'That's not so bad and not good!' he said as he finished it. However others have begun worse than that; you can try a little, write, work at it if you have the inclination; possibly talent may show itself; then it will be a different matter.'
Alexandr was very downcast. He had expected a very different criticism. He was a little consoled by reflecting that his uncle was a cold man almost'destitute of soul.
' Here is a translation from Schiller/ 1 he said.
' Well; I will look at it. Have you learnt foreign languages too then ? '
' I know French, German, and a little English.'
' I congratulate you, you should have told me so before; there's a good deal to be made of you. You talked to me long ago about political economy, philosophy, archaeology, God knows what all. But of the most important thing not a word—misplaced modesty. I will get you some literary work at once.'
' Really, uncle ? how good you are!—allow me to embrace you.'
' Wait till I have got it for you.'
44 Will you not show any of my compositions to my future chief to give him an idea of me?'
' No, it is not necessary: if there is any need, you show it yourself, but perhaps it will not be needed. Do you make I me a present of your dissertations and compositions ? '
' Make you a present of them ?—by all means, uncle,' said Alexandr, who was rather flattered by this request on the part of his uncle. ' Would you not like me to make you an index of all the articles in chronological order ? '
'No, there's no need of that .. . Thanks for the present. Yevsay! take these papers to Vassily.'
' Why to Vassily ? surely to your study.'
' He asked me for some paper to paste on something. ,,
'What, uncle?' cried Alexandr in horror, clutching the heap back again.
44 You gave them to me you know, and what does it matter to you what use I make of your present ? '
44 You are quite ruthless !' he groaned in despair, clasping his manuscripts in both hands to his heart.
44 Alexandr, listen to me,' said his uncle, taking the manuscript from him:— 44 you will not have to blush hereafter and you will thank me for it'
Alexandr let the manuscripts drop out of his hands.
44 There, take them away, Yevsay,' said Piotr Ivanitch. 44 Well now your room is tidy and nice, there is no rubbish lying about; it will depend on you whether it is filled with worthless litter or with something sensible. Let us go to the factory for a walk, to get a breath of fresh air and to see how they are working.'
One morning Piotr Ivanitch took his nephew to the office of the department, and while he himself was talking to his friend the chief of the department, Alexandr began to make acquaintance with this new world. He was absorbed in dreaming of schemes and was cudgelling his brains to think what political question would be put for him to solve, and meanwhile he stood and looked about.
44 Exactly like my uncle's factory!' he decided at last: 44 Just as there one overseer takes a piece of the soft stuff, throws it into a machine, turns it once, twice, three times— and lo and behold it comes out a cone, an oval, or a semicircle ; then he passes it to another, who bakes it in the fire, a third gilds it, a fourth engraves it and it comes out a cup,
or a vase, or a saucer. And here; a casual petitioner comes in, almost crawling, and with a pitiful smile hands in a paper —an overseer takes it, only just runs his pen across it, and hands it to another, who throws it into a mass of thousands of other papers—but it is not lost; stamped with a number it passes unharmed through twenty hands, multiplying and begetting more of its own kind. At last when it is covered with the dust of ages, they disturb it and deliberate over it And every day, every hour, to-day, to-morrow and for all time the bureaucratic machine works smoothly, without hitch or pause, as though not made of men, but as though it were made of wheels and springs. But where is the intelligence animating and moving this edifice of papers ? ' thought Alexandr: ' in the books, in the papers themselves or in the heads of these men ? '
And what faces he saw here; such faces seem not to be met in the street walking in the light of heaven: here one fancies they were born, and reared to manhood in their places and here they will die. Adouev looked attentively at the chief of the department; like Jupiter the Thunderer, he opens his mouth—and a Mercury runs up with a copper number on his breast; he holds out his hand with some paper; ten hands are stretched out to take it
' Ivan Ivanitch! ' said he.
Ivan Ivanitch jumped up from a table, ran up to Jupiter and was beside him in the twinkling of an eye. - And Alexandr felt overawed, though he could not himself have said why.
' Give me my snuff-box!'
With both hands he held the open snuff-box to him in a servile manner.
' Now examine him 1' said the chief pointing to Adouev.
11 So this is who is to examine me!' thought Adouev, looking at the yellow face and threadbare elbows of Ivan Ivanitch. 'Is it possible that this man could settle questions of State?'
' Have you a good hand ? ' asked Ivan Ivanitch.
' A good hand ? '
' Yes, a good handwriting. I will trouble you to copy that paper.'
Alexandr was surprised at this request; but he did so. Ivan Ivanitch made a grimace when he looked at what he had written.
' A poor handwriting,' he said to the chief of the department The latter looked at it.
' Yes, it's not good; he can't write fair copies. Well let him for a time write out absence permits, and then when he is a little used to it, set him to writing forms for deeds; perhaps he will do; he has been educated at a university.'
Very soon Adouev too became one of the springs of the machine. He wrote, wrote, wrote unendingly, and began to wonder how it was possible to do anything else in the morning; but when he remembered his dissertations, he blushed.
' Uncle!' he thought; ' in one thing you were right, cruelly right; can it be so in everything ? can I have been mistaken in those inspired thoughts kept to myself alone and that warm trust in love, in friendship, and in men, and in myself? What is life then ? '
He bent over his papers and scribbled all the more zealously, but tears were glistening on his eyelashes.
'Fortune certainly smiles upon you,'said Piotr Ivanitch to his nephew; 'I was in an office a whole year to begin with without salary, but you have been put on the upper scale of salary at once; why it's 750 roubles and with the Christmas extras it will be 1000 roubles. It's splendid for the first start! The chief of the department praises you; only he says you are careless; sometimes you don't put in your stops, and sometimes you will forget to write a synopsis of the paper. Pray get out of that way; the chief thing is to pay attention to what is before your eyes, and don't go flying off aloft.'
The uncle pointed upwards with his hand. From this time he behaved more affectionately to his nephew.
' What a splendid fellow my head-clerk is, uncle !' said Alexandr one day.
' And how do you know that ? '
' I have made friends with him. Such an elevated soul, such a pure noble turn of mind! and with his sub too; he is a man, I think, of firm will, of iron character.'
' You have had time already to make friends with him ? '
' Yes, indeed.'
'Did not your head-clerk invite you to go to see him on Thursdays ? '
' Yes, indeed; every Thursday. I fancy he feels a special attraction to me.'
' And he asked his sub to lend him money ? '
'Yes, uncle, a trifle. I gave him twenty-five roubles which I had with me; he asked for eighty more.'
' You have given it him already! Ah!' said his uncle with vexation:—' I am partly to blame in the matter, for not having warned you beforehand; but I thought that you weren't simple to such a point as to lend money after only a fortnight's acquaintance. There is no help for it now, we will divide the guilt; for twelve and a half roubles you may count on me.'
' Why, uncle, surely he will return it ? '
'You needn't reckon on that! I know him; I lost 100 roubles over him when I was in that office. He borrows from every one. Now, if he asks you again, you tell him that I beg him to remember his debt to me—he will soon
