imitation; every man imitates and copies his superior. They even say
that a certain titular councillor, when promoted to the head of some
small separate room, immediately partitioned off a private room for
himself, called it the audience chamber, and posted at the door a lackey
with red collar and braid, who grasped the handle of the door and opened
to all comers; though the audience chamber could hardly hold an ordinary
writing-table.

The manners and customs of the prominent personage were grand and
imposing, but rather exaggerated. The main foundation of his system
was strictness. "Strictness, strictness, and always strictness!" he
generally said; and at the last word he looked significantly into the
face of the person to whom he spoke. But there was no necessity for
this, for the half-score of subordinates who formed the entire force of
the office were properly afraid; on catching sight of him afar off
they left their work and waited, drawn up in line, until he had passed
through the room. His ordinary converse with his inferiors smacked of
sternness, and consisted chiefly of three phrases: "How dare you?" "Do
you know whom you are speaking to?" "Do you realise who stands before
you?"

Otherwise he was a very kind-hearted man, good to his comrades, and
ready to oblige; but the rank of general threw him completely off his
balance. On receiving any one of that rank, he became confused, lost his
way, as it were, and never knew what to do. If he chanced to be amongst
his equals he was still a very nice kind of man, a very good fellow in
many respects, and not stupid; but the very moment that he found himself
in the society of people but one rank lower than himself he became
silent; and his situation aroused sympathy, the more so as he felt
himself that he might have been making an incomparably better use of
his time. In his eyes there was sometimes visible a desire to join some
interesting conversation or group; but he was kept back by the thought,
"Would it not be a very great condescension on his part? Would it not
be familiar? and would he not thereby lose his importance?" And in
consequence of such reflections he always remained in the same dumb
state, uttering from time to time a few monosyllabic sounds, and thereby
earning the name of the most wearisome of men.

To this prominent personage Akakiy Akakievitch presented himself, and
this at the most unfavourable time for himself though opportune for
the promine