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Chapter four, An Unpleasant Predicament,
Part two. His star carried him away.

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He walked confidently in at the open
gate, and contemptuously thrust aside with

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his foot the shaggy husky little sheep
dog who flew at his legs with a

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horse bark, more as a matter
of form than with any real intention.

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Along a wooden plank, he went
to the covered porch, which led like

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a sentry box to the yard,
and by three decaying wooden steps, he

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went up to the tiny entry.
Here. Though a tallow candle or something

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in the way of a night light
was burning somewhere in a corner, it

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did not prevent ivan Ilietch from putting
his left foot, just as it was

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in its golosh, into a gallantine
which had been stood out there to cool.

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Ivan Iliatch bent down, and looking
with curiosity, he saw that there

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were two other dishes of some sort
of jelly, and also two shapes apparently

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of blomnge. The squashed gallantine embarrassed
him, and for one brief instant the

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thought flashed through his mind whether he
should not slink away at once, But

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he considered this too low, reflecting
that no one would have seen him and

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that they would never think he had
done it. He hurriedly wiped his galosh

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to conceal all traces, fumbled for
the felt covered door, opened it,

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and found himself in a very little
ante room. Half of it was literally

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piled up with greatcoats, wadded jackets, cloaks, capes, scarves and galoshes.

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In the other half, the musicians
had been installed two violins, a

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flute and a double bass, a
band of four picked up of course in

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the street. They were sitting at
an unpainted wooden table, lighted by a

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single tallow candle, and with the
utmost figure, were sawing at the last

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figure of the quadrille. From the
open door into the drawing room, one

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could see the dancers. In the
midst of dust, tobacco, smoke and

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fumes. There was a frenzy of
gaiety. There were sounds of laughter,

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shouts and shrieks from the ladies.
The gentlemen stamped like a squadron of horses.

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Above all the bedlam. There rang
out words of command from the leader

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of the dance, probably an extremely
free and easy and even unbuttoned gentlemen.

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Gentlemen, advanced ladies, chain set
to partners and so on and so on.

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Ivan Iliatch, in some excitement,
cast off his coat and galoshes,

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and with his cap in his hand, went into the room. He was

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no longer reflecting. However, for
the first minute nobody noticed him. All

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were absorbed in dancing the quadrille to
the end. Ivan Iliatch stood as though

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entranced, and could make out nothing
definite. In the chaos. He caught

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glimpses of lady these dresses, of
gentlemen with cigarettes between their teeth. He

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caught a glimpse of a lady's pale
blue scarf, which flicked him on the

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nose after the wearer. A medical
student with his hair blown in all directions

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on his head, pranced by in
wild delight and jostled violently against him.

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On the way. He caught a
glimpse, too, of an officer of

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some description who looked half a mile
high. Someone in an unnaturally shrill voice

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shouted, oh, Shaldonimov. As
the speaker flew by stamping. It was

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sticky under ivan Iliatch's feet. Evidently
the floor had been waxed in the room,

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which was a very small one.
There were about thirty people. But

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a minute later the quadrille was over, and almost at once the very thing

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ivan Iliatch had pictured when he was
dreaming on the pavement took place. A

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stifled murmur, a strange whisper passed
over. The whole company, including the

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dancers, who had not yet had
time to take breath and wipe their perspiring

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faces. All eyes, all faces, began quickly turning towards the newly arrived

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guest. Then they all seemed to
draw back a little and beat a retreat.

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Those who had not noticed him were
pulled by their coats or dresses and

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informed. They looked round and at
once beat a retreat with the others.

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Ivanilitch was still standing at the door, without moving a step forward, and

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between him and the company there stretched
an ever widening empty space of floor,

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strewn with countless sweetmeat wrappings, bits
of paper, and cigarette hands. All

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at once a young man in a
uniform with a shock of flaxen hair and

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a hooked nose stepped timidly out into
that empty space. He moved forward,

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hunched up, and looked at the
unexpected visitor, exactly with the expression with

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which a dog looks at its master
when the latter has called him up and

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is going to kick him. Good
evening, Seldonimov, do you know me?

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Said ivan Ilyitch, and felt at
the same minute that he had said

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this very awkwardly. He felt,
too, that he was perhaps doing something

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horribly stupid at that moment, your
excellency, muttered Seldonimov. To be sure,

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I have called in to see you
quite by chance, my friend,

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as you can probably imagine. But
evidently Seldonimov could imagine nothing. He stood

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with staring eyes in the utmost perplexity. You won't turn me out, I

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suppose, Pleased or not, you
must make a visitor welcome. Ivan Ilyitch

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went on, feeling that he was
confused to a point of unseemly feebleness,

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that he was trying to smile and
was utterly unable. That the humorous reference

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to Stepan Nikaphorovitch and Tryfon was becoming
more and more impossible. But as ill

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luck would have it, Seldonimov did
not recover from his stupefaction, and still

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gazed at him with a perfectly idiotic
air. Ivan Ilyitch winced he felt that

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in another minute something incredibly foolish would
happen. I am not in the way,

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am I I'll go away, he
faintly articulated, and there was a

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tremor at the right corner of his
mouth, But Seldonimov had recovered himself.

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Good heavens, your excellency the honor, he muttered, bowing hurriedly graciously,

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sit down, your excellency, and
recovering himself still further. He motioned him

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with both hands to a sofa,
before which a table had been moved away

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to make room for the dancing ivan
Ilyitch felt relieved and sank on the sofa.

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At once some one flew to move
the table up to him. He

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took a cursory look round and saw
that he was the only person sitting down.

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All the others were standing, even
the ladies. A bad sign,

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but it was not yet time to
reassure and encourage them. The company still

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held back, while before him,
bending double, stood Zeldonimov utterly alone,

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still completely at a loss, and
very far from smiling. It was horrid.

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In short, our hero endured such
misery at that moment that his Haroon

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al Rashid like descent upon his subordinates
for the sake of principle might well have

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been reckoned an heroic action. But
suddenly a little figure made its appearance beside

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Seldonimov and began bowing to his inexpressible
pleasure and even happiness. Ivan Iliitch at

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once recognized him as the head clerk
of his office, Akim Petrovitch Zubikov,

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and though of course he was not
acquainted with him, he knew him to

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be a businesslike and exemplary clerk.
He got up at once and held out

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his hand to Akim Petrovitch, his
whole hand, not two fingers. The

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latter took it in both of his
with the deepest respect. The general was

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triumphant. The situation was saved,
and now, indeed Sseldonimov was no longer

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so to say, the second person, but the third. It was possible

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to address his remarks to the head
clerk in his necessity, taking him for

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an acquaintance and even an intimate one. And Cheldonimov meanwhile could only be silent

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and be in a tremor of reverence, so that the proprieties were observed and

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some explanation was essential. Ivan Eliotch
felt that he saw that all the guests

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were expecting something. That the whole
household was gathered together in the doorway,

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almost creeping climbing over one another in
their anxiety to see and hear him.

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What was horrid was that the head
clerk, in his foolishness, remained standing,

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Why are you standing, said Ivan
Iliatch, awkwardly motioning him to a

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seat on the sofa beside him.
Oh, don't trouble now, sit here,

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And Akim Petrovitch hurriedly sat down on
a chair, almost as it was

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being put for him by Zeldanimov,
who remained obstinately standing. Can you imagine

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what happened? Addressing himself exclusively to
Akim Petrovitch in a rather quavering, though

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free and easy voice, he even
drawled out his words with special emphasis on

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some syllables, pronounced the vowel ah
like air in short felt and was conscious

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that he was being affected, but
could not control himself. Some external force

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was at work. He was painfully
conscious of many things at that moment.

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Can you imagine? I have only
just come from Stepan Nikaforovitch, Nikoforov's.

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You have heard of him, perhaps
the Privy councilor you know, on that

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special committee. Akim Petrovitch spent his
whole person forward respectfully, as much as

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to say, of course, we
have heard of him. He is your

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neighbor. Now ivan Iliotch went on
for one instant for the sake of ease

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and good manners, addressing Seldonimov,
but he quickly turned away again on seeing

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from the latter's eyes that it made
absolutely no difference to him. The old

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fellow, as you know, has
been dreaming all his life of buying himself

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a house. Well, and he
has bought it, and a very pretty

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house too, Yes, and today
was his birthday, and he had never

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celebrated it before. He used even
to keep it secret from us. He

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was too stingy to keep it,
eh. But now he is so delighted

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over his new house that he invited
Semyon, Ivanovitch, Shipulenko and me.

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You know, Akim Petrovitch bent forward
again, He bent forward zealously. Ivanivitch

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felt somewhat comforted it had struck him. Indeed, that the head clerk possibly

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was guessing that he was an indispensable
point d'a puis for his excellency at that

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moment, that would have been more
horrid than anything. So we sat together,

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the three of us. He gave
us champagne. We talked about problems,

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even disputed. Eh. Akim Petrovitch
raised his eyebrows respectfully. Only that

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is not the point when I take
leave of him at last. He is

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a punctual old fellow, goes to
bed early, you know, in his

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old age. I go out.
My Trifon is nowhere to be seen.

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I am anxious. I make inquiries. What has Trifon done with the carriage?

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It comes out that, hoping I
should stay on, he had gone

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off to the wedding of some friend
of his or sister maybe goodness only knows,

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somewhere here on the Petersburg side,
and took the carriage with him.

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While he was about it Again,
for the sake of good manners, the

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General glanced in the direction of Seldonimov. The latter promptly gave a wriggle,

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but not at all the sort of
wriggle the General would have liked. He

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has no sympathy, no heart flashed
through his brain. You don't say so,

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said Akim Petrovitch, greatly impressed.
A faint murmur of surprise ran through

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all the crowd. Can you fancy
my position? Ivan Iliitch glanced at them

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all. There was nothing for it. I set off on foot. I

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thought I would trudge to the great
prospect and there find some cabby e e

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he eh. Akim Petrovitch echoed again. A murmur, but this time on

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a more cheerful note, passed through
the crowd. At that moment, the

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chimney of a lamp on the wall
broke with a crash. Some one rushed

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zealously to see to it. Seldonimov
started and looked sternly at the lamp,

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but the general took no notice of
it, and all was serene again.

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I walked, and the night was
so lovely, so still. All at

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once I heard a band stamping dancing. I inquired of a policeman, it

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is Seldonimov's wedding. Why you are
giving a ball to all Petersburg's side,

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my friend? Ah. He turned
to Seldonimov again, ha ha ha,

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to be sure. Akim Petrovitch responded, There was a stir among the guests

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again. But what was most foolish
was that Seldonimov, though he bowed,

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did not even now smile, but
seemed as though he were made of wood.

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Is he a fool? Or what
thought Ivan ill it? He ought

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to have smiled At that point,
the ass and everything would have run easily.

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There was a fury of impatience in
his heart. I thought I would

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go in to see my clerk.
He won't turn me out. I expect

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pleased or not, one must welcome
a guest. You must please excuse me,

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my dear fellow. If I am
in the way, I will go.

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I only came in to have a
look. But little by little a

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general stir was beginning. Akim Petrovitch
looked at him with a mawkishly sweet expression,

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as though to say, how could
your excellency be in the way.

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All the guests stirred and began to
display the first symptoms of being at their

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ease. Almost all the ladies sat
down, a good sign and a reassuring

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one. The boldest spirits among them
fanned themselves with their handkerchiefs. One of

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them, in a shabby velvet dress, said something with intentional loudness. The

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officer addressed by her would have light
to answer her as loudly, but seeing

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that they were the only one speaking
aloud, he subsided. The men.

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For the most part, government clerks, with two or three students among them,

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looked at one another as though egging
each other on to unbend, cleared

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their throats and began to move a
few steps in different directions. No one,

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however, was particularly timid, but
they were all restive, and almost

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all of them looked with a hostile
expression at the personage who had burst in

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upon them to destroy their gayety.
The officer ashmed his cowardice began to edge

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up to the table. But I
say, my friend, allow me to

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ask you your name, ivan Iliech, asked Seldanimov. Porfiry Petrovitch, Your

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excellency, answered the latter, with
staring eyes, as though on parade.

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Introduce me, Porfiry Petrovitch to your
bride. Take me to her I and

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he showed signs of a desire to
get up, but Sseldonimov ran full speed

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to the drawing room. The bride, however, was standing close by at

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the door, but as soon as
she heard herself mentioned, she hid.

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A minute later, Seldonimov led her
up by the hand. The guests all

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moved aside to make way for them. Ivaniliitch got up solemnly and dressed himself

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to her with a most affable smile. Very very much pleased to make your

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acquaintance, he pronounced, with a
most aristocratic half bow, especially on such

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a day. He gave a meaning
smile. There was an agreeable flutter among

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the ladies. Charmais the lady in
the velvet dress, pronounced almost aloud.

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The bride was a match for Sildonimov. She was a thin little lady,

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not more than seventeen, pale,
with a very small face and a sharp

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little nose. Her quick, active
little eyes were not at all embarrassed.

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On the contrary, they looked at
him steadily and even with a shade of

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resentment. Evidently Seldonimov was marrying her
for her beauty. She was dressed in

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a white muslin dress over a pink
slip. Her neck was thin, but

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she had a figure like a chicken's, with the bones all sticking out.

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She was not equal to making any
response to the general's affability. But she

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is very pretty. He went on
in an undertone, as though addressing Seldonimov

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only, though intentionally speaking so that
the bride could hear. But on this

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occasion too, Seldonimov again answered absolutely
nothing and did not even wriggle. Ivan

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iliatch fancied that there was something cold
suppressed in his eyes, as though he

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had something peculiarly malignant in his mind, And yet he had at all costs

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to wring some sensibility out of him. Why that was the object of his

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coming. They are a couple,
though, he thought, and he turned

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again to the bride, who had
seated herself beside him on the sofa.

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But in answer to his two or
three questions, he got nothing but yes

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or no, and hardly that.
If only she had been overcome with confusion,

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he thought to himself, then I
should have begun to banter her.

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But as it is, my position
is impossible, and as ill luck would

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have it. Akim Petrovitch too was
mute, though this was only due to

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his foolishness, it was still unpardonable. My friends, haven't I perhaps interfered

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with your enjoyment? He said,
addressing the home company. He felt that

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the very palms of his hands were
perspiring. No, don't trouble your excellency.

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We are beginning directly, but now
we are getting cool, answered the

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officer. The bride looked at him
with pleasure. The officer was not old,

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and wore the uniform of some branch
of the service. Seldonimov was still

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standing in the same place, bending
forward, and it seemed as though his

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hooked nose stood out further than ever. He looked and listened like a footman

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standing with the greatcoat on his arm, waiting for the end of his master's

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farewell conversation. Ivan Iliotch made this
comparison himself. He was losing his head.

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He felt that he was in an
awkward position, that the ground was

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giving way under his feet, that
he had got in somewhere and could not

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find his way out, as though
he were in the dark. Suddenly,

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the guests all moved aside, and
a short, thick set, middle aged

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woman made her appearance, dressed plainly, though she was in her best,

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with a big shawl on her shoulders
pinned at her throat, and on her

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head a cap to which she was
evidently unaccustomed. In her hands she carried

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a small round tray, on which
stood a full but uncorked bottle of champagne

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and two glasses, neither more nor
less. Evidently the bottle was intended for

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only two guests. The middle aged
lady approached the General. Don't look down

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on us, your excellency, she
said, bowing, Since you have deigned

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to do my son the honor of
coming to his wedding, we beg you

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graciously to drink to the health of
the young people, do not disdain us,

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do us the honor. Ivan Iliotch
clutched at her as though she were

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his salvation. She was by no
means an old woman, forty five or

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forty six, not more. But
she had such a good natured rosy cheeked,

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such a round and candid Russian face. She smiled so good humoredly,

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bowed so simply that ivan Iliotch was
almost comforted and began to hope again.

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So you are the mother of your
son, he said, getting up from

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the sofa, Yes, my mother, Your excellency mumbled Seldonimov, craning his

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long neck and thrusting forward his long
nose again. Ah, I am delighted,

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delighted to make your acquaintance. Do
not refuse us, your excellency,

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00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:47.400
with the greatest pleasure. The tray
was put down, Seldonimov dashed forward to

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pour out the wine. Ivan Ilyitch, still standing, took the glass.

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I am particularly particularly glad on this
occasion that I can, he began,

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that I can testify before all of
you in short, as your chief,

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I wish you, madam, he
turned to the bride, and you,

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friend Porfiry, I wish you the
fullest completest happiness for many long years,

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and he positively drained the glass with
feeling. The seventh he had drunk that

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evening. Seldonimov looked at him gravely
and even sullenly. The general was beginning

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to feel an agonizing hatred of him
and that scarecrow. He looked at the

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officer keep subtruding himself. He might
at least have shouted Hurrah, and it

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would have gone off. It would
have gone off, And you too,

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Akim Petrovitch, drank a glass to
their health, added the mother, addressing

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the head clerk. You are his
superior. He is under you. Look

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after my boy. I beg you
as a mother, and don't forget us

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in the future, Our good kind
friend, Akim Petrovitch. How nice these

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old Russian women are, thought ivan
ilyiittch. She has livened us all up.

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I have always loved the democracy.
At that moment, another tray was

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brought to the table. It was
brought in by a maid wearing a crackling

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cotton dress that had never been washed
and a krinoline. She could hardly grasp

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the tray in both hands it was
so big. On it there were numbers

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of plates of apples, sweets,
fruit meringues, and fruit cheeses, walnuts,

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and so on and so on.
The tray had been till then in

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the drawing room for the delectation of
all the guests, and especially the ladies,

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But now it was brought to the
general alone. Do not disdain our

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humble fare, your excellency. What
we have we are pleased to offer,

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the old lady repeated, bowing.
Delighted, said ivan Iliatch, and with

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00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:03.960
real pleasure, took a walnut and
cracked it between his fingers. He had

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made up his mind to win popularity
at all costs. Meantime, the bride

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suddenly giggled. What is it,
asked ivan Iliotch with a smile. Encouraged

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by this sign of life, yvon
Klastenkinitch here makes me laugh, she answered,

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looking down the General distinguished indeed a
flaxen headed young man exceedingly good looking,

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who was sitting on a chair at
the other end of the sofa,

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whispering something to Madame Sseldonimov. The
young man stood up. He was apparently

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very young and very shy. I
was telling the lady about a dream book,

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your excellency, he muttered, as
though apologizing about what sort of dream

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book, asked Ivan Iliotch condescendingly.
There is a new dream book, a

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literary one, telling the lady that
to dream of mister Panayev means spilling coffee

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on one's shirt front. What innocence, thought Ivan Ilyitch, with positive anniance.

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Though the young man flushed very red
as he said it, he was

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00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:21.720
incredibly delighted that he had said this
about mister Panayev. To be sure I

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00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:26.160
have heard of it, responded his
excellency. No, there is something better

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00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:30.079
than that, said a voice quite
close to Ivan Ilyitch. There is a

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00:25:30.119 --> 00:25:36.599
new encyclopedia being published, and they
say mister Kreevsky will write articles and satirical

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00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:41.319
literature. This was said by a
young man who was by no means embarrassed,

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00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:47.319
but rather free and easy. He
was wearing gloves and a white waistcoat

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and carried a hat in his hand. He did not dance and looked condescending,

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for he was on the staff of
a satirical paper called The Firebrand,

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and gave himself airs Accordingly. He
had come casually to the wedding, invited

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as an honored guest of the Pseldonimovs, with whom he was on intimate terms,

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and with whom only a year before
he had lived in very poor lodgings

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kept by a German woman. He
drank vodka, however, and for that

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00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:21.240
purpose had more than once withdrawn to
a snug little back room, to which

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all the guests knew their way.
The General disliked him extremely, and the

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reason that's funny broke in joyfully the
flaxen headed young man who had talked of

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00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:36.119
the shirt front, and at whom
the young man on the comic paper looked

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00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:40.599
with hatred. In consequence, it's
funny, your excellency, because it is

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00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:44.920
supposed by the writer that mister Kreyevsky
does not know how to spell, and

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00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:48.559
thinks that satirical ought to be written
with a Y instead of an I.

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00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:55.599
But the poor young man scarcely finished
his sentence. He could see from his

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00:26:55.680 --> 00:27:00.440
eyes that the General knew all this
long ago, For the General himself looked

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00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:06.960
embarrassed, and evidently because he knew
it, the young man seemed inconceivably ashamed.

307
00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:12.319
He succeeded in effacing himself completely and
remained very melancholy all the rest of

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00:27:12.359 --> 00:27:17.519
the evening. But to make up
for that, the young man on the

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00:27:17.559 --> 00:27:22.839
staff of the Firebrand came up nearer
and seemed to be intending to sit down

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somewhere close by. Such free and
easy manners struck Ivan ilyotch As rather shocking.

311
00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:32.680
Tell me, please, Porfyri.
He began, in order to say

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something. Why I have always wanted
to ask you about it in person?

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Why you are called Seldonimov instead of
Pseudonimov. Your name surely must be Pseudonimov.

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I cannot inform you exactly, Your
excellency, said Seldonumov. It must

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00:27:49.880 --> 00:27:53.000
have been that when his father went
into the service, they made a mistake

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00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:59.400
in his papers, so that he
has remained now Seldonumov put in Akim Petrovitch,

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00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:04.920
that does happen, undoubtedly, the
general said with warmth. Undoubtedly,

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for only think Pseudonimov comes from the
literary word pseudonym, while Seldonimov means nothing

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00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:21.039
due to foolishness, added Akim Petrovitch, you mean what is due to foolishness.

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The Russian common people, in their
foolishness, often alter letters and sometimes

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00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:30.799
pronounce them in their own way.
For instance, they say nevalid instead of

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00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:37.400
invalid. Oh yes, nevalid,
mumber too they say, your excellency boomed

323
00:28:37.400 --> 00:28:42.160
out the tall officer, who had
long been itching to distinguish himself in some

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00:28:42.279 --> 00:28:48.279
way. What do you mean by
mumber, mumber instead of number, your

325
00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:52.880
excellency, Oh, yes, mumber
instead of number. To be sure.

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00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:57.119
To be sure, ivan Iliotch had
to do a chuckle for the benefit of

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00:28:57.119 --> 00:29:03.759
the officer too. The author Sir
straightened his tie. Another thing they say

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00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:07.119
is ny by the young man on
the comic paper put in. But his

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00:29:07.240 --> 00:29:14.000
excellency tried not to hear this.
His chuckles were not at everybody's disposal.

330
00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:19.519
Nye by instead of near the young
man on the comic paper persisted in evident

331
00:29:19.599 --> 00:29:27.839
irritation. Ivan Ilyitch looked at him
sternly. Come why persist? Seldonimov whispered

332
00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:33.160
to him, Why I was talking? Mayn't one speak? The latter protested

333
00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:37.079
in a whisper, But he said
no more, and with secret fury,

334
00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:41.839
walked out of the room. He
made his way straight to the attractive little

335
00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:47.480
back room, where for the benefit
of the dancing gentleman, vodka of two

336
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:52.519
sorts salt fish caviare into slices,
and a bottle of very strong sherry of

337
00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:57.480
Russian make had been set early in
the evening on the little table covered with

338
00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:03.880
the Yaroslav cloth. With anger in
his heart, he was pouring himself out

339
00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:07.680
a glass of vodka, when suddenly
the medical student with the disheveled locks,

340
00:30:08.039 --> 00:30:14.279
the foremost dancer and cutter of capers
at Seldanumov's ball, rushed in. He

341
00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:18.599
fell on the decanter with greedy haste. They are just going to begin,

342
00:30:18.839 --> 00:30:22.240
he said, rapidly, helping himself. Come and look, I am going

343
00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:26.039
to dance a solo on my head
after supper. I shall risk the fish

344
00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:29.519
dance. It is just the thing
for the wedding, so to speak.

345
00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:34.519
A friendly hint to Seldanumov. She's
a jolly creature, that Cleopatra Semyonovna.

346
00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:40.920
You can venture on anything you like
with her. He's a reactionary, said

347
00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:45.400
the young man on the comic paper
gloomily, as he tossed off his vodka.

348
00:30:45.559 --> 00:30:49.519
Who is a reactionary? Why the
personage before whom they set those sweetmeats?

349
00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:55.559
He's a reactionary, I tell you
what. Nonsense, muttered the student,

350
00:30:55.759 --> 00:30:57.640
and he rushed out of the room, hearing the opening bars of the

351
00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:03.680
quadrille. Left alone, the young
man on the comic paper poured himself out

352
00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:10.160
another glass to give himself more assurance
and independence. He drank and ate a

353
00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:15.400
snack of something, and never had
the actual civil counselor. Ivan Iliatch made

354
00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:21.799
for himself a bitterer foe, more
implacably bent on revenge than was the young

355
00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:26.279
man on the staff of the Firebrand
whom he had so slighted, especially after

356
00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:33.640
the latter had drunk two glasses of
vodka. Alas ivan Iliatch suspected nothing of

357
00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:38.519
the sort. He did not suspect
another circumstance of prime importance, either,

358
00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:45.200
which had an influence on the mutual
relations of the guests and his excellency.

359
00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:49.559
The fact was that though he had
given a proper and even detailed explanation of

360
00:31:49.559 --> 00:31:56.720
his presence at his clerk's wedding,
this explanation did not really satisfy any one,

361
00:31:56.079 --> 00:32:02.119
and the visitors were still embarrassed.
But suddenly everything was transformed, as

362
00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:07.680
though by magic, all were reassured
and ready to enjoy themselves, to laugh,

363
00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:13.680
to shriek, to dance, exactly
as though the unexpected visitor were not

364
00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:17.920
in the room. The cause of
it was a rumor, a whisper,

365
00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:24.279
a report which spread in some unknown
way that the visitor was not quite it

366
00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:30.480
seemed, was in fact a little
top heavy. And though this seemed at

367
00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:37.119
first a horrible calumny, it began
by degrees to appear to be justified.

368
00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:44.200
Suddenly everything became clear. What was
more, they felt all at once extraordinarily

369
00:32:44.359 --> 00:32:47.759
free. And it was just at
this moment that the quadrille for which the

370
00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:54.160
medical student was in such haste the
last before supper began, And just as

371
00:32:54.200 --> 00:32:59.799
ivan Iliotch meant to address the bride
again, intending to provoke her with some

372
00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:05.240
innuendo, the tall officer suddenly dashed
up to her and with a flourish dropped

373
00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:09.599
on one knee before her. She
immediately jumped up from the sofa and whisked

374
00:33:09.720 --> 00:33:15.240
off with him to take her place
in the quadrille. The officer did not

375
00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:20.079
even apologize, and she did not
even glance at the general as she went

376
00:33:20.079 --> 00:33:24.480
away. She seemed, in fact
relieved to escape. After all, she

377
00:33:24.599 --> 00:33:30.039
has a right to be thought ivan
Ilyitch. And of course they don't know

378
00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:35.480
how to behave hum don't you stand
on ceremony, friend, Porphyry, he

379
00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:42.319
said, addressing Seldonimov, Perhaps you
have arrangements to make or something. Please

380
00:33:42.359 --> 00:33:46.640
don't put yourself out. Why does
he keep guard over me? He thought

381
00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:53.079
to himself. Seldonimov, with his
long neck and his eyes fixed intently upon

382
00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:59.839
him, began to be insufferable.
In fact, all this was not the

383
00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:05.319
thing, not the thing at all, but ivan Ilyitch was still far from

384
00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:08.840
admitting this. End of chapter four