down with his hand.)
Now take the seat, your Excellency.
KHLESTAKOV. Good-by, Anton Antonovich.
GOVERNOR. Good-by, your Excellency.
ANNA, MARYA
(Together)
. Good-by, Ivan Aleksandrovich.
KHLESTAKOV. Good-by, mother.
POSTILION. Get up, my boys!
The bell rings and the curtain drops.
Act V
*
SCENE: Same as in Act IV.
Scene I
Governor, Anna Andreyevna, and Marya Antonovna.
GOVERNOR. Well, Anna Andreyevna, eh? Did you ever imagine such a thing?
Such a rich prize? I'll be—. Well, confess frankly, it never occurred
to you even in your dreams, did it? From just a simple governor's wife
suddenly—whew!—I'll be hanged!—to marry into the family of such a big
gun.
ANNA. Not at all. I knew it long ago. It seems wonderful to you because
you are so plain. You never saw decent people.
GOVERNOR. I'm a decent person myself, mother. But, really, think, Anna
Andreyevna, what gay birds we have turned into now, you and I. Eh, Anna
Andreyevna? High fliers, by Jove! Wait now, I'll give those fellows who
were so eager to present their petitions and denunciations a peppering.
Ho, who's there?
(Enter a Sergeant.)
Is it you, Ivan Karpovich? Call
those merchants here, brother, won't you? I'll give it to them, the
scoundrels! To make such complaints against me! The damned pack of Jews!
Wait, my dear fellows. I used to dose you down to your ears. Now I'll
dose you down to your beards. Make a list of all who came to protest
against me, especially the mean petty scribblers who cooked the
petitions up for them, and announce to all that they should know what
honor the Heavens have bestowed upon the Governor, namely this: that he
is marrying his daughter, not to a plain ordinary man, but to one the
like of whom has never yet been in the world, who can do everything,
everything, everything, everything! Proclaim it to all so that everybody
should know. Shout it aloud to the whole world. Ring the bell, the devil
take it! It is a triumph, and we will make it a triumph.
(The Sergeant
goes out.)
So that's the way, Anna Andreyevna, eh? What shall we do now?
Where shall we live? Here or in St. Pete?
ANNA. In St. Petersburg, of course. How could we remain here?
GOVERNOR. Well, if St. Pete, then St. Pete. But it would be good here,
too. I suppose the governorship could then go to the devil, eh, Anna
Andreyevna?
ANNA. Of course. What's a governorship?
GOVERNOR. Don't you think, Anna Andreyevna, I can rise to a high rank
now, he being hand in glove with all the ministers, and visiting the
court? In time I can be promoted to a generalship. What do you think,
Anna Andreyevna? Can I become a general?
ANNA. I should say so. Of course you can.
GOVERNOR. Ah, the devil take it, it's nice to be a general. They hang a
ribbon across your shoulders. What ribbon is better, the red St. Anne or
the blue St. Andrew?
ANNA. The blue St. Andrew, of course.
GOVERNOR. What! My, you're aiming high. The red one is good, too. Why
does one want to be a general? Because when you go travelling, there are
always couriers and aides on ahead with "Horses"! And at the stations
they refuse to give the horses to others. They all wait, all those
councilors, captains, governors, and you don't take the slightest
notice of them. You dine somewhere with the governor-general. And the
town-governor—I'll keep him waiting at the door. Ha, ha, ha!
(He bursts
into a roar of laughter, shaking all over.)
That's what's so alluring,
confound it!
ANNA. You always like such coarse things. You must remember that our
life will have to be completely changed, that your acquaintances will
not be a dog-lover of a judge, with whom you go hunting hares, or a
Zemlianika. On the contrary, your acquaintances will be people of the
most refined type, counts, and society aristocrats. Only really I am
afraid of you. You sometimes use words that one never hears in good
society.
GOVERNOR. What of it? A word doesn't hurt.
ANNA. It's all right when you are a town-governor, but there the life is
entirely
Now take the seat, your Excellency.
KHLESTAKOV. Good-by, Anton Antonovich.
GOVERNOR. Good-by, your Excellency.
ANNA, MARYA
(Together)
. Good-by, Ivan Aleksandrovich.
KHLESTAKOV. Good-by, mother.
POSTILION. Get up, my boys!
The bell rings and the curtain drops.
Act V
*
SCENE: Same as in Act IV.
Scene I
Governor, Anna Andreyevna, and Marya Antonovna.
GOVERNOR. Well, Anna Andreyevna, eh? Did you ever imagine such a thing?
Such a rich prize? I'll be—. Well, confess frankly, it never occurred
to you even in your dreams, did it? From just a simple governor's wife
suddenly—whew!—I'll be hanged!—to marry into the family of such a big
gun.
ANNA. Not at all. I knew it long ago. It seems wonderful to you because
you are so plain. You never saw decent people.
GOVERNOR. I'm a decent person myself, mother. But, really, think, Anna
Andreyevna, what gay birds we have turned into now, you and I. Eh, Anna
Andreyevna? High fliers, by Jove! Wait now, I'll give those fellows who
were so eager to present their petitions and denunciations a peppering.
Ho, who's there?
(Enter a Sergeant.)
Is it you, Ivan Karpovich? Call
those merchants here, brother, won't you? I'll give it to them, the
scoundrels! To make such complaints against me! The damned pack of Jews!
Wait, my dear fellows. I used to dose you down to your ears. Now I'll
dose you down to your beards. Make a list of all who came to protest
against me, especially the mean petty scribblers who cooked the
petitions up for them, and announce to all that they should know what
honor the Heavens have bestowed upon the Governor, namely this: that he
is marrying his daughter, not to a plain ordinary man, but to one the
like of whom has never yet been in the world, who can do everything,
everything, everything, everything! Proclaim it to all so that everybody
should know. Shout it aloud to the whole world. Ring the bell, the devil
take it! It is a triumph, and we will make it a triumph.
(The Sergeant
goes out.)
So that's the way, Anna Andreyevna, eh? What shall we do now?
Where shall we live? Here or in St. Pete?
ANNA. In St. Petersburg, of course. How could we remain here?
GOVERNOR. Well, if St. Pete, then St. Pete. But it would be good here,
too. I suppose the governorship could then go to the devil, eh, Anna
Andreyevna?
ANNA. Of course. What's a governorship?
GOVERNOR. Don't you think, Anna Andreyevna, I can rise to a high rank
now, he being hand in glove with all the ministers, and visiting the
court? In time I can be promoted to a generalship. What do you think,
Anna Andreyevna? Can I become a general?
ANNA. I should say so. Of course you can.
GOVERNOR. Ah, the devil take it, it's nice to be a general. They hang a
ribbon across your shoulders. What ribbon is better, the red St. Anne or
the blue St. Andrew?
ANNA. The blue St. Andrew, of course.
GOVERNOR. What! My, you're aiming high. The red one is good, too. Why
does one want to be a general? Because when you go travelling, there are
always couriers and aides on ahead with "Horses"! And at the stations
they refuse to give the horses to others. They all wait, all those
councilors, captains, governors, and you don't take the slightest
notice of them. You dine somewhere with the governor-general. And the
town-governor—I'll keep him waiting at the door. Ha, ha, ha!
(He bursts
into a roar of laughter, shaking all over.)
That's what's so alluring,
confound it!
ANNA. You always like such coarse things. You must remember that our
life will have to be completely changed, that your acquaintances will
not be a dog-lover of a judge, with whom you go hunting hares, or a
Zemlianika. On the contrary, your acquaintances will be people of the
most refined type, counts, and society aristocrats. Only really I am
afraid of you. You sometimes use words that one never hears in good
society.
GOVERNOR. What of it? A word doesn't hurt.
ANNA. It's all right when you are a town-governor, but there the life is
entirely
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