Page:Dead Souls - A Poem by Nikolay Gogol - vol2.djvu/230

220 what I've come to. I'm behaving like a pig, a regular pig!'

He heaved a deep sigh, and apparently thinking that he would not get much sympathy from Konstantin Fyodorovitch, and that his heart was rather hard, took Platonov's arm and went on ahead with him, pressing closely up to him. Skudronzhoglo and Tchitchikov remained behind and followed them at some distance, arm in arm.

'It's hard, Platon Mihailovitch, it is hard,' said Hlobuev to Platonov. 'You can't imagine how hard it is! No money, no bread, no boots! I should snap my fingers at all that if I were young and alone. But when all these hardships come upon one in old age and with a wife and five children at one's side, one is distressed, one can't help being distressed. …'

Platonov felt sorry for him. 'Well, if you sell the estate won't that set you right?' he asked.

'Set me right indeed,' said Hlobuev, with a gesture of despair. 'It will all go to pay pressing debts, and I shan't have a single thousand left for myself.'

'Well, what will you do then?'

'God knows,' said Hlobuev, shrugging his shoulders.

Platonov was amazed. 'How is it you are not taking steps to extricate yourself from such a position?'

'What steps could I take?'