Chapter 13 Thirteen

Thirteen A week later the hospital advised Andrey Yefimitch to rest, that is to say, to resign, to which he was quite indifferent.Another week passed, and he and Mikhail Averyanitch were in the mail coach and started for the nearest railway station.The weather was cool and clear, the sky was blue, and the fields stretched as far as the eye could see. It was two hundred versts to get there, and it took two days to walk and two nights to rest along the way.Every time he came to a post station, someone brought tea, the glasses were dirty, or the horses had been harnessed for a long time, and Mikhail Averyanitch blushed with anger, trembling all over, and shouted: "Shut up." Mouth! Don't talk nonsense!" After sitting in the long-distance carriage, he kept talking about his past trips to the Caucasus and the Kingdom of Poland.How many thrilling experiences, what a warm reception!He spoke loudly, and at the same time gave a look of astonishment that gave the impression that he was bragging.Besides, when he spoke he breathed in Andrey Yefimitch's face and laughed in his ear, which disturbed the doctor and prevented him from thinking and concentrating.

When they arrived at the train station, in order to save money, they bought tickets for the third-class carriage and sat in a non-smoking carriage.Half of the passengers are upper class.Mikhail Averyanitch soon got to know them well, moved from seat to seat, and exclaimed that it was really wrong to travel on such a wretched railway.Simply cheated!Riding on horseback is completely different. After covering a hundred versts a day, I still feel energetic and comfortable afterwards.As for our bad harvest, it's because the Pinsk swamp has been drained.All in all, it sucks everywhere.He was impassioned, talked and laughed loudly, and did not allow others to interrupt.Andrey Yefimitch was weary of this endless babbling, laughing, and expressive gestures.

"Which one of us is the madman?" he wondered ruefully. "I, who is trying not to disturb the passengers, or this egoist, who thinks he's smarter and more interesting than anyone else, so he won't let people be quiet?" In Moscow, Mikhail Averyanitch put on a uniform without epaulets and trousers with red stripes.He put on a military cap and a military overcoat when he went out, so soldiers kept standing at attention and saluting him while walking on the street.Andrey Yefimitch felt only now that all the good qualities of this nobleman had been lost, and only bad habits remained.He liked being served on him, even when it wasn't necessary.He saw the matches lying on the table in front of him, but he shouted at the servant to bring them.He was not ashamed to walk around in his underwear in front of the maids.He addressed all his servants, even the old ones, as "you," and called them fools and bastards when he got angry.In Andrey Yefimitch's opinion, all this was old-fashioned, but annoying.

First, Mihail Averyanitch led his friend into the Iver church.He prayed fervently, kept kowtow, and shed tears.Having said his prayers, he sighed and said: "Even if you're not religious, it'll be all right to pray. Kiss the icon, dear." Andrey Yefimitch kissed the icon with some embarrassment.Mihail Averyanitch sucked his lips, shook his head, said a prayer, and burst into tears.Then the two went to the Kremlin, where they watched the King of Cannons and the King of Bells, touched them with their hands, enjoyed the scenery on the south bank of the Moscow River, and visited the Church of the Savior and the Rumyantsev Museum.

They dined at the Jestov restaurant.Mihail Averyanitch looked at the menu for a long time, stroked his whiskers, and said in the tone of a gourmand who goes to a restaurant as if he were at home: "We'd like to see what you're serving us today, dear!"