Chapter 127 Part Three - Twenty Three

"Oh, where are you staying? At the Dyukov Hotel? Oh, it's a terrible place. Come and eat with me later," said the general, sending Nekhludoff off, "afternoon Five o'clock. Do you speak English?" "Yes, I will say." "Oh, that would be great. To tell you the truth, we have an Englishman here, a traveler. He is studying Siberian exile and prison conditions. He is coming to eat with us today, so come too. We Dinner is served at five o'clock, and my wife requires strict adherence to the time. As for how to deal with the woman and the patient, I will give you an answer in the afternoon. Perhaps one person can be left to take care of him."

Nekhludoff said good-bye to the general, and he drove to the post office in a particularly excited mood. The post office was housed in a low vaulted room.Several postal workers sat behind sloped desks, distributing mail to the assembled crowd.A postman tilted his head, skillfully pulled the envelopes one by one in front of him, and kept stamping them.Nekhludoff did not wait long, and as soon as he said his name a pile of mail was delivered to him.Among them were remittances, letters, books, and the latest issue of "The Chronicle of the Fatherland."Nekhludoff took the letter and went to the wooden bench.On a bench sat a soldier with a pamphlet in his hand, waiting to receive something.Nekhludoff sat down beside him and read the letters he had received.One of them was a registered letter, in an elegant envelope, stamped with bright red sealant, clearly written.He opened the envelope and saw that the letter was written by Selenin, and there was an official document attached. Blood rushed to his face and his heart constricted.This is the official reply on the Katyusha case.What kind of reply is it?Is it a rejection?Nekhludoff glanced over the small, illegible, but vigorous letter, and heaved a sigh of relief.The approval is satisfactory.

-------- ① The academic, literary, and political comprehensive monthly magazines published in Petersburg tend to be progressive in most of their publication years. "Dear friend!" wrote Selenin. "I was very impressed by your last conversation with me. You were right about the Maslova case. I have looked into the case carefully and found that she was wronged and wronged. This matter can only be rectified by the Board of Appeal to which you filed your pleadings. I assisted them in deciding the case, and I am enclosing a copy of the commutation letter, addressed to me by Countess Ekaterina Ivanovna Yes. The original official document has been sent to the prison where she was tried, and will be transferred to the Siberian General Administration. I haveten to tell you the good news. A friendly shake of your hand. Your Selenin."

The content of the official document is as follows: "His Majesty the Emperor accepts the appeal to the Imperial Court Office. The case is filed by XX, and the case file is XX. A certain department, a certain year, a certain month, and a certain day. By the order of the Director of the Emperor’s Majesty’s acceptance of the appeal, hereby We hereby inform the petty citizen Ekaterina Maslova that His Majesty the Emperor has read Maslova's imperial certificate, sympathized with the situation, and granted the request to change the prisoner's sentence to hard labor into exile and execute it closer to Siberia. .”

This is great news.Everything that Nekhludoff had hoped to do for Katyusha and himself had now come true.True, her position had changed, and his relationship with her had become complicated.She was a convict in hard labor before, and his proposal to marry her was only a formality, at most improving her situation slightly.Now nothing prevents them from living together.But Nekhludoff was not yet ready for this.Besides, what about her relationship with Simonson?What did she mean by what she said yesterday?Would it be a good thing or a bad thing if she agreed to marry Simonsson?He couldn't figure out these questions, so he simply didn't think about them. "It will all be clear later," he thought, "now we must hurry to meet her, tell her the good news, and set her free." He thought the copy in his hand would suffice for that.He walked out of the post office and told the coachman to take him to prison.

Although the general did not grant permission for a morning visit, Nekhludoff knew from experience that what is absolutely impossible with a superior officer can be easily done with a subordinate officer, so he decided to go to the prison first and tell Kaka the good news. Tyusha might be able to release her, and at the same time inquire about Kryltzov's health and tell him and Sekinina what the general said. The warden was tall and imposing, with a mustache and a beard that grew to the corners of his mouth.He received Nekhludoff severely, and declared frankly that he could not allow anyone to visit the prison without the permission of the superior.Nekhludoff said that he often visited prisons in the capital.The warden listened and replied:

"It's very possible, but I can't allow it." When he said this, the tone seemed to say: "You lords from the capital must think that you can scare us and make us helpless, but we live in the east. Siberia also knows how to strictly abide by the law, and will give you some color." Copies of official documents issued by His Majesty's Office are also ineffective against the warden.He categorically refused to send Nekhludoff to prison.Nekhludoff naively thought that Maslova would be released on the spot as soon as he produced a copy of the official document, but the superintendent only smiled contemptuously and declared that his immediate superior had to order any prisoner to be released.The only thing he could promise was that he would inform Maslova that her sentence had been commuted and that she would be released without delay, as soon as the higher authorities gave her permission.

He also refused to provide any information on Kryltzov's health.He said he didn't even know if there was such a prisoner.Nekhludoff found nothing, and had to go back to the hotel in a carriage. The main reason why the warden is so strict is that the prison accommodates twice as many prisoners as usual, is extremely overcrowded, and typhoid fever is epidemic.Nekhludoff's coachman told him on the way: "People are dying in the prison. There is a plague there. Twenty people are buried every day."