FOOTNOTES:
[1] Nikolaï Vasilyévitch Gogol-Yanovsky, born, according to Polevoï, on the 31st of March, 1809, at Sorotchintsui. See Appendix.
[2] Evenings at the Farm House (Vetchera na Khutoryé).
[3] Hans Küchel Garten—such was the name of the unfortunate idyl—was afterwards placed by the author, not without complaisance, among his juvenilia. See Appendix.
[4] This is a mistake. He completed it, to be sure, but in his religious mania he destroyed the most of the second part: it was completed by another hand. See Appendix.
[5] From A Terrible Vengeance.
[6] The passage referred to is as follows: “The steppe grew more and more beautiful. The whole South, all the region which includes the New Russia of the present day as far as the Black Sea, was a virgin desert of green. Never had the plough passed through the boundless waves of vegetation. Only a few horses, concealed in it as in a forest, trod it under their hoofs. Nothing in nature could be finer. All the surface of the earth was like a green golden ocean from which emerged millions of varied flowers. Amidst the delicate tall stalks of the grass gleamed azure, purple, violet blue-bonnets (voloshki); the yellow broom lifted on high its pyramidal tower; the white clover, with its umbrella-like bonnets, mottled the plain; a wheat-stalk, brought from God knows where, was waxing full of seed. Under their slender roots the partridges were running about, thrusting out their necks. The air was full of a thousand different bird-notes. In the sky hung motionless a cloud of hawks, stretching wide their wings and fixing their eyes silently on the grass. The cry of the wild geese moving in clouds was heard from God knows what distant lake. From the grass arose with measured strokes the prairie-gull, and luxuriously bathed herself in the blue waves of the air. Now she was lost in immensity, and was visible only as a lone black speck. Now she swept back on broad wings, and gleamed in the sun. The deuce take you, steppes, how beautiful you are!” (Tchort vas vozmi, styépi, kak vui khoroshi’)
[7] From The May Night.
[8] From Taras Bulba.
[9] From Old-time Proprietors.
[10] Vetchera na Khutoryé bliz Dikanki.
[11] Starosvyétskié Pomyéshchiki.
[12] Povyést o Tom Kak Possorilis Ivan Ivanovitch s. Ivanom Nikiforovitchem.
[13] From The May Night.
[14] For a translation of this portion, see Appendix.
[15] Regiment.
[16] Gorodnitchi.
[17] Bobtchinski and Dobtchinski by name.
[18] He says that he addresses Pushkin by the familiar pronoun tui (thou).
[19] Effacé.
[20] Kollezhsky sovyetnik, the ninth rank in the civil tchin, giving personal nobility.
[21] Khozyaistvennuie produktui.
[22] “‘Akhti! what nice stamped paper you have!’ continued she, gazing at him, at his portfolio. And, indeed, there was not much stamped paper to be had then. ‘If you would only let me have a sheet! I need it so much. It happens sometimes I want to write a petition to the court, and I haven’t any thing fit to write on.’
“Tchitchikof explained to her that this paper was not of that kind; that it was designed for drawing up contracts in regard to serfs, and not for petitions. However, in order to accommodate her, he let her have a few sheets for a ruble” (not five rubles, as M. Dupuy translates it, mistaking the word meaning price for five).—N. H. D.
[23] See Mérimée’s novel entitled Lokis.—Author’s note.
[24] Gogol was living at that time in Italy. He wrote while abroad the second part of Dead Souls. He left Russia after the publication of the first part.—Author’s Note.