8/55 But the match-maker announces that the man has beaten a retreat; Lipotchka falls in a swoon. Her father declares that there is no occasion for that, as he has a suitable match at hand. He calls in Podkhaliuzin, whom Lipotchka despises, and presents him, commanding his daughter to wed. But after a private interview with the ambitious clerk, in which the latter informs her that she no longer possesses a dowry wherewith to attract a noble suitor, and in which he promises that she shall have the greatest liberty and be indulged in any degree of extravagance, she consents. |