And if you think about it, what haven’t I been through? Like a frail vessel adrift on furious waves . . . What hounding, what persecution have I not suffered, what grief have I not tasted, and for what? For truth and justice, for keeping my conscience clean, for giving a helping hand to the helpless widow and the destitute orphan . . .” At this point Chichikov even took out his handkerchief and wiped away a tear that had rolled down his cheek.
