Page:Dead Souls - A Poem by Nikolay Gogol - vol2.djvu/149

Rh 'What do you mean by action, it's not an action at all,' said Tchitchikov.

'What a strange fellow this Tchitchikov is!' thought Tyentyetnikov to himself.

'What a strange fellow this Tyentyetnikov is!' thought Tchitchikov to himself.

'It's not behaviour, Andrey Ivanovitch. It's simply a habit with generals: they say thou to everybody. Besides, why not allow it in an honourable and distinguished man?'

'That's a different matter,' said Tyentyetnikov. 'If he were a poor old man, not proud and stuck-up, not a general, I would allow him to call me thou, and even accept it with respect.'

'He's a perfect idiot,' thought Tchitchikov to himself. 'He would allow some ragged fellow but not a general!' and upon this reflection he retorted aloud: 'Very good, let us suppose he did insult you, but you were quits with him anyway, you insulted him and he insulted you. But to part for ever on account of a trifle, upon my word, it is beyond everything. How could you give things up when they were only just beginning? Once you have set an object before you you must persist in spite of all obstacles. What's the use of minding whether a man's insulting! people are all insulting. You won't find any one in the world nowadays that isn't insulting.'

Tyentyetnikov was completely nonplussed by this observation. He was disconcerted, he looked into Pavel Ivanovitch's face and