Page:Dead Souls - A Poem by Nikolay Gogol - vol2.djvu/276

266 'And shall I say to that, Pyotr Petrovitch, that in two years' time you'll be in bondage to debt again as though you were in cords?'

Hlobuev did not speak for a while, then he began hesitatingly:

'Well, after such experiences, though …'

'What's the use of arguing about it!' said Murazov. 'You are a man with a good heart: if a friend comes to you and asks for a loan—you'll give it him; if you see a poor man you will want to help him; if a pleasant guest visits you, you will want to entertain him handsomely, and you will give way to your first impulse of kindness, and will forget your prudence! And last of all, allow me to tell you in all sincerity that you are not capable of bringing up your children. Only the father who has not failed in his own duty can educate his children. And your wife too … She has a good heart too, but she has not had at all the right education for bringing up children. I even doubt—pardon me, Pyotr Petrovitch—whether it will not be bad for your children to be with you!'

Hlobuev pondered; he began mentally looking at himself from every point of view, and felt that Murazov was to some extent right.

'Do you know what, Pyotr Petrovitch; put all that, the care of your children and your affairs into my hands. Leave your wife and your children, I will take care of them. Your circumstances are such, you know, that you are really in my hands; if things go on like this you'll starve.