“Come, yourself! The custom-house wouldn’t allow salt water to pass?”

“And why not? it is for use; the doctor has prescribed sea-water for me to drink. I can drink nothing else, so the custom-house allows it to pass; it must allow it.”

“It may be as you say; so be it. But let us discuss serious matters. Did you know that in the assembly they wanted to elect me as assessor of the court of this district? The proposal is very disagreeable to me—oh, very disagreeable, indeed! I begged of them, and prayed of them, not to think of it; but no, they wouldn’t listen to me. They will force my nomination upon me, the wretches!” At this point the drinker of sea-water suddenly drew the captain-ispravnik on one side, to ask him “Pray, who is this gentleman whom you have with you?”

“That is Pavel Ivanovitch Tchitchikoff; he can dispose of two votes, and holds two more in reserve.”

“Permit me, sir,” now said the candidate for the office of assessor, in a honeyed voice, “permit me to introduce myself to you: I am the governmental secretary, Tchyerin; my lands lie in your district; I am a neighbour of Mr. Burdyakin”; and here he walked towards Tchitchikoff.

“I am much flattered, sir,” responded Tchitchikoff, while he walked on in front of him.

“Until to-day I have not been bold enough to introduce myself to you; excuse my thus accosting you with a request. When they vote for me—my name is Tchyerin—when they vote for me, black-ball me. Yes, I beg of you, black-ball me. No doubt I should be, on every occasion and wholly, at the command of the nobility if I were elected. I should cherish no other ambition than that of trying to please every gentleman belonging to our set; but, nevertheless, you will oblige me, and that greatly, if you will kindly vote against me.”

“If the other persons who know you esteem you worthy of the post of assessor, I shall not vote differently to the nobility of the district; indeed, I shall vote in your favour if the other people do so.”

“As you please; at all events, receive the homage of my respectful devotion.”

After speaking these words, this solicitor ran off to pay his court elsewhere. Tchitchikoff glanced to right and to left, and no longer saw him anywhere.

“What sort of a fellow is this Tchyerin, your neighbour in the country?” he asked Burdyakin.

“A passed-master in card-playing. Oh, he never fears sharpers, whoever they may be.”

“Then he himself is a little bit in that line?”

“Yes, he is; so put in a black ball for him, and another black one for Kostlyakin also.”

“Who is Kostlyakin?”

“A landowner, nothing more. I wanted to marry his daughter with a brother of my wife’s, a fine fellow, who had just been promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and had already been promised a troop. Well, Kostlyakin had the effrontery to reply to the young man’s request, ‘Begin by getting the troop, and then come and make your proposal to me.’ Can anyone conceive it—such an animal refusing to ally his family with mine? Black-ball Vuirkin also. As for Yerebnikoff, take care! He is a ferret; distrust him, and black- ball him, too. Kryaplin, too, ought to have a good black ball; however, do as you think fit about him. Stay, I have two other friends—Ivan Telkin and Piotr Telkin, two cousins, against one of whom I strongly recommend you to cast black balls.”

“Well, I shall have a hard time of it; you have mentioned seven or eight people to me, and I really fear that I shall make some mistake.”