under the
obligation of patronising him.

The company drank three glassfuls apiece, and so grew more cheerful.
In particular did Khlobuev expand, and wax full of civility and
friendliness, and scatter witticisms and anecdotes to right and left.
What knowledge of men and the world did his utterances display! How well
and accurately could he divine things! With what appositeness did he
sketch the neighbouring landowners! How clearly he exposed their
faults and failings! How thoroughly he knew the story of certain ruined
gentry--the story of how, why, and through what cause they had fallen
upon evil days! With what comic originality could he describe their
little habits and customs!

In short, his guests found themselves charmed with his discourse, and
felt inclined to vote him a man of first-rate intellect.

"What most surprises me," said Chichikov, "is how, in view of your
ability, you come to be so destitute of means or resources."

"But I have plenty of both," said Khlobuev, and with that went on to
deliver himself of a perfect avalanche of projects. Yet those projects
proved to be so uncouth, so clumsy, so little the outcome of a knowledge
of men and things, that his hearers could only shrug their shoulders and
mentally exclaim: "Good Lord! What a difference between worldly wisdom
and the capacity to use it!" In every case the projects in question were
based upon the imperative necessity of at once procuring from somewhere
two hundred--or at least one hundred--thousand roubles. That done (so
Khlobuev averred), everything would fall into its proper place,
the holes in his pockets would become stopped, his income would be
quadrupled, and he would find himself in a position to liquidate his
debts in full. Nevertheless he ended by saying: "What would you advise
me to do? I fear that the philanthropist who would lend me two hundred
thousand roubles or even a hundred thousand, does not exist. It is not
God's will that he should."

"Good gracious!" inwardly ejaculated Chichikov. "To suppose that God
would send such a fool two hundred thousand roubles!"

"However," went on Khlobuev, "I possess an aunt worth three millions--a
pious old woman who gives freely to churches and monasteries, but finds
a difficulty in helping her neighbour. At the same time, she is a lady
of the old school, and worth having a peep at. Her canaries alone
number four hundred, and, in addition, there is an army of pug-dogs,
hangers-on, and serv