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Read books online Ā» Fiction Ā» The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (e book reader TXT) šŸ“–

Book online Ā«The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (e book reader TXT) šŸ“–Ā». Author Fyodor Dostoyevsky



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I have money enough to begin with: I must have another lodging, furniture of some sortā€¦. In the first place, I shanā€™t have Petrushka. I can get on without the rascalā€¦ somehow, with help from the people of the house; well, that will be all right! I can go in and out when I like, and Petrushka wonā€™t grumble at my coming in late - yes, that is so; thatā€™s why itā€™s a good thing to have the people in the houseā€¦. Well, supposing thatā€™s all right; but all thatā€™s nothing to do with it.ā€

At this point the thought of the real position again dawned upon Mr. Golyadkinā€™s memory. He looked round.

ā€œOh, Lord, have mercy on me, have mercy on me! What am I talking about?ā€ he thought, growing utterly desperate and clutching his burning head in his handsā€¦.

ā€œWonā€™t you soon be going, sir?ā€ a voice pronounced above Mr. Golyadkin. Our hero started; before him stood his cabman, who was also drenched through and shivering; growing impatient, and having nothing to do, he had thought fit to take a look at Mr. Golyadkin behind the woodstack.

ā€œI am all right, my friendā€¦ I am coming soon, soon, very soon; you waitā€¦ā€

The cabman walked away, grumbling to himself. ā€œWhat is he grumbling about?ā€ Mr. Golyadkin wondered through his tears. ā€œWhy, I have hired him for the evening, why, Iā€™m ā€¦ within my rights nowā€¦ thatā€™s so! Iā€™ve hired him for the evening and thatā€™s the end of it. If one stands still, itā€™s just the same. Thatā€™s for me to decide. I am free to drive on or not to drive on. And my staying here by the woodstack has nothing to do with the caseā€¦ and donā€™t dare to say anything; think, the gentleman wants to stand behind the woodstack, and so heā€™s standing behind itā€¦ and he is not disgracing any oneā€™s honour! Thatā€™s the fact of the matter.

ā€œI tell you what is it is, madam, if you care to know. Nowadays, madam, nobody lives in a hut, or anything of that sort. No, indeed. And in our industrial age thereā€™s no getting on without morality, a fact of which you are a fatal example, madamā€¦ You say we must get a job as a register clerk and live in a hut on the sea-shore. In the first place, madam, there are no register clerks on the sea-shore, and in the second place we canā€™t get a job as a register clerk. For supposing, for example, I send in a petition, present myself - saying a register clerkā€™s place or something of the sortā€¦ and defend me from my enemyā€¦ theyā€™ll tell you, madam, theyā€™ll say, to be sureā€¦ weā€™ve lots of register clerks, and here you are not at Madame Falbalasā€™, where you learnt the rules of good behaviour of which you are a fatal example. Good behaviour, madam, means staying at home, honouring your father and not thinking about suitors prematurely. Suitors will come in good time, madam, thatā€™s so! Of course, you are bound to have some accomplishments, such as playing the piano sometimes, speaking French, history, geography, scripture and arithmetic, thatā€™s the truth of it! And thatā€™s all you need. Cooking, too, cooking certainly forms part of the education of a well-behaved girl! But as it is, in the first place, my fine lady, they wonā€™t let you go, theyā€™ll raise a hue and cry after you, and then theyā€™ll lock you up in a nunnery. How will it be then, madam? What will you have me do then? Would you have me, madam, follow the example of some stupid novels, and melt into tears on a neighbouring hillock, gazing at the cold walls of your prison house, and finally die, following the example of some wretched German poets and novelists. Is that it, madam? But, to begin with, allow me to tell you, as a friend, that things are not done like that, and in the second place I would have given you and your parents, too, a good thrashing for letting you read French books; for French books teach you no good. Thereā€™s a poison in themā€¦ a pernicious poison, madam! Or do you imagine, allow me to ask you, or do you imagine that we shall elope with impunity, or something of that sortā€¦ that was shall have a hut on the shore of the sea and so on; and that we shall begin billing and cooing and talking about our feelings, and that so we shall spend our lives in happiness and content; and then there would be little ones - so then we shallā€¦ shall go to our father, the civil councillor, Olsufy Ivanovitch, and say, ā€˜weā€™ve got a little one, and so, on this propitious occasion remove your curse, and bless the couple.ā€™ No, madam, I tell you again, thatā€™s not the way to do things, and for the first thing thereā€™ll be no billing and cooing and please donā€™t reckon on it. Nowadays, madam, the husband is the master and a good, well-brought-up wife should try and please him in every way. And endearments, madam, are not in favour, nowadays, in our industrial age; the day of Jean Jacques Rousseau is over. The husband comes home, for instance, hungry from the office, and asks, ā€˜Isnā€™t there something to eat, my love, a drop of vodka to drink, a bit of salt fish to eat?ā€™ So then, madam, you must have the vodka and the herring ready. Your husband will eat it with relish, and he wonā€™t so much as look at you, heā€™ll only say Run into the kitchen, kitten, heā€™ll say, ā€˜and look after the dinner, and at most, once a week, heā€™ll kiss you, even then rather indifferentlyā€¦ Thatā€™s how it will be with us, my young lady! Yes, even then indifferentlyā€¦. Thatā€™s how it will be, if one considers it, if it has come to oneā€™s looking at the thing in that wayā€¦. And how do I come in? Why have you mixed me up in your caprices? The noble man who is suffering for your sake and will be dear to your heart for ever, and so on. but in the first place, madam, I am not suited to you, you know yourself, Iā€™m not a great hand at compliments, Iā€™m not fond of uttering perfumed trifles for the ladies. Iā€™m not fond of lady-killers, and I must own Iā€™ve never been a beauty to look at. You wonā€™t find any swagger or false shame in me, and I tell you so now in all sincerity. This is the fact of the matter: we can boast of nothing but a straightforward, open character and common sense; we have nothing to do with intrigues. I am not one to intrigue, I say so and Iā€™m proud of it - thatā€™s the fact of the matter!ā€¦ I wear no mask among straightforward people, and to tell you the whole truthā€¦.ā€

Suddenly Mr. Golyadkin started. The red and perfectly sopping beard of the cabman appeared round the woodstack againā€¦.

ā€œI am coming directly, my friend. Iā€™m coming at once, you know,ā€ Mr. Golyadkin responded in a trembling and failing voice.

The cabman scratched his head, then stroked his beard, and moved a step forwardā€¦ stood still and looked suspiciously at Mr. Golyadkin.

ā€œI am coming directly, my friend; you see, my friendā€¦ Iā€¦ just a little, you see, only a second!ā€¦ moreā€¦ here, you see, my friendā€¦.ā€

ā€œArenā€™t you coming at all?ā€ the cabman asked at last, definitely coming up to Mr. Golyadkin.

ā€œNo, my friend, Iā€™m coming directly. I am waiting, you see, my friendā€¦.ā€

ā€œSo I seeā€¦ā€

ā€œYou see, my friend, Iā€¦ What part of the country do you come from, my friend?ā€

ā€œWe are under a masterā€¦ā€

ā€œAnd have you a good master?ā€¦ā€

ā€œAll rightā€¦ā€

ā€œYes, my friend; you stay here, my friend, you seeā€¦ Have you been in Petersburg long, my friend?ā€

ā€œItā€™s a year since I cameā€¦ā€

ā€œAnd are you getting on all right, my friend?ā€

ā€œMiddling.ā€

ā€œTo be sure, my friend, to be sure. You must thank Providence, my friend. You must look out for straightforward people. Straightforward people are non too common nowadays, my friend; he would give you washing, food, and drink, my good fellow, a good man would. But sometimes you see tears shed for the sake of gold, my friend ā€¦ you see a lamentable example; thatā€™s the fact of the matter, my friendā€¦.ā€

The cabman seemed to feel sorry for Mr. Golyadkin. ā€œWell, your honour, Iā€™ll wait. Will your honour be waiting long?ā€

ā€œNo, my friend, no; Iā€¦ you knowā€¦ I wonā€™t wait any longer, my good manā€¦ What do you think, my friend? I rely upon you. I wonā€™t stay any longer.ā€

ā€œArenā€™t you going at all?ā€

ā€œNo, my friend, no; Iā€™ll reward you, my friendā€¦ thatā€™s the fact of the matter. How much ought I to give you, my dear fellow?ā€

ā€œWhat you hired me for, please, sir. Iā€™ve been waiting here a long time; donā€™t be hard on a man, sir.ā€

ā€œWell, here, my good man, here.ā€

At this point Mr. Golyadkin gave six roubles to the cabman, and made up his mind in earnest to waste no more time, that is, to clear off straight away, especially as the cabman was dismissed and everything was over, and so it was useless to wait longer. He rushed out of the yard, went out of the gate, turned to the left and without looking round took to his heels, breathless and rejoicing. ā€œPerhaps it will all be for the best,ā€ he thought, ā€œand perhaps in this way Iā€™ve run away from trouble.ā€ Mr. Golyadkin suddenly became all at once light-hearted. ā€œOh, if only it could turn out for the best!ā€ thought our hero, though he put little faith in his own words. ā€œI know what Iā€™ll doā€¦ā€ he thought. ā€œNo, I know, Iā€™d better try the other tackā€¦ Or wouldnā€™t it be better to do this?ā€¦ā€ In this way, hesitating and seeking for the solution of his doubts, our hero ran to Semyonovsky Bridge; but while running to Semyonovsky Bridge he very rationally and conclusively decided to return.

ā€œIt will be better so,ā€ he thought. ā€œI had better try the other tack, that isā€¦ I will just go - Iā€™ll look on simply as an outsider, an outsider - and nothing more, whatever happens - itā€™s not my fault, thatā€™s the fact of the matter! Thatā€™s how it shall be now.ā€

Deciding to return, our hero actually did return, the more readily because with this happy thought he conceived of himself now as quite an outsider.

ā€œItā€™s the best thing; oneā€™s not responsible for anything, and one will see all thatā€™s necessaryā€¦ thatā€™s the fact of the matter!ā€

It was a safe plan and that settled it. Reassured, he crept back under the peaceful shelter of his soothing and protecting woodstack, and began gazing intently at the window. This time he was not destined to gaze and wait long. Suddenly a strange commotion became apparent at all the windows. Figures appeared, curtains were drawn back, whole groups of people were crowding to the windows at Olsufy Ivanovitchā€™s flat. All were peeping out looking for something in the yard. From the security of his woodstack, our hero, too, began with curiosity watching the general commotion, and with interest craned forward to right and to left so far as he could within the shadow of the woodstack. Suddenly he started, held his breath and almost sat down with horror. It seemed to him - in short, he realized, that they were looking for nothing and for nobody but him, Mr. Golyadkin! Every one was looking in his direction. It was impossible to escape; they saw him ā€¦ In a flutter, Mr. Golyadkin huddled as closely as he could to the woodstack, and only then noticed that the treacherous shadow had betrayed

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