"Listen. There is, of course, in every government
town a governor. These do not
always resemble each other; but as soon as
any one of them appears, police and secretaries
immediately become active, merchants
and tradesmen bow, and the gentry draw
themselves up, with, however, some little awe.
Wherever the governor goes, he is sure to find
champagne, the wine so much patronised in
the province, and everybody drinks a bumper
to the health of the 'father of the province'
Governors generally are well-bred, and
sometimes very proud. They like to give dinner
parties, and benevolently condescend to play
a game of whist with rich brandy-contractors
and landowners."

"That's a common thing," remarked Ivan
Vassilievitsch.

"Do not interrupt me. Besides the governor,
there is in nearly every government town
the governor's lady. She is rather a peculiar
personage. Generally brought up in one of
the two capitals, and spoiled with the cringing
attentions of her company. On her husband's
first entry into office, she is polite and affable;
later, she begins to feel weary of the ordinary
provincial intrigues and gossips; she gets
accustomed to the slavish attentions she receives,
and lays claim to them. At this period
she surrounds herself with a parasitical suite;
she quarrels with the lady of the vice-governor;
she brags of St. Petersburg; speaks with disdain
of her provincial circle, and finally draws
upon herself the utmost universal ill-feeling,
which is kept up till the day of her departure,
when all goes into oblivion, everything is pardoned,
and everybody bids her farewell with
tears."

"Two persons do not form the whole
society of a town," interrupted again Ivan
Vassilievitsch.

"Patience, brother, patience! Certainly
there are other persons besides the two I have
just spoken of: there is the vice-governor and
his lady; several presidents, with their respective
ladies, and an innumerable crowd of
functionaries serving under their leadership.
The ladies are ever quarrelling in words,
whilst their husbands do the same thing upon
foolscap. The presidents, for the most part,
are men of advanced age and business-like
habits, with great crosses hanging from their
necks, and are during the daytime to be seen
out of their courts only on holidays. The
government attorney is generally a single
man, and an enviable match. The superior
officer of the gens-d'armes is a ' good fellow.'
The nobility-marshal a great sportsman. Besides
the government and the local officers,
there live in a government town stingy land-owners,
or those who have squandered away
their property; they gamble from evening to
morning, nay, from morning to evening too,
without getting the least bit tired of their
exercise."

"Now, about the mode of living?" asked
Ivan Vassilievitsch.

"The mode of living is a very dull one.
An exchange of ceremonious visits. Intrigues,
cards—cards, intrigues. Now and then, perchance,
you may meet with a kind, hospitable
family, but such a case is very rare; you much
oftener find a ludicrous affectation to imitate
the manners of an imaginary high life. There
are no public amusements in a government
town. During winter a series of balls are
announced to take place at the Assembly-rooms;
however, from an absurd primness,
these balls are little frequented, because no
one wants to be the first in the room. The
'bon genre' remains at home and plays whist.
In general, I have remarked, that on arriving
in a government town, it seems as if you were
too early or too late for some extraordinary
event. You are ever welcomed: 'What a
pity you were not here yesterday!' or, 'You
should stay here till to-morrow.'"

In process of time Ivan Vassilievitsch and
his good-natured fat companion, Vassily
Ivanovitsch, reach a borough town, where the
Tarantas breaks down. There is a tavern and
here is a description of it.

'The tavern was like any other tavern,—a
large wooden hut, with the usual out-buildings.
At the entrance stood an empty cart.
The staircase was crooked and shaky, and at
the top of it, like a moving candelabrum, stood
a waiter with a tallow candle in his hand. To
the right was the tap-room, painted from time
immemorial to imitate a grove. Tumblers,
tea-pots, decanters, three silver and a great
number of pewter spoons, adorned the shelves
of a cupboard; a couple of lads in chintz
shirts, with dirty napkins over their shoulders,
busied themselves at the bar. Through an
open door you saw in the next room a billiard
table, and a hen gravely promenading upon it.

'Our travellers were conducted into the principal
room of this elegant establishment, where
they found, seated round a boiling tea-urn,
three merchants,—one grey-haired, one red-haired,
and one dark-haired. Each of these
was armed with a steaming tumbler; each of
them sipped, smacked his lips, stroked his
beard and sipped again the fragrant beverage.

'The red-haired man was saying:—

"I made, last summer, a splendid bargain:
I had bought from a company of Samara-Tartars,
some five hundred bags of prime
quality, and had at the same time a similar
quantity, which I purchased from a nobleman
who was in want of money, but such dreadful
stuff it was, that if it had not been for the
very low price, I would never have thought
of looking at it. What did I do? I mixed
these two cargoes, and sold the whole lot to a
brandy-contractor at Ribna, for prime quality."

"It was a clever speculation," remarked
the dark-haired.

"A commercial trick!" added the grey-haired.

'Whilst this conversation was proceeding,
Vassily Ivanovitsch and Ivan Vassilievitsch