Chapter 34 Chapter 06

At seven o'clock in the evening I was already at Masloboyev's.He yelled and welcomed me with open arms.Needless to say, he was half drunk.But what surprised me most was how many delicious things were prepared to welcome me.can see Come, they are waiting for me sincerely.On the small round table stood a beautiful samovar of copper alloy, which was already boiled, and a good tablecloth was spread on the small table.The tea sets were also shining, some in crystal, some in silver, and some in porcelain. The other table was changed, but it was covered with the same magnificence, and there was a fruit bowl on the table, containing the best sweets and Kyiv jams, both thin and thick, and fruit soft. Sugar, fruit cake, jelly, French jam, orange

, apples and three or four types of nuts, in a word, it's like a fruit shop.The third table is covered with a snow-white table market, with a wide variety of cold dishes: fish roe, cheese, large meatballs, sausages, prosciutto, fish, and a row of neatly arranged water. In crystal glass bottles, there are many kinds of liqueurs, green, ruby, brown, golden--the colors are very beautiful.Finally, on a side table, also covered with a white tablecloth, were two large bottles of champagne.On the table in front of the couch On the other hand, three bottles of wine were prominently placed: Saudan's wine, Lafayette's red wine and brandy--these wines were all bought from Yeliseev and were very expensive.At the tea table sat Alexandra Semyonovna, her

The dress, though plain, was evidently thoughtful and tasteful; indeed, it was beautiful.She knows what suits her best, and she is evidently proud of it; she welcomes me by standing up slightly and demurely.she's so pretty There was a gleam of pride and joy in his face.There sat Masloboyev in a pair of very fine Chinese cloth shoes, in an expensive robe and new, very fine underwear.On his shirt, wherever buttons can be buttoned, Fashionable collar buttons, snaps and buttons abound here and there.The hair was pomaded, neatly combed, and parted in a very fashionable way. For no apparent reason, I stood in the middle of the room with my mouth open, looking now at Masloboyev, now at Alexandra Semyonovna, whose elation had become supremely happiness.

"What's going on, Masloboyev? Are you treating me tonight?" I finally cried out uneasily. "No, just you," he replied solemnly. "So, what's going on here (I point to all the cold dishes), there is enough food here for a group?" "There's still something to drink—forget the main thing: there's still something to drink!" Masloboyev added. "All this for me alone?" "Also for Alexandra Semyonovna. She has arranged all this carefully." "Oh, here we go again! I expected you to say that!" cried Alexandra Semyonovna, blushing, but without losing one iota of her self-satisfaction. "It's not good to entertain guests decently for you: and I don't

right! " "Early in the morning, think about it, early in the morning, when she heard that you were coming in the evening, she got busy, that worry..." "It's nonsense again. It wasn't early in the morning at all, but last night. Last night you told me as soon as you came back; he was going to be a guest and stay all night..." "You heard me wrong, my dear." "That's right, that's what you said. I never lie. Why can't we welcome guests? Staying like this, no one comes to our house, but we have everything. Let the guests see, we Like everyone, life is going well

Pretty good. " "The most important thing is to let everyone know that you are a very capable housewife and a good housekeeper," Masloboyev added. "Just think, old boy, what crime have I done to get here. Make me wear a Dutch shirt , put on a collar button and cuff buttons for me, put on Chinese cloth shoes and a Chinese robe, and even combed my hair and put on pomade: bergamot oil, you; she also wants to spray me with water: France Yeah, I can't take it anymore, I rebel and pretend to be a man The majesty of..." "Not bergamot oil at all, but one of the finest French pomades in a painted china bottle!" Alexandra Semyonovna blushed, "you tell the judges, Ivan Petrovich, neither let go to the theater,

You are not allowed to go to dances, and you are not allowed to go there, you just know to give me clothes, who will I show them in clothes?After dressing up, I can only walk around the house alone.A few days ago, I begged my grandpa to sue my grandma, but I finally persuaded him, and I am fully prepared. Going to the theater to see a play; just as I turned to pin the brooch, he ran to the liquor cabinet: got drunk on glass after glass.I had no choice but to stay.No one, no one, no one came to our house; only in the morning, If there are so many people who come to work, I will be kicked out.However, we all have samovars and tea sets, and the teacups are also the best ones—all gifts from others.Some people also brought us food, almost only wine cost money to buy, and pomade and so on.

As for the cold dishes over there-big meatballs, ham, and candies, they are bought for you... Even if they let people see how we live!I thought about it for a full year: once the guests come, the real guests, we will put these things Take out Xiquan and give him a good treat: Hearing people praise you makes me happy; as for putting some pomade on this fool, he doesn't deserve it; he deserves to be always dirty up and down.Look at the robe he's wearing, it's a gift from someone, he Do you deserve a robe like this?The most important thing for him is to get drunk first.Look, he will buy you a drink first. "

"What's the matter! But it's all right; come on, Vanya, drink the red and the white first, and then refresh yourself with the rest." "Hmph, I expected it!" "Don't worry, Sashenka, we'll drink tea, and brandy, to your health!" "Hmph, as expected!" She raised her hands and clapped them together, shouting. "This tea is from the East, six rubles a pound, and it was given to us the day before yesterday by a merchant, but he drinks it with brandy. Don't listen to him, Ivan Petrovitch, I will Here's your tea...you'll see it, you'll see it for yourself, how good it is! "

So she began to gather around the samovar. They obviously intend to keep me here for the night.Alexandra Semyonovna had been looking forward to a visitor for a whole year, and now she was going to make a big show of herself in me, and to be hospitable.All this is beyond my expectation. ① Alexandra's nickname. "I mean Masloboyev," I said, as I sat down, "I'm not a guest at your house; I'm here on business; you asked me to come and said you had something to tell me..." "Well, it's nothing to worry about. The heart-to-heart talks between friends might as well go on as usual."

"No, old chap, don't count on it, I'll see you at eight-thirty. Something to do; I promised . . . "No. How can you tell me? How can you tell Alexandra Semyonovna? ​​Look at her: she's so frightened. She's put so much pomade on me." What's the reason; I smear bergamot oil on my head; You think about it! " "You are only joking, Masloboyev. I swear to Alexandra Semyonovna that next week, even if it is Friday, I will dine at the house; and now, old fellow, I will I have an appointment, or rather, I must go to a somewhere to go.You'd better say: What are you going to tell me? " "You can only be till eight-thirty!" cried Alexandra Semyonov in a frightened and pathetic voice, almost crying, and handing me a glass of good tea. "Don't worry, Sashenka; it's all nonsense," Masloboyev continued, "he can't go away; it's nonsense. You might as well tell me the truth, Vanya, you've been cleaning up Where are you going? What's your business? You can tell me ?Don't you have to go somewhere every day, and you don't work..." "What do you care? But maybe I'll tell you later. Tell me first what you came to see me for yesterday? Remember, I told you I wasn't home?" "It occurred to me later that I forgot yesterday. I really wanted to tell you something, but the most important thing at the moment is to comfort Alexandra Semyonovna. She said: 'That's all. There's a guy, and he's still a friend, why don't you call him come? 'So, old man, in order to please you, she tortured me for four days and four nights.Because of this oil of bergamot, I would be forgiven even in the Underworld, with forty sins; but, I thought, why not sit down amicably How about coming down for a heart-to-heart talk and killing it all night?So I made a small plan: I wrote a note, saying that I have something important to tell, if you don't come, our fleet will be wiped out. " I asked him not to do this kind of thing again in the future, it's better to say something directly and clearly first.However, this explanation did not fully satisfy me. ①Western customs: Friday is an unlucky day, because Jesus was crucified on this day. ② Dostoevsky likes to use the number forty, because Jesus ascended to heaven on the fortieth day after being beaten to death. "Well, then what are you doing running away from me at noon today?" I asked. "There is indeed something at noon today, and I will never hide it." "Isn't it Duke Lu's business?" "Do you like our tea?" Alexandra Semyonovna whispered sweetly. She had been waiting five minutes for me to compliment their tea and I hadn't expected it. "Excellent, Alexandra Semyonovna, excellent! I have never had such fine tea." Alexandra Semyonovna flushed with joy, and hastened to pour me tea again. "Prince!" exclaimed Masloboyev, "old man, the prince is a cunning, a liar... Humph! I'll tell you the truth, old man: I'm a liar myself, but only because I'm clean." , I don't want to be with him Together, they share the same skin!But enough; stop there!That's about all I can say about him. " "I came to you on purpose just to find out about him. But that's for another story. Yesterday you gave Yelena a few pieces of fruit jelly when I was away, and she was still dancing in front of the ground. What are you doing? What's your business? It takes an hour and a half to talk to her! " "Elena, this is a little girl, about eleven or twelve years old, temporarily staying at Ivan Petrovich's house," Masloboyev turned suddenly to Alexandra Semyonovna. explained. "Look, Vanya, look," He pointed at her and continued, "When she heard that I had brought fruit candy to a girl she didn't know, she blushed, blushed suddenly, and shivered, as if the two of us were violent Like a shot... look at her eyes, Glowing like two burning coals.There is no need to hide, Alexandra Semyonovna!You are jealous.If I don't explain, this is a girl of eleven years old, she must come and grab my hair at once: even bergamot oil will save me. Can't kill me! " "It can't save your life now!" As Alexandra Semyonovna said this, she leapt towards us from the tea table, and before Masloboyev could protect her head, she grabbed him His hair was pulled violently. "Tell me, tell me! You are not allowed to say that I am jealous in front of guests, no, no, just don't!" She even flushed all over her face, although she was laughing and talking.But Masloboyev got a solid meal (Ke 刂). "He'll say anything shameful!" she added to me seriously. "See, Vanya, this is the life I live! In view of this, I must drink vodka!" Bottle away.but alexander La Semyonovna was the first to go: she walked quickly to the table, poured out a glass herself, handed it to him, and even patted him affectionately on the cheek.Masloboyev winked at me proudly, clicked his tongue, and triumphantly Drank the wine in one gulp. "It's crazy about the fruit candies," he began, sitting down on the couch next to me. "I bought this candy the day before yesterday, drunk, in a vegetable store--don't know what to buy it for. Then again, for Supporting the motherland's industry and commerce may also be the case -- I can't say exactly what it is; I just remember that I was drunk, walked on the street, fell in the mud, and I pulled my hair and cried loudly , crying that I am a wimp, what can I do nor.Needless to say, I had long since forgotten about the fruit candies, so the candies stayed in my pocket until yesterday, when I sat down on your couch, and sat down on them.Same thing about dancing, because the hangover Unawakened: Yesterday, I was so drunk that I was satisfied with my fate when I was drunk, and sometimes I couldn't help but dance.That was all, and besides this, the orphan aroused all my pity; besides, she would not tell me at all words, as if angry.So I danced and made her happy and gave her fruit candies. " "Isn't it because you bought her? You wanted to get something out of her. Tell me honestly: you knew I was not at home, but you went to find me on purpose, just to have a face-to-face private talk with her, and get something out of it." something to come, isn't it? I'm very Clearly, you sat with her for an hour and a half, and made her believe that you knew her dead mother, and asked her about things. " Masloboyev narrowed his eyes and smiled slyly. "That's not a bad idea," he said. "No, Vanya, it's not. That is, why don't you take this opportunity to find out; but it's not. Listen, old schoolmate, now, I Quite drunk, but you know, Phil Pu would never lie to you with malice, I mean, with malice. " "Well, then without malice?" "Yes... even without malice. But let it go to hell, let's get drunk and get down to business, this matter, it's nothing to worry about," he drank a glass and continued, "This Brenova has no right to adopt This girl; I know all about it up.There isn't any adoption relationship and all that.The girl's mother owed her some money, and she took the girl for herself.Bubnova, though a liar and a villain, was, like all her sisters, a fool.die The applicant has a good passport; therefore, everything is clear.Yelena can live with you, although it would be best to have a good family who has done good deeds and can officially adopt her.But as a stopgap measure, let her live with you first.It's okay, I'll do it for you Everything was done: Brenova dared not even touch her with a finger.As for the dead mother, I know next to nothing.She must have been someone's widow, née Salzmann. " "Yes, that's what Nellie told me." "Well, that's all, and now, Vanya," he began, with some dignity, "I have a small request for you. You must do it. Tell me as much as you can. , what are you busy with, where are you running around on the ground, Where is the whole priceless?Although I have heard a little bit and know a little bit, I must know more details, and the face is much more detailed. " I was surprised, even uneasy, by the air of his presence. "What's going on here? Why do you want to know this? You ask so pretentiously..." "That's the thing, Vanya, without further ado: I want to help you a little. You see, old schoolmate, if I play tricks on you, I can follow you, even if I don't make a fool of myself." Get out of your mouth. But you suspect that I'm playing tricks on you : Just now you mentioned fruit candy or something; I know it well.But since I am talking to you seriously, it means that I inquire about this not for my own sake, but for yours.So you don't have to be suspicious, just open the skylight and speak honestly, say something... ..." "Help me? I said, Masloboyev, why don't you tell me a little about the prince? I need that. That's what you can do for me." "The duke's situation! Well... well, let me tell you: it is because of the duke that I am asking you." "how?" "Here's the thing: old chap, I noticed that somehow he got involved in your business; besides, he asked me about you. As for how he knew we knew--you Never mind. But the most important thing is : You have to be careful with this duke.This is a Judas who betrayed Jesus, even worse than Zaida.Therefore, when I saw him meddling in your affairs, I couldn't help but sweat for you.Then again, I don't know anything about you, so I beg you to tell me so I can make a judgment... that's even why I sent you to me today.That's the important thing I'm going to say; to tell you the truth. " "At least you have to tell me, for example, why should I be wary of the Duke?" "Well, I don't stop at one thing; generally speaking, old man, I am entrusted to do things for others. But think about it: the reason people trust me is because I don't go out and talk nonsense. Tell you casually? Therefore, if Don't be offended if I can only speak in general terms, which are too general, for I am only trying to illustrate: he is a very mean fellow.Okay, Hugh, let's start with yourself. " ① See "New Testament Gospel": Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, who betrayed Jesus to the chief priests for thirty silver coins. I thought I had nothing to hide from Masloboyev.Natasha's business was no secret; besides, I was counting on Masloboyev to be of help to her.Needless to say, when I told him, I still tried my best to understand some things. Avoid talking about it.Masloboyev listened very attentively to everything about the prince; he asked me to stop at many places, and he asked me so many things in detail that I explained them in great detail.I talked for half an hour. "Well! This girl has a very clever mind," Masloboyev decided, "even though she may not have fully seen the prince, but she understood from the beginning who she was dealing with and cut off all contact with him." All entanglements, can do this Just fine.Natalya Nikolaevna is really good!Cheers to her health! (He drank it down.) In order not to be deceived, it is not enough to be smart, but also to have a heart, and this heart did not deceive her.Needless to say, she is doomed: Gong The count will insist on his own opinion, and Alyosha will abandon her.It's a pity that it's the same, it's a pity that Ikhmenev gave the villain ten thousand rubles for nothing!Who handled his case, and who set it up?Probably himself!well!These hot-headed, thinking This is true of all people who want to be noble!This kind of person is really useless!It's not okay to do this against someone like the Duke.If it were me, I'd find Ikhmenev a lawyer who knows everything - alas! "He said and slapped the table angrily. "Well, what's the matter with the Duke now?" "You know you're thinking of the Duke. There's nothing to say about him; I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything about him. I just want to warn you, Vanya, don't fall for the swindler. For example, don't Under his influence, who wants to get involved with him, who There is no danger.You, keep your ears open; this is what I want to say to you.You think I have some important Parisian secret to tell you.It can be seen that you are worthy of being a novelist!Well what is there to say about a scumbag ?A scumbag is a scumbag... Well, yes, for example, I can say a little thing about him, of course, no place, no city, no name, that is, not one-by-one like a calendar , two is two.you know he's still there When he was young and had to rely on the salary of a clerk, he married a wealthy businessman's daughter.Well, he wasn't very polite to the merchant's daughter, and I'm not talking about her now, but I want to point out that Vanya's old schoolmate, All his life he had speculated in such matters.Then came another chance: he went abroad, abroad..." "Wait, Masloboyev, when did you go abroad? In what year?" ① It originated from the novel "The Secret of Paris" (1842-1843) by the French writer Ou Liu Suo describing the bottom of Parisian society. "Exactly ninety-nine years and three months ago. Listen to me, sir, he abducted his daughter from a high-ranking father abroad and brought her to Paris. Very clever! The man Gao Tang seems to be a factory owner, or someone director of a company.What it is, I can't tell.You know, even if I tell you, I also speculate and imagine it based on other materials.So the Duke deceived him, and got into the company to work with him.finish him He was cheated and borrowed money from him.Regarding borrowing money, the old man naturally has an IOU at hand.The duke wanted to borrow money without repaying it, in our terms - simply called stealing.The old man had a daughter, and this daughter was a great beauty, and this great beauty She fell in love with an ideal man, Schiller's brother, poet, businessman, young visionary, in a word—a real foreigner named Fefekuchen or something. " "Is Fefekuhen his last name?" "Well, maybe it's not Feifei Kuchen. The ghost caught him. The problem is not with this person. But the Duke took advantage of this hole and tried every means to get close to this daughter, and the method was very clever. She turned out to be like a lunatic. fell in love with him just as much. duke At that time, he wanted to kill two birds with one stone: not only possessing the daughter, but also possessing the IOU to borrow the money from the old man.The keys to all the drawers of the old man are in the hands of his daughter.The old man loved his daughter so much that he would not even marry her off.this is to say Seriously.He is jealous of anyone who proposes marriage, he doesn't understand how he can break up with his daughter, and even Kuchen, the fee, was kicked out, this Englishman is really weird..." "British? Where the hell is all this happening?" "I'm just saying that he's English, for example, and you're lucky enough to catch a feather. It happened in Santa Fe de Bogota, maybe in Cracow, But most likely it happened in the Principality of Nassau⑤, Exactly like the one on the bottle of Seltzer, in Nassau; you should be satisfied, right?So, you, the duke kidnapped the girl, left the high hall, and ran away from home. At the duke's repeated request, the girl took some IOUs. Also took it with me.You know, love like this happens often, Vanya!Oh, my God, but this girl is an honest, noble person!Yes, it is likely that she does not quite understand what these documents are for.all she worries about One point: Uncle's father cursed her.Even in this matter, the Duke took care of Yuru; he gave her a formal and legal note, promising to marry her.In this way, she believed it was true, and she really thought they were just going out temporarily. Just for fun, when the old man's anger is over, they will come back to him, and then they will not only be married, but the three of them will live together forever, make a fortune together, and so on and on and on and on.After she eloped, the old man really Cursed her, and broke.Fraunmiher had no choice but to follow her to Paris, abandoning everything, not even doing business; he was really devoted to her. " ①Starting from here, based on the above reasons, Masloboyev deliberately used ridicule to confuse the public when talking about time, place, and names in his own narrative.But what he said about Danjue are all facts, not fiction. ② Schiller (1759-18①5), a great German poet and playwright.Here it means a good-hearted visionary and idealist. ③The capital of Colombia. ④The capital of Krakow Province, Poland. ⑤ A small principality of Germany, which joined the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866. "Wait! What Fraun Mihlu "That's him, isn't that what he's called! Feuerbach . What will he say? What will Baron Pomoikin say about it? What do you think?So it has to be a lie.Hmph, it's too shameless for him to lie to people.First, he almost didn't hit her, and second, he deliberately invited Fefekuchen to his house, so he often visited them, became her friend, and they were together Instead of crying, the two sat opposite each other and wept every night, lamenting their own misfortune, while he tried to comfort her: Of course, both of them have the heart of a bodhisattva.The duke deliberately set this trap: once, when he came back late, he ran into them and insisted that they were having an affair. , Finding faults without fault: Saying that he saw it with his own eyes.So they were turned out of the gate, and he himself went to London for a while.She was about to give birth; after throwing her out, she gave birth to a daughter... oh, not a daughter, a son, a fat little His son was christened Volodka.Fefekuhen became the child's godfather.So she went away with Fefekuhen.Fei Feikuhen has a small savings.She traveled all over Switzerland, Italy... Needless to say, all those poetic places she visited been.She cried a lot, and Fefekuchen wept with her, and so many years passed, and the little girl grew up.As far as the duke was concerned, everything was as he wished, save for one thing: the failure of the paper promising to marry her. Get it back from her. 'You wretch,' she said, parting from him, 'you have ruined me, ruined my reputation, and now you are deserting me, so farewell!But I will never return this receipt to you.not that i think someday Marry you, but because you are afraid of this evidence.Then let me hold this paper in my hand forever. ’ In a word, she was furious, but the duke took it easy.Generally speaking, such a mean person is best at dealing with this kind of so-called noble people. Got it.Because they are too noble, it is too easy to deceive them, and secondly, they are always lofty and noble to sneer at such things, and even if they can appeal to the law, they don't bother to use it in practice.Well, like this Mother: although she has left his papers with her, she arrogantly dismisses them, but the Duke knows that she would rather hang herself than use this paper: so he is not anxious for the time being .Although she was ruthless on his despicable face He spat harshly, but kept Volodka with him: if she died, what would happen to the child?But there was no time for that at the time.Brudershaft also encouraged her again and again, and he didn't think about it; they read Schiller in their free time. .In the end, Brudershaft wilted for some unknown reason, and died..." ① It originated from Griboyedov's comedy "Brilliant Mistakes".Khrestova is Famusov's sister-in-law, a domineering old woman. "You mean Fefekuhen?" "Isn't it, hell! And she..." "Wait! How long have they been wandering together?" "Two hundred years. Well, sir, and she came back to Cracow. Her father shut the door and cursed her, and she died, and the prince crossed himself with joy. I attended the funeral, Drank the mead, the mead ran down the beard , just not in the mouth or in the mouth, I was given a peaked hat, but I slipped into the doorway... Cheers, brother Vanya! " "Masloboyev, I suspect that's what you're doing for him now." "You must want to know this?" "I don't understand, though, what you can do in this matter!" "Do you know that she came back to Madrid after ten years of absence, and has since disappeared, and all this must be found out, what is going to happen to Brudshav, what is going to happen to the old man, is she really coming back?" yes, the little bird , is she dead, is there any paperwork, and so on, endless things.There are other things that should be inquired about.Vanya, this is a very bad fellow, beware of him.As for me Masloboyev , don't worry: he will never be a scumbag, not at all!Even if he is a scumbag (and I think there is no one who is not a scumbag), he will never hurt you.I was very drunk.But listen to me: if If one day, sooner or later, now, or next year, if you feel that I, Masloboyev, are trying to trick you about something (please don't forget the word old trick), then you will remember , I mean no harm, Masgerboyev has been monitoring your actions.So you must not be suspicious, you might as well just come and tell Masloboyev openly and honestly like a brother.OK, would you like a drink now? " "No." "How about some food?" ①It means unrealistic fantasy. ②The capital of Spain. "No, old classmate, please forgive me..." "Well, then you can go away. It's a quarter to nine, and you are too difficult to serve. Now, you should go." "What? What for? Getting drunk and driving people away! He always does that! Oh, what a shame!" cried Alexandra Semyonovna, almost crying. "A man on foot and a man on horseback won't have company! Alexandra Semyonovna, we'd better stay, talk to me, love me. He's a great general! No, Vanya, I'm talking nonsense; you're not a big general, I'm a big bad Egg!Look, what am I like now?What have I become before you?Forgive me, Vanya, please don't take offense, let me spit it out..." He tearfully hugged me.I got up to say goodbye. "Oh, my God! We've even got supper ready," said Alexandra Semyonovna, terribly sad. "Are you sure to come on Friday, then?" "Come, Alexandra Semyonovna, I promise you will." "That's the kind of man he is . Let's talk about you. I bought some of your books for me; I haven't read them yet; I'll start tomorrow.I would be so happy if you could come!I can't see anyone, and no one comes to our house.We've got everything, but we're all alone.Just now, I sat on the side, and I heard everything you said, heard everything, and it was so nice... See you on Friday, then..."