FYODOR PETROVITCH the Director of Elementary Schools in the N. District, who considered himself a just and generous man, was one day interviewing in his office a schoolmaster called Vremensky.
FYODOR PETROVITCH（费奥多尔·彼得罗维奇）是N区的初级学校主任，他自认为是一个公正和慷慨的人，有一天他在办公室里面试一位名叫弗雷门斯基（Vremensky）的教师。

“No, Mr. Vremensky,” he was saying, “your retirement is inevitable. —-
“不行，弗雷门斯基先生，您的退休是不可避免的。 —-

You cannot continue your work as a schoolmaster with a voice like that! —-
你不能因为这样的声音继续做教师工作。 —-

How did you come to lose it?”
你是怎么失声的？”

“I drank cold beer when I was in a perspiration. . .” hissed the schoolmaster.
“我在出汗的时候喝了冷啤酒……”教师边说边咝咝声。

“What a pity! After a man has served fourteen years, such a calamity all at once! —-
“真可惜！一个人服役了十四年，突然间遭受这样的灾难！ —-

The idea of a career being ruined by such a trivial thing. —-
一个职业因为这么微不足道的事情而毁了。 —-

What are you intending to do now?”
你打算怎么做？”

The schoolmaster made no answer.
教师没有回答。

“Are you a family man?” asked the director.
“您是个家庭人吗？”主任问。

“A wife and two children, your Excellency . . .” hissed the schoolmaster.
“有妻子和两个孩子，阁下……”教师继续咝咝地说。

A silence followed. The director got up from the table and walked to and fro in perturbation.
接下来是一阵沉默。主任从桌子旁站起来，在房间里来回踱步，心烦意乱。

“I cannot think what I am going to do with you!” he said. —-
“我不知道该怎么办才好！”他说。 —-

“A teacher you cannot be, and you are not yet entitled to a pension. . . . —-
“你无法继续当教师，但你还没有权利享受养老金…… —-

To abandon you to your fate, and leave you to do the best you can, is rather awkward. —-
任由你自生自灭，让你自己尽力去做，有些棘手。 —-

We look on you as one of our men, you have served fourteen years, so it is our business to help you. . —-
我们看你是我们的一员，你已经为我们服务了十四年，所以我们有责任帮助你。 —-

. . But how are we to help you? What can I do for you? —-
但是我们应该如何帮助你呢？我能为你做些什么？ —-

Put yourself in my place: what can I do for you?”
设身处地地想想：我能为你做些什么吗？

A silence followed; the director walked up and down, still thinking, and Vremensky, overwhelmed by his trouble, sat on the edge of his chair, and he, too, thought. —-
沉默之后，主任来回走动，仍在思考，而弗列缅斯基则因烦忧而坐在椅子的边缘，也在思考。 —-

All at once the director began beaming, and even snapped his fingers.
突然主任开始露出笑容，甚至还弹了下手指。

“I wonder I did not think of it before!” he began rapidly. —-
“我怎么之前没有想到呢！”他迅速地开始说道。 —-

“Listen, this is what I can offer you. —-
“听着，这是我能给你的。 —-

Next week our secretary at the Home is retiring. —-
下周我们的办公室秘书要退休了。 —-

If you like, you can have his place! There you are!”
如果你愿意，你可以接替他的位置！就是这样！”

Vremensky, not expecting such good fortune, beamed too.
弗列缅斯基根本没料到会有这样的好运气，也露出了笑容。

“That’s capital,” said the director. “Write the application to-day.”
“太棒了，”主任说道。“今天就写申请吧。”

Dismissing Vremensky, Fyodor Petrovitch felt relieved and even gratified: —-
赶走弗列缅斯基之后，费奥多尔·彼得罗维奇感到轻松了，甚至感到满意： —-

the bent figure of the hissing schoolmaster was no longer confronting him, and it was agreeable to recognize that in offering a vacant post to Vremensky he had acted fairly and conscientiously, like a good-hearted and thoroughly decent person. —-
那个嘶嘶作声的学校校长弯曲的身影不再让他感到压迫，承认给弗列缅斯基一个空缺的职位是公平和尽责的表现，就像一个善良和完全得体的人一样，这让他感到愉快。 —-

But this agreeable state of mind did not last long. —-
但这愉快的心情没能持续多久。 —-

When he went home and sat down to dinner his wife, Nastasya Ivanovna, said suddenly:
当他回家坐下来吃晚饭的时候，他的妻子娜斯塔西娅·伊万诺夫娜突然说道：

“Oh yes, I was almost forgetting! Nina Sergeyevna came to see me yesterday and begged for your interest on behalf of a young man. —-
“哦，是的，我差点忘记了！尼娜·谢尔盖耶夫娜昨天来找我，代表一个年轻人请求您的关注。 —-

I am told there is a vacancy in our Home. . . .”
“我听说我们的机构有一个空缺职位……”

“Yes, but the post has already been promised to someone else,” said the director, and he frowned. —-
“是的，但这个职位已经答应给别人了，”主任说着皱了皱眉头。 —-

“And you know my rule: I never give posts through patronage.”
“而且你知道我的原则：我从不通过关系给人职位。”

“I know, but for Nina Sergeyevna, I imagine, you might make an exception. —-
“我知道，但是为了尼娜·谢尔盖耶夫娜，我想您或许可以例外一下。 —-

She loves us as though we were relations, and we have never done anything for her. —-
她对我们犹如亲人一样，我们从来没有为她做过什么事情。 —-

And don’t think of refusing, Fedya! You will wound both her and me with your whims.”
不要想着拒绝，费杰！你的坚持会伤害她和我。”

“Who is it that she is recommending?”
“她推荐的是谁？”

“Polzuhin!”
“波尔祖欣！”

“What Polzuhin? Is it that fellow who played Tchatsky at the party on New Year’s Day? —-
“什么波尔祖欣？是那个在元旦派对上扮演查茨基的家伙吗？ —-

Is it that gentleman? Not on any account!”
那位先生吗？绝对不行！”

The director left off eating.
主任停止了进食。

“Not on any account!” he repeated. “Heaven preserve us!”
“绝对不行！”他重复道，“天啊！保佑我们！”

“But why not?”
“但为什么不行呢？”

“Understand, my dear, that if a young man does not set to work directly, but through women, he must be good for nothing! —-
“亲爱的，请明白，如果一个年轻人不直接开始工作，而是通过女人来做事，那么他一定一无是处！” —-

Why doesn’t he come to me himself?”
他为什么不亲自来找我呢？

After dinner the director lay on the sofa in his study and began reading the letters and newspapers he had received.
晚饭后，导演躺在书房的沙发上，开始阅读他收到的信件和报纸。

“Dear Fyodor Petrovitch,” wrote the wife of the Mayor of the town. —-
“亲爱的费奥多尔·彼得罗维奇”，镇长夫人写道。 —-

“You once said that I knew the human heart and understood people. —-
“你曾经说过我了解人心，能理解人们。 —-

Now you have an opportunity of verifying this in practice. —-
现在你有机会实践验证这一点。 —-

K. N. Polzuhin, whom I know to be an excellent young man, will call upon you in a day or two to ask you for the post of secretary at our Home. He is a very nice youth. —-
我认识的优秀青年K·N·波尔祖欣，将会在一两天内来找您，请求担任我们家的秘书职位。他是一个非常好的年轻人。 —-

If you take an interest in him you will be convinced of it.” And so on.
如果您对他感兴趣，您将会亲眼见证这一点。”等等。

“On no account!” was the director’s comment. “Heaven preserve me!”
导演的评论是：“千万不要！”“老天保佑我！”

After that, not a day passed without the director’s receiving letters recommending Polzuhin. —-
从那以后，每天都有导演收到推荐波尔祖欣的信件。 —-

One fine morning Polzuhin himself, a stout young man with a close-shaven face like a jockey’s, in a new black suit, made his appearance. . . .
有一天早上，波尔祖欣本人亲临，一个身材魁梧、面容整洁像赛马骑师的年轻人，穿着一套新的黑色西装……

“I see people on business not here but at the office,” said the director drily, on hearing his request.
“我见人都是在办公室处理正事，而不是在这里。”导演干巴巴地听完他的请求后说道。

“Forgive me, your Excellency, but our common acquaintances advised me to come here.”
“请原谅，阁下，但我们共同的熟人建议我来这里。”

“H’m!” growled the director, looking with hatred at the pointed toes of the young man’s shoes. —-
导演发出低沉的哼声，恨恶地盯着年轻人的鞋尖。 —-

“To the best of my belief your father is a man of property and you are not in want,” he said. —-
“据我所知，您的父亲是有财产的人，您也不缺钱，”他说。 —-

“What induces you to ask for this post? —-
“是什么促使您申请这个职位呢？ —-

The salary is very trifling!”
薪水太微不足道了！

“It’s not for the sake of the salary. . . . It’s a government post, any way . . .”
不是为了薪水……毕竟这是一份政府职位……

“H’m. . . . It strikes me that within a month you will be sick of the job and you will give it up, and meanwhile there are candidates for whom it would be a career for life. —-
嗯……我觉得你一个月之内就会厌烦这份工作，然后放弃，而且有些候选人却可以将其视为终身事业。 —-

There are poor men for whom . . .”
有些贫穷的人……

“I shan’t get sick of it, your Excellency,” Polzuhin interposed. —-
您阁下，我不会厌烦的，”波尔祖欣插话道。 —-

“Honour bright, I will do my best!”
我发誓，我会尽我所能！

It was too much for the director.
这对主任来说太过分了。

“Tell me,” he said, smiling contemptuously, “why was it you didn’t apply to me direct but thought fitting instead to trouble ladies as a preliminary?”
告诉我，”他嘲笑地说，“为什么你不直接找我，而是觉得找女士们是个好主意？”

“I didn’t know that it would be disagreeable to you,” Polzuhin answered, and he was embarrassed. —-
我不知道这会让您不高兴。”波尔祖欣回答道，他有些尴尬。 —-

“But, your Excellency, if you attach no significance to letters of recommendation, I can give you a testimonial. . . .”
但是，您阁下，如果对推荐信不看重的话，我可以给您提供一个证明……

He drew from his pocket a letter and handed it to the director. —-
他从口袋里拿出一封信递给主任。 —-

At the bottom of the testimonial, which was written in official language and handwriting, stood the signature of the Governor. —-
在这封用官话和手写的证明底部，有省长的签名。 —-

Everything pointed to the Governor’s having signed it unread, simply to get rid of some importunate lady.
一切都表明省长是没有读过就签字了，只是为了摆脱一些缠人的女士。

“There’s nothing for it, I bow to his authority. . . I obey . . . —-
对不起，我随他的愿，……我服从……”主任读着证明，叹了口气。 —-

” said the director, reading the testimonial, and he heaved a sigh.
请注意，这封信是在清代给百姓中签字的。

“Send in your application to-morrow. . . . There’s nothing to be done. . . .”
“明天把你的申请送过来……没什么可做的……”

And when Polzuhin had gone out, the director abandoned himself to a feeling of repulsion.
当波尔祖欣走出去后，主任感到一种厌恶的感觉。

“Sneak!” he hissed, pacing from one corner to the other. —-
“卑鄙小人！”他咝咝地说着，从一个角落走到另一个角落。 —-

“He has got what he wanted, one way or the other, the good-for-nothing toady! —-
“他得到了他想要的，不管是什么，这个一无是处的马屁精！ —-

Making up to the ladies! Reptile! Creature!”
对女士们拍马屁！卑鄙的家伙！畜生！”

The director spat loudly in the direction of the door by which Polzuhin had departed, and was immediately overcome with embarrassment, for at that moment a lady, the wife of the Superintendent of the Provincial Treasury, walked in at the door.
主任朝波尔祖欣离开的门口大声吐口水，并立刻感到尴尬，因为这时一位夫人，省财务局的妻子，走进了门口。

“I’ve come for a tiny minute . . . a tiny minute. . .” began the lady. —-
“我只是来一会儿……一会儿……”夫人开始说。 —-

“Sit down, friend, and listen to me attentively. . . . —-
“朋友，请坐下，认真听我说……” —-

Well, I’ve been told you have a post vacant. . . . —-
好吧，有人告诉我你们有一个职位空缺……” —-

To-day or to-morrow you will receive a visit from a young man called Polzuhin. . . .”
今天或明天你们将收到一个叫波尔祖欣的年轻人的访问……”

The lady chattered on, while the director gazed at her with lustreless, stupefied eyes like a man on the point of fainting, gazed and smiled from politeness.
夫人继续唠叨着，而主任则用失去光泽的迷茫眼神望着她，笑着表示礼貌。

And the next day when Vremensky came to his office it was a long time before the director could bring himself to tell the truth. —-
第二天，当弗列门斯基来到他的办公室时，主任很长时间才能使自己说出实情。 —-

He hesitated, was incoherent, and could not think how to begin or what to say. —-
他犹豫不决，语无伦次，不知道该如何开始或说什么。 —-

He wanted to apologize to the schoolmaster, to tell him the whole truth, but his tongue halted like a drunkard’s, his ears burned, and he was suddenly overwhelmed with vexation and resentment that he should have to play such an absurd part—in his own office, before his subordinate. —-
他想向校长道歉，告诉他全部真相，但他的舌头像醉汉一样犹豫不决，耳朵灼热，他突然被恼怒和愤恨淹没了，因为他不得不在自己的办公室里，在他的下属面前扮演这么荒谬的角色。 —-

He suddenly brought his fist down on the table, leaped up, and shouted angrily:
他突然拍了一下桌子，跳了起来，愤怒地喊道：

“I have no post for you! I have not, and that’s all about it! —-
“我对你没有邮件！我没有，就是这样！ —-

Leave me in peace! Don’t worry me! Be so good as to leave me alone!”
别打扰我！请你离开我！请你好心不要再打扰我！”

And he walked out of the office.
然后他走出了办公室。