but if you can’t help, I must die, in some way, of hunger.” In a word, he comes, my sir, again to Palace Embankment; They say: “It’s impossible, he won’t accept it, come back tomorrow.” The next day - the same; but the doorman simply doesn’t want to look at him. And meanwhile, of the blues, you see, he only has one left in his pocket. Sometimes he ate cabbage soup, a piece of beef, and now in a shop he will take some herring or pickled cucumber and two pennies worth of bread - in a word, the poor fellow is starving, and yet his appetite is simply voracious. He passes by some kind of restaurant - the cook there, can you imagine, is a foreigner, a Frenchman with an open physiognomy, he is wearing Dutch underwear, an apron as white as snow, some kind of fenzer is working there, cutlets with truffles - in a word, he is... such a delicacy that one would simply eat oneself, that is, out of appetite. Will he pass by the Milyutinsky shops, there, in some way, looking out of the window is some kind of salmon, cherries - a piece for five rubles, a huge watermelon, a kind of stagecoach, leaning out of the window, and, so to speak, looking for a fool who would pay a hundred rubles, - in a word, at every step there is such temptation, his mouth waters, and meanwhile he keeps hearing “tomorrow.” So you can imagine what his position is: here, on the one hand, so to speak, salmon and watermelon, and on the other hand, they are serving him the same dish: “tomorrow.” Finally, the poor guy became, in some way, unbearable, and decided to storm through at all costs, you know. I waited at the entrance to see if another petitioner would come by, and there, with some general, you know, I slipped into the reception room with my piece of wood. The nobleman, as usual, comes out: “Why are you here?” Why do you? A! - he says, seeing Kopeikin, “after all, I have already told you that you should expect a decision.” - “For mercy, your Excellency, I don’t have, so to speak, a piece of bread...” - “What should I do? There is nothing I can do for you; For now, try to help yourself, look for the means yourself.” “But, Your Excellency, you can, in a way, judge for yourself what means I can find without having an arm or a leg.” “But,” says the dignitary, “you must agree: I cannot support you, in some way, at my own expense; I have many wounded, they all have equal right...Arm yourself with patience. The Emperor will arrive, I can give you honestly that his royal mercy will not leave you.” “But, Your Excellency, I cannot wait,” says Kopeikin, and he speaks, in some respects, rudely. The nobleman, you understand, was already annoyed. In fact: here from all sides the generals are waiting for decisions and orders; affairs, so to speak, are important, state affairs, requiring the fastest execution - a minute of omission can be important - and then there’s an unobtrusive devil attached to the side. “Sorry,” he says, “I don’t have time... I have more important things to do than yours.” It reminds you in a somewhat subtle way that it’s time to finally get out. And my Kopeikin, hunger, you know, spurred him on: “As you wish, Your Excellency,” he says, I will not leave my place until you give a resolution.” Well... you can imagine: responding in this way to a nobleman, who only needs to say a word - and so the tarashka flew into the air, so that the devil will not find you... Here, if an official of one less rank tells our brother something like that, so much so and rudeness. Well, and there’s the size, what the size is: the general-in-chief and some captain Kopeikin! Ninety rubles and zero! The general, you understand, nothing more, as soon as he looked, and the look - firearms: the soul is gone - it’s already gone to the heels. And my Kopeikin, you can imagine, doesn’t move, he stands rooted to the spot. “What are you doing?” says the general and took him, as they say, head on. However, to tell the truth, he treated him quite mercifully: another would have scared him so much that for three days after that the street would have been spinning upside down, but he only said: “Okay,” he says, if it’s expensive for you to live here and you can’t wait in peace in the capital decision of your fate, so I will send you to the government account. Call the courier! escort him to his place of residence!“ And the courier is already there, you see, standing: some three-arshine man, his arms, you can imagine, are made for coachmen by nature - in a word, a kind of dentist... Here he is, the servant of God, They grabbed me, my sir, and into a cart with a courier. “Well,” Kopeikin thinks, “at least you don’t have to pay fees, thanks for that.” Here he is, my sir, riding on a courier, yes, riding on a courier, in a way, so to speak, reasoning to himself: “When the general tells me to look for means to help myself, well, he says, I’ll find it.” funds!“ Well, as soon as he was delivered to the place and where exactly they were taken, none of this is known. So, you see, the rumors about Captain Kopeikin sank into the river of oblivion, into some kind of oblivion, as the poets call it. But, excuse me, gentlemen, this is where, one might say, the thread, the plot of the novel begins. So, where Kopeikin went is unknown; but, you can imagine, less than two months passed before a gang of robbers appeared in the Ryazan forests, and the ataman of this gang, my sir, was none other...”
“Just allow me, Ivan Andreevich,” the police chief said suddenly, interrupting him, “after all, Captain Kopeikin, you yourself said, is missing an arm and a leg, and Chichikov has...
Here the postmaster screamed and slammed his hand as hard as he could on his forehead, publicly calling himself a veal in front of everyone. He could not understand how such a circumstance had not occurred to him at the very beginning of the story, and admitted that the saying was absolutely true: “A Russian man is strong in hindsight.” However, a minute later, he immediately began to be cunning and tried to wriggle out, saying that, however, in England, mechanics were very improved, as can be seen from the newspapers, how one invented wooden legs in such a way that with one touch on an imperceptible spring, these legs of a person were carried away God knows in what places, so after that it was impossible to find him anywhere.
But everyone very much doubted that Chichikov was Captain Kopeikin, and found that the postmaster had gone too far. However, they, for their part, also did not lose face and, prompted by the postmaster’s witty guess, wandered almost further. Of the many clever assumptions of its kind, there was finally one - it’s strange to even say: that Chichikov is not Napoleon in disguise, that the Englishman has long been jealous, that, they say, Russia is so great and vast that even cartoons have appeared several times where the Russian depicted talking to an Englishman. The Englishman stands and holds a dog on a rope behind him, and by the dog of course Napoleon: “Look, he says, if something goes wrong, I’ll let this dog out on you now!” - and now they, perhaps, have released him from Helena Island, and now he is making his way to Russia, as if Chichikov, but in fact not Chichikov at all.
Of course, the officials did not believe this, but, however, they became thoughtful and, considering this matter each to themselves, found that Chichikov’s face, if he turned and stood sideways, looked very much like a portrait of Napoleon. The police chief, who served in the campaign of the twelfth year and personally saw Napoleon, also could not help but admit that he would in no way be taller than Chichikov, and that in terms of his figure, Napoleon, too, cannot be said to be too fat, but not so thin either. Perhaps some readers will call all this incredible; The author, too, to please them, would be ready to call all this incredible; but, unfortunately, everything happened exactly as it is told, and it is even more amazing that the city was not in the wilderness, but, on the contrary, not far from both capitals. However, it must be remembered that all this happened shortly after the glorious expulsion of the French. At this time, all our landowners, officials, merchants, farmers and every literate and even illiterate people became sworn politicians for at least eight years. “Moskovskie Vedomosti” and “Son of the Fatherland” were read mercilessly and reached the last reader in pieces unfit for any use. Instead of asking: “How much, father, did you sell the measure of oats? How did you use yesterday’s powder?” they said: “What do they write in the newspapers? Have they let Napoleon out of the island again?” The merchants were greatly afraid of this, for they completely believed the prediction of one prophet, who had been sitting in prison for three years; the prophet came from nowhere in bast shoes and a sheepskin coat that terribly smelled like rotten fish, and announced that Napoleon was the Antichrist and was holding on to a stone chain, behind six walls and seven seas, but after that he would break the chain and take possession of the whole world. The prophet ended up in prison for his prediction, but nevertheless he did his job and completely confused the merchants. For a long time, during even the most profitable transactions, the merchants, going to the tavern to wash them down with tea, talked about the Antichrist. Many of the officials and noble nobility also involuntarily thought about this and, infected with mysticism, which, as you know, was then in great fashion, saw in each letter from which the word “Napoleon” was composed, some kind of special meaning; many even discovered apocalyptic figures in it. So, it is not surprising that officials involuntarily thought about this point; Soon, however, they came to their senses, noticing that their imagination was already too fast and that all this was not the same. They thought and thought, interpreted, interpreted, and finally decided that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to question Nozdryov thoroughly. Since he was the first to bring up the story of dead souls and was, as they say, in some kind of close relationship with Chichikov, therefore, without a doubt, knows something of the circumstances of his life, then try again, whatever Nozdryov says.
Strange people, these gentlemen officials, and after them all the other titles: after all, they knew very well that Nozdryov was a liar, that he could not be trusted in a single word, or in the most trifle, and yet they resorted to him. Go and get along with the man! does not believe in God, but believes that if the bridge of his nose itches, he will certainly die; will pass by the poet’s creation, clear as day, all imbued with harmony and the lofty wisdom of simplicity, and will rush precisely to the place where some daredevil will confuse, weave, break, twist nature, and he will like it, and he will begin to shout: “Here it is.” , this is real knowledge of the secrets of the heart!” All his life he doesn’t give a damn about doctors, but he will end up turning to a woman who heals with whispers and spittle, or, even better, he will invent some kind of decoction from God knows what kind of rubbish, which, God knows why, seems to him to be the remedy against his illness. Of course, the gentlemen officials can be partly excused by their truly difficult situation. A drowning man, they say, even grabs a small piece of wood, and at that time he does not have the sense to think that a fly could ride on top of a piece of wood, and he weighs almost four pounds, if not even five; but no thought comes to his mind at that time, and he grabs a sliver of wood. So our gentlemen finally grabbed hold of Nozdryov. The police chief at that very moment wrote a note to him inviting him to the evening, and the policeman, in jackboots, with an attractive blush on his cheeks, ran at that same moment, holding his sword, at a gallop to Nozdryov’s apartment. Nozdryov was busy with important business; For four whole days he did not leave the room, did not let anyone in and received lunch through the window - in a word, he even became thin and green. The matter required great care: it consisted of selecting from several dozen dozen cards of one waist, but the most mark that one could hope for was most faithful friend . There was at least two more weeks of work left; During this entire time, Porfiry had to clean the Medellian puppy’s navel with a special brush and wash it three times a day in soap. Nozdryov was very angry that his privacy was disturbed; first of all, he sent the policeman to hell, but when he read in the mayor’s note that there might be a profit because they were expecting some newcomer for the evening, he softened at that very moment, hastily locked the room with a key, dressed haphazardly and went to them. Nozdryov's testimony, evidence and assumptions presented such a sharp contrast to those of the gentlemen officials that even their latest guesses were confused. This was definitely a man for whom there were no doubts at all; and as much as they were noticeably unsteady and timid in their assumptions, he had so much firmness and confidence. He answered all the points without even stuttering, announced that Chichikov had bought several thousand worth of dead souls and that he himself had sold them to him because he saw no reason why not to sell them; when asked if he was a spy and whether he was trying to find out something, Nozdryov answered that he was a spy, that even at the school where he studied with him, they called him a fiscal, and that for this his comrades, including him , they crushed him somewhat, so that he then had to put two hundred and forty leeches on one of his temples - that is, he wanted to say forty, but two hundred said somehow by itself. When asked if he was a maker of counterfeit notes, he answered that he was, and on this occasion told an anecdote about Chichikov’s extraordinary dexterity: how, having learned that there were two million worth of counterfeit notes in his house, they sealed his house and put a guard on each door had two soldiers, and how Chichikov changed them all in one night, so that the next day, when the seals were removed, they saw that all the banknotes were real. When asked whether Chichikov really had the intention of taking away the governor’s daughter and whether it was true that he himself had undertaken to help and participate in this matter, Nozdryov replied that he had helped and that if it had not been for him, nothing would have happened - that’s when he realized , seeing that he had lied completely in vain and could thus bring trouble upon himself, but he could no longer hold his tongue. However, it was difficult, because such interesting details presented themselves that it was impossible to refuse: they even named the village where the parish church in which the wedding was supposed to be located was located, namely the village of Trukhmachevka, priest - Father Sidor, for the wedding - seventy-five rubles, and even then he would not have agreed if he had not intimidated him, promising to inform on him that he married the meadowsweet Mikhail to his godfather, that he even gave up his carriage and prepared alternate horses at all stations. The details reached the point that he was already beginning to call the coachmen by name. They tried to hint about Napoleon, but they themselves were not happy that they tried, because Nozdryov spouted such nonsense that not only did not have any semblance of truth, but even simply had no resemblance to anything, so the officials, sighing, all walked away away; Only the police chief listened for a long time, wondering if at least something would happen next, but finally he waved his hand, saying: “Devil knows what it is!” And everyone agreed that no matter how you fight a bull, you won’t get milk from it. And the officials were left in an even worse position than they were before, and the matter was decided by the fact that they could not find out who Chichikov was. And it turned out to be clear what kind of creature man is: he is wise, intelligent and intelligent in everything that concerns others, and not himself; what prudent, firm advice he will provide in difficult situations in life! “What a quick head! - the crowd shouts. “What an unshakable character!” And if some misfortune happened to this quick head and he himself had to be put in difficult situations in life, where his character had gone, the unshakable husband would become completely confused, and he would become a pathetic coward, an insignificant, weak child, or just a fetish, as Nozdryov calls it.
All these rumors, opinions and rumors, for unknown reasons, had the greatest effect on the poor prosecutor. They affected him to such an extent that, when he came home, he began to think and think and suddenly, as they say, for no apparent reason he died. Whether he was suffering from paralysis or something else, he just sat there and fell backwards out of his chair. They screamed, as usual, clasping their hands: “Oh, my God!” - they sent for a doctor to draw blood, but they saw that the prosecutor was already one soulless body. Only then did they learn with condolences that the deceased definitely had a soul, although due to his modesty he never showed it. Meanwhile, the appearance of death was just as terrible in a small person, just as it is terrible in a great man: the one who not so long ago walked, moved, played whist, signed various papers and was so often visible among officials with his thick eyebrows and blinking eye, now lay on the table, the left eye no longer blinked at all, but one eyebrow was still raised with some kind of questioning expression. What the dead man asked, why he died or why he lived, only God knows.
But this, however, is incongruous! This doesn't agree with anything! it is impossible that officials could frighten themselves like that; create such nonsense, so move away from the truth, when even a child can see what’s going on! Many readers will say this and reproach the author for inconsistencies or call poor officials fools, because people are generous with their words "fool" and is ready to serve them twenty times a day to his neighbor. Out of ten sides, it is enough to have one stupid side in order to be considered a fool over nine good ones. It is easy for readers to judge by looking from their quiet corner and the top, from where the entire horizon is open to everything that is happening below, where a person can only see a close object. And in the global chronicle of humanity there are many entire centuries that, it would seem, were crossed out and destroyed as unnecessary. Many mistakes have been made in the world that, it would seem, even a child would not do now. What crooked, deaf, narrow, impassable roads that lead far to the side have been chosen by humanity, striving to achieve eternal truth, while the straight path was open to them, like the path leading to the magnificent temple assigned to the king’s palace. Wider and more luxurious than all other paths, it was illuminated by the sun and illuminated by lights all night, but people flowed past it in the deep darkness. And how many times already induced by the meaning descending from heaven, they knew how to recoil and stray to the side, they knew how to find themselves again in impenetrable backwaters in broad daylight, they knew how to once again cast a blind fog into each other’s eyes and, trailing after the swamp lights, they knew how to get to the abyss, and then ask each other in horror: where is the exit, where is the road? The current generation now sees everything clearly, marvels at the errors, laughs at the foolishness of its ancestors, it is not in vain that this chronicle is inscribed with heavenly fire, that every letter in it screams, that a piercing finger is directed from everywhere at it, at it, at the current generation; but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new errors, which posterity will also laugh at later.
Chichikov knew absolutely nothing about all this. As if on purpose, at that time he received a slight cold - flux and a slight inflammation in the throat, the distribution of which is extremely generous in the climate of many of our provincial cities. So that, God forbid, life without descendants would somehow end, he decided to sit in the room for three days. Throughout these days, he constantly gargled with milk and figs, which he then ate, and wore a pad of chamomile and camphor tied to his cheek. Wanting to occupy his time with something, he made several new and detailed lists of all the purchased peasants, even read some volume of the Duchess of La Valliere, which he found in a suitcase, looked through the various objects and notes in the chest, re-read something another time, and all this bored him greatly. He could not understand what it meant that not one of the city officials came to see him at least once about his health, whereas just recently droshky stood every now and then in front of the hotel - now the postmaster's, now the prosecutor's, now the chairman's. He just shrugged his shoulders as he walked around the room. Finally he felt better and was delighted, God knows how, when he saw the opportunity to go out into the fresh air. Without delay, he immediately set to work on his toilet, unlocked his box, poured hot water into a glass, took out a brush and soap and settled down to shave, which, however, was long overdue, because, having felt his beard with his hand and looked in the mirror, he had already said: “What a forest they went to write!” And in fact, the forests were not forests, but rather thick crops spilled out all over his cheek and chin. Having shaved, he began to dress quickly and quickly, so that he almost jumped out of his trousers. Finally he was dressed, sprayed with cologne and, wrapped up warmly, went out into the street, bandaging his cheek as a precaution. His exit, like any recovered person, was definitely festive. Everything he came across took on a laughing look: both houses and passing men, quite serious, however, some of whom had already managed to hit their brother in the ear. He intended to make his first visit to the governor. On the way, many different thoughts came to his mind; The blonde was spinning in his head, his imagination even began to go a little crazy, and he himself began to joke a little and laugh at himself. In this spirit he found himself in front of the governor's entrance. He was already in the hallway hastily throwing off his overcoat when the doorman startled him with completely unexpected words:
- Not ordered to accept!
- Why, apparently you didn’t recognize me? Take a good look at his face! - Chichikov told him.
“How can you not know, because this is not the first time I’ve seen you,” said the doorman. “Yes, it’s just that you alone are not ordered to be allowed in, but all others are allowed.”
- Here you go! From what? Why?
“Such an order, apparently, follows,” said the doorman and added the word “yes.” After which he stood in front of him completely at ease, not maintaining that affectionate appearance with which he had previously hurried to take off his overcoat. He seemed to think, looking at him: “Hey! If the bars are chasing you off their porches, then you’re obviously just so-so, some kind of riffraff!”
"Unclear!" - Chichikov thought to himself and immediately went to the chairman of the chamber, but the chairman of the chamber was so embarrassed when he saw him that he could not put two words together, and said such rubbish that even they both felt ashamed. Leaving him, no matter how hard Chichikov tried to explain on the way and get to what the chairman meant and what his words could refer to, he could not understand anything. Then he went to others: the police chief, the vice-governor, the postmaster, but everyone either did not receive him, or received him so strangely, they had such a forced and incomprehensible conversation, they were so confused, and such confusion came out of everything that he doubted his health their brain. I tried to go to someone else to find out at least the reason, but I didn’t get any reason. Like a half-asleep, he wandered aimlessly around the city, not being able to decide whether he had gone crazy, whether the officials had lost their heads, whether all this was happening in a dream, or whether something worse than a dream had brewed in reality. It was late, almost at dusk, he returned to his hotel, from which he had left in such a good mood, and out of boredom he ordered some tea to be served. Deep in thought and in some senseless reasoning about the strangeness of his situation, he began to pour tea, when suddenly the door of his room opened, and Nozdryov appeared in a completely unexpected way.
- Here’s a proverb: “For a friend, seven miles is not the outskirts!” - he said, taking off his cap. “I’m passing by, I see the light in the window, let me, I think to myself, I’ll come in, he’s probably not sleeping.” A! It’s good that you have tea on the table, I’ll drink a cup with pleasure: today at lunch I ate too much of all sorts of rubbish, I feel like a fuss is already starting in my stomach. Order me to fill the pipe! Where's your pipe?
“But I don’t smoke pipes,” Chichikov said dryly.
- Empty, as if I don’t know that you’re a smoker. Hey! What the hell is your man's name? Hey Vakhramey, listen!
- Yes, not Vakhramey, but Petrushka.
- How? Yes, you had Vakhramey before.
- I didn’t have any Vakhramey.
- Yes, that’s right, it’s at Derebin Vakhramey’s. Imagine how lucky Derebin is: his aunt quarreled with her son because he married a serf, and now she has written down all her property to him. I think to myself, if only I had such an aunt for the future! Why are you, brother, so far away from everyone, why don’t you go anywhere? Of course, I know that you are sometimes occupied with scientific subjects and love to read (why Nozdryov concluded that our hero is engaged in scientific subjects and loves to read, we admit that we cannot say in any way, and Chichikov even less so). Ah, brother Chichikov, if only you could see... that would certainly be food for your satirical mind (why Chichikov had a satirical mind is also unknown). Imagine, brother, at the merchant Likhachev’s they were playing uphill, that’s where the laughter was! Perependev, who was with me: “Here, he says, if Chichikov were now, he would definitely be!..” (Meanwhile, Chichikov did not know any Perependev from birth). But admit it, brother, you really treated me meanly back then, remember how they played checkers, because I won... Yes, brother, you just fooled me. But, God knows, I just can’t be angry. The other day with the chairman... Oh, yes! I have to tell you that everything in the city is against you; they think that you are making false papers, they pestered me, but I’m very supportive of you, I told them that I studied with you and knew your father; Well, needless to say, he gave them a decent bullet.
- Am I making fake papers? - Chichikov cried, rising from his chair.
- Why did you scare them so much, though? - Nozdryov continued. “They, God knows, went crazy with fear: they dressed you up as robbers and spies... And the prosecutor died of fright, tomorrow there will be a funeral.” You will not? To tell the truth, they are afraid of the new governor-general, lest something happen because of you; and my opinion about the Governor-General is that if he turns up his nose and puts on airs, he will do absolutely nothing with the nobility. The nobility demands cordiality, doesn't it? Of course, you can hide in your office and not give a single point, but what does that mean? After all, you won't gain anything by doing this. But you, Chichikov, have started a risky business.
- What's a risky business? - Chichikov asked worriedly.
- Yes, take the governor’s daughter away. I admit, I was waiting for this, by God, I was waiting for it! The first time, as soon as I saw you together at the ball, well, I think to myself, Chichikov was probably not without reason... However, you made such a choice in vain, I don’t find anything good in her. And there is one, a relative of Bikusov, his sister’s daughter, so that’s a girl! one might say: miracle calico!
- Why are you confusing? How to take away the governor's daughter, what are you saying? - Chichikov said, his eyes bulging.
- Well, that's enough, brother, what a secretive man! I admit, I came to you with this: if you please, I am ready to help you. So be it: I will hold the crown for you, the carriage and the changeable horses will be mine, only with an agreement: you must lend me three thousand. We need it, brother, at least kill it!
During all of Nozdrev's chatter, Chichikov rubbed his eyes several times, wanting to make sure that he was not hearing all this in a dream. The maker of false banknotes, the abduction of the governor's daughter, the death of the prosecutor, which he allegedly caused, the arrival of the governor general - all this brought a fair amount of fear into him. “Well, if it comes to that,” he thought to himself, “there’s no point in dawdling anymore, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”
He tried to sell Nozdryov as quickly as possible, called Selifan to him at that very hour and told him to be ready at dawn, so that tomorrow at six o’clock in the morning he would definitely leave the city, so that everything would be reconsidered, the chaise would be greased, etc., etc. Selifan said: “I’m listening, Pavel Ivanovich!” - and stopped, however, for some time at the door, without moving. The master immediately ordered Petrushka to pull out from under the bed the suitcase, which was already covered with quite a bit of dust, and began to pack with it, indiscriminately, stockings, shirts, underwear, washed and unwashed, shoe lasts, a calendar... All this was packed at random; he wanted to be ready in the evening so that there could be no delay the next day. Selifan, after standing at the door for about two minutes, finally very slowly left the room. Slowly, as slowly as one can imagine, he descended from the stairs, leaving footprints with his wet boots on the battered steps going down, and scratched the back of his head for a long time with his hand. What did this scratching mean? and what does it even mean? Is it annoyance that the meeting planned for the next day with his brother in an unsightly sheepskin coat, surrounded by a sash, somewhere in the Tsar's tavern, somewhere in the Tsar's tavern, did not work out, or some kind of sweetheart has already started in a new place and I have to leave the evening standing at the gate and politically holding on to whites hands at that hour, as twilight falls on the city, a fellow in a red shirt strums a balalaika in front of the courtyard servants and weaves quiet speeches of the various working people? Or is it simply a pity to leave an already warmed place in a people’s kitchen under a sheepskin coat, the heat of the oven, and cabbage soup with a city soft pie, in order to again trudge through the rain, and slush, and all sorts of road adversity? God knows, you won't guess. Scratching your head means a lot of different things to the Russian people.
