So what is it exactly that bothers you, speaking personally?”
Voldirev presented him with his request.
The clerk came to life, as if he had been seized by a whirlwind.
He gave the information, made arrangements to have a copy of the document, offered a chair, and all this in a single moment.
He even chatted about the weather and asked about the harvest.
And, when Voldirev left, he accompanied him down the stairs, charmingly and politely smiling and giving the appearance that at any moment he was ready to protrate himself in front of the petitioner in obeisance.
Voldirev for some reason began to feel akward, and yielding to an internal prompting, he took a one rouble note from his pocket and gave it to the clerk.
The latter was all the time bowing and smiling, and he accepted the note like a conjuror, so that it merely flashed in the air and disappeared.
“That’s folks for you!” the landowner thought to himself as he came out on to the street, and he stood and mopped his brow with his handkerchief.
1883