GOGOL, N1K0LAI, a Russian author of great and original genius, was b. at the village of Wassiljewka, in the government of Poltova, in 1810. On finishing his studies, he went to St. Petersburg, and solicited government employment, which was refused, on the ground, that "he did not know Russian." Shortly after, he proved that the offi cials were in the wrong by publishing a collection of novels and sketches, entitled Veehera nu Khutorie (Evenings at a Farmhouse). The first and most important of these tales contains a vivid picture of Cossack manners, enabling us, according to M. Sainte Beuve, to comprehend the profound antipathies that have for ages characterized the relations of certain branches of the Slavic family to each other. Then come the King of the Gnomes; the History of a Fool, which is more a satire than a psychologi cal study; and The Housekeeping of Former Times, a little master-piece of its kind. The success of Evenings at a Farmhouse was immense, and Russian critics compared Gogol's style to that of Washington Irving. It was followed by Mirgorod, a supple mentary volume, of the same character, containing stories full of poetry, and exciting astonishment not less by the vigor and grasp of mind displayed in the delineation of character, than by the extraordinary' skill with which the plots are formed and unrav eled. Gogol now turned his attention to the dramatic art, and produced the Revisor, a
comedy of brilliant genius, whose appearance on the stage excited quite a furor. The purpose of this piece was to expose the rooted abuses of the internal administration of Russian affairs. The emperor Nicholas was the first to applaud its morality, and showed his approbation by appointing the author professor of history in the university of St. Petersburg. While holding this office, he published, in 1842, Pokhozhdenigt, Chiehagova ill Mertvuiya Dushi (Adventures of Chichagov, • or Dead Souls), of which a bad translation• appeared in English in 1854, under the title of in Russia), The aim of this novel was to extinguish serfdom by ridicule. Exhausted by his labors, Gogol sought permission to travel, and visited Italy, where he took up Ins residence. There, however, his opinions appear to have undergone a change. From being an ardent Russian liberal and reformer, he became an apologist of despotism, an apostasy which he lived to regret. After the commotions of 1848, lie returned to Russia, and died at Moscow in 1851.