Повести Белкина / The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin. Александр Пушкин

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СКАЧАТЬ missed my aim. Then Silvio – at that moment he was really terrible – Silvio raised his hand to take aim at me. Suddenly the door opens, Masha rushes into the room, and with a shriek throws herself upon my neck. Her presence restored to me all my courage.

      “‘My dear,’ said I to her, ‘don’t you see that we are joking? How frightened you are! Go and drink a glass of water and then come back to us; I will introduce you to an old friend and comrade.’

      “Masha still doubted.

      “‘Tell me, is my husband speaking the truth?’ said she, turning to the terrible Silvio. ‘Is it true that you are only joking?’

      “‘He is always joking, Countess,’ replied Silvio: ‘once he gave me a slap in the face in jest; on another occasion he sent a bullet through my cap in jest; and just now, when he fired at me and missed me, it was all in jest. And now I feel inclined to have a joke.’

      “With these words he raised his pistol to take aim at me – right before her! Masha threw herself at his feet.

      “‘Rise, Masha; are you not ashamed!’ I cried in a rage. ‘And you, sir, will you stop making fun of a poor woman? Will you fire or not?’

      “‘I will not,’ replied Silvio. ‘I am satisfied. I have seen your confusion, your alarm. I forced you to fire at me. That is sufficient. You will remember me. I leave you to your conscience.’

      “Then he turned to go, but pausing in the doorway, and looking at the picture that my shot had passed through, he fired at it almost without taking aim, and disappeared. My wife had fainted away; the servants did not venture to stop him, the mere look of him filled them with terror. He went out upon the steps, called his coachman, and drove off before I could recover myself.”

      The Count fell silent. In this way I learned the end of the story, whose beginning had once made such a deep impression upon me. The hero of it I never saw again. It is said that Silvio commanded a detachment of Insurgents during the revolt under Alexander Ypsilanti[15], and that he was killed in the battle of Skulyani.

      The Snowstorm

      Horses dash across the slopes,

      Trampling snow deep-drifted …

      By the wayside stands a church,

      Lonely cross uplifted.

      * * *

      Suddenly a snowstorm flings

      Tufted flakes about us,

      O’er the sledge with whistling wing

      Flies a crow to flout us.

      Weird his cry, foreboding grief!

      Gathering their forces,

      Manes upraised, toward the dark

      Peer the speeding horses …

Zhukovsky[16]

      Toward the end of the year 1811, a memorable period for us, the good Gavrila Gavrilovich R – was living on his estate of Nenaradovo. He was celebrated throughout the district for his hospitality and kind-heartedness. The neighbors were constantly visiting him: some to eat and drink; some to play “Boston” at five kopecks[17] with his wife, Praskovya Petrovna; and some to look at their daughter, Marya Gavrilovna, a pale, slender girl of seventeen. She was considered wealthy, and many desired her for themselves or for their sons.

      Marya Gavrilovna had been brought up on French novels, and consequently was in love. The object of her choice was a poor sub-lieutenant, who was then on leave of absence in his village.

      It need scarcely be mentioned that the young man returned her passion with equal ardor, and that the parents of his beloved one, observing their mutual inclination, forbade their daughter to think of him, and gave him a worse reception than if he were a retired assessor[18].

      Our lovers corresponded with each other and daily saw each other alone in the little pine wood or near the old chapel. There they exchanged vows of eternal love, lamented their cruel fate, and formed various plans. Corresponding and conversing in this way, they arrived quite naturally at the following conclusion:

      If we cannot exist without each other, and the will of hard-hearted parents stands in the way of our happiness, why cannot we do without their consent?

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      Примечания

      1

      The Minor – a comedy by D. Fonvizin, a Russian writer of the 18th century

      2

      née – (French) born with the name

      3

      steward – (old use) a man who is employed to look after a house and lands

      4

      corvée – (French) an obligation imposed on inhabitants of a district to perform services as repair of reads, bridges, etc. for little or no remuneration

Примечания

1

The Minor – a comedy by D. Fonvizin, a Russian writer of the 18th century

2

née – (French) born with the name

3

steward – (old use) a man who is employed to look after a house and lands

4

corvée – (French) an obligation imposed on inhabitants of a district to perform services as repair of reads, bridges, etc. for little or no remuneration

5

Follows an anecdote, which we do not give, deeming it superfluous; we assure the reader, however, that it contains nothing prejudicial to the memory of Ivan Petrovich Belkin

6

Indeed, in Mr. Belkin’s manuscript, there is an inscription, in the author’s hand, over each tale: “Heard by me from such-and-such a person” (follow rank or title and СКАЧАТЬ