Chapter 38 In the Noble Girls Boarding School

In the Noble Girls Boarding School In Madame Gefzheim's private aristocratic boarding school for girls, the clock strikes twelve.Those female students were depressed and in poor health. At this time, they held hands with each other and walked on the corridor in an orderly manner.The female schoolmasters, yellow and freckled, looked at the girls with a look of extreme concern, and although they were very quiet, they called out in French from time to time: "Ladies! Be quiet!" In the teacher's room, the most sacred and mysterious room, Zefzhem himself and the mathematics teacher Diliavin sat there.The teacher had already finished teaching the class and should have left at this time, but he stayed and wanted to ask his superiors to give him a raise.He knew that the "old slicker" was rich, so he didn't get straight to the point, but asked about a salary increase in a roundabout way.

"I look at your face, Byanka Ivanovna, and I think of the past..." he said, sighing. "Once upon a time, in our time, there were such wonderful beauties! Lord, what beauties! It's so fascinating to see you! But now? Beauties are extinct! There are no real women now, only Some, God forgive me for saying this, the wagtail and the fish. The wagtail... one is worse than the other. . . . " "No, there are many beautiful women now!" "Where is it? Show me: where is it?" Diliavin said passionately. "Come on, Byanka Ivanovna! It's because of your kindness that you call a face like that of a great white squid a beauty, and I understand you! Please forgive me for using such an analogy. Anyway, I I’m telling you this from the bottom of my heart. I looked at those women at the concert yesterday. They all had ugly faces and bowed legs! Now, let’s take the top class here as an example. You know those girls They are all budding flowers, they are all big girls who have reached the age of marriage, they are all the so-called essence, but what? There are eighteen of them in total, but there is not even one good-looking one!"

"That's wrong! No matter who you ask, everyone will tell you that there are many good-looking girls in my top class. For example, Kochkina, Ivanova second, Balzer Baby, ... Baltseva is just like the beauty in the painting! I'm a woman, but even I'm fascinated by it. ..." "That's weird, ..." Diliavin murmured, "There's nothing good about her. ... "" Those beautiful black eyes! "Zefzhem said excitedly." It's as black as ink!Take a look at her: she...she is perfect!In ancient times, people would draw goddesses according to her appearance! "

Diliavin had never seen a beauty like Baltseva in his life, but his eagerness for a raise overwhelmed his fairness, and he went on to prove to the "old trickster" that there were no beauties. … “It’s only attractive when you see an older woman’s face,” he said. "Although youth and delicacy are gone, a face with regular features is always pleasing to the eye. . . . The important thing is regular features! But you can't say that there are any features on that Baltseva's face. Something with sour cream, . "You should take a good look before you speak..." "There's nothing good about her," Diliavin sighed gloomily.

Zevzym jumped up, went to the door, and cried: "Go and get Baltseva here! Take a good look at her," she said to the teacher, leaving the door. "Take care of her eyes, of her nose. . . . There is no better nose in Russia than that." After a while Baltseva came into the teacher's room.She was a girl of seventeen, dark and slender, with large dark eyes and a fine Greek nose. "Come closer..." Zefzheim said to her in a stern voice. "Mr. Diliavin complained to me that you ... you don't pay much attention to your mathematics lessons. You generally lose your concentration and ... and ..." "And you are very bad at algebra, ... muttered Diliavin, looking closely at Baltseva's face.

"Shame on you, Baltseva!" continued Zevtzyum. "That's not good! Do you want me to punish you like a child? You have grown up, you must set an example for others, and you must not behave inappropriately. . . . But . . . come closer!" Zefzheim also said a lot of "commonplaces".Baltseva listened to her absent-mindedly, opening and closing her nostrils and looking out of the window over Dilyavin's head. ... "For her, even sacrificing everything is not enough," the mathematics teacher thought to herself, looking at her intently. "The girl is gorgeous! Her nostrils are flapping, the rascal. . . . She feels she'll be out of school in June, free.

... Once she is let out of school, she will forget about this Zevzhem, the idiot Diliavin, and algebra. ... She doesn't like algebra!She needs a vast world, a brilliant light, ... needs a life. ..." Diliavin sighed and continued to think: "Hey, those two nostrils! Within a month, my algebra is all gone.  … Diliavin is a gray and dull memory. ... If you meet her, she just flaps her nostrils. No greetings to you. You'll be lucky if she doesn't let the carriage run over you. . . . " "Good grades can only be achieved by hard work and diligence," continued Zefzheim, "but you don't care.  … ...If anyone complains about you again in the future, I will have to punish you. ...Shame on you!"

"You, angel, don't listen to this dry old lemon peel," thought Deliavan. "There's nothing shameful about it. . . . You're better than me and her put together." "Let's go!" said Zevzym sharply. Baltseva curtseyed and walked out. "Well, how is it? You can see clearly now?" asked Zefzheim. Diliawen didn't hear her question and was still thinking. "How is it?" the female boss asked again. "In your opinion, she is not pretty?" Diliavin stared blankly at Refzheim and came to his senses.He remembered the salary increase and cheered up.

"Even if you kill me, I can't find anything nice about it..." he said. "Well, you're getting old, but your nose and eyes are much prettier than hers. . . . I swear by my integrity. . . . Look in the mirror!" In the end Mrs. Refzheim agreed, and Diliavin raised his salary.