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A single glance at Sipiagin made him realise that he had been playing with him as a cat plays with a mouse. "I must say, your excellency," the unfortunate Paklin stammered out; "I must say, that I really know nothing " "But I ask you no questions! Really! What do you take me and yourself for?" Sipiagin asked haughtily, and promptly withdrew into his ministerial heights.
Sipiagin began by abusing Germans in general, then announced that he was somewhat of a Slavophil, though not a fanatic, and mentioned a certain young Russian, by the name of Solomin, who, it was said, had successfully established another mill belonging to a neighbouring merchant; he was very anxious to meet this Solomin.
Sipiagin glanced at him once or twice over his clean-shaven cheek, and with a pompous deliberation pulled out of a side-pocket a silver cigar-case with a curly monogram and a Slavonic band and offered him... really offered him a cigar, holding it gently between the second and third fingers of a hand neatly clad in an English glove of yellow dogskin. "I don't smoke," Paklin muttered. "Really!"
Valentina Mihailovna said that she would be delighted to be aux petits soins with the new visitor, but it seemed to her that he had no need of these petits soins and took no notice of them; not rudely in any way, but he was quite indifferent; very remarkable in a man du commun. "Never mind.... Be nice to him just the same!" Sipiagin begged of her.
The governor shrugged his shoulders, opened and shut his eyes, regretted his inability to do anything, but made some sort of promise in the end. "Tous les egards... certainement, tous les egards," the soft, pleasant words flowed through his scented moustache. "But you know the law, my boy!" "Of course I do!" Sipiagin responded with a sort of submissive severity.
It's not good for one's health!" Mariana and Nejdanov exchanged glances; Sipiagin, who had just scored a trick from his partner, cast a truly ministerial glance at his wife, looking her over from top to toe, then transferred this same cold, sleepy, but penetrating glance to the young couple coming in from the dark garden. Two more weeks went by; everything in its accustomed order.
"Well," Sipiagin interrupted him, "I look upon the matter as settled, and consider you as a member of our household." He rose from his chair, and became quite gay and expansive, as if he had just received a present. A certain amiable familiarity, verging on the playful, began to show itself in all his gestures. "We shall set out in a day or two," he went on, in an easy tone.
Prince G." "The aide-de-camp?" "Yes." Nejdanov flushed even redder than before, but did not say anything. Sipiagin shook his hand again, without a word this time, then bowing first to him and then to Paklin, put on his hat at the door, and went out with a self-satisfied smile on his lips, denoting the deep impression the visit must have produced upon him.
The happy boy was shy and pleased and proud, all at the same time; he caressed his parents and ran out of the room. At dinner Sipiagin ordered champagne, and before drinking his son's health made a speech. By degrees Sipiagin became quite eloquent, with his hand under the tail of his coat in imitation of Robert Peel.
SOLOMIN'S refusal greatly offended Sipiagin; so much so, that he suddenly found that this home-bred Stevenson was not such a wonderful engineer after all, and that though he was not perhaps a complete poser, yet gave himself airs like the plebeian he was. "All these Russians when they imagine they know a thing become insufferable! Au fond Kollomietzev was right!"
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