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Foreign literature of the XNUMXth century in brief. Cheat sheet: briefly, the most important

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Table of contents

1. Austrian literature
2. American literature
3. English literature
4. Belgian literature
5. Danish literature
6. Italian literature
7. German literature
8. Norwegian literature
9. Polish literature
10. French literature
11. Czech literature
12. Swedish literature
13. Swiss literature

Tragedy (1817, publ. 1819)

The brilliant poetess Sappho, famous throughout Hellas, returns to her home from the Olympic competitions crowned with a laurel wreath. The people, servants and slaves meet their mistress with delight and jubilation, with flowers and music. With a golden lyre in her hands, in festive clothes, she descends from a chariot drawn by white horses. Next to her is an unknown, simply dressed handsome young man with modest manners. Sappho introduces him to his fellow citizens as her beloved, worthy person, noble family, with whom she wants to experience the joys of earthly life for the first time. From now on, the sounds of her lyre, which give people pleasure, will become clearer and closer to them. A rich feast continues the happy meeting.

Left alone, Sappho and Phaon reveal their feelings to each other. They have so much to say about themselves. The great Sappho suffered for many years from treachery in friendship and love, she learned to endure insults and losses alone. Now Sappho gives his heart, full of sizzling passion, to an unknown youth. She is tormented by fear that she may not find the same all-consuming love and tenderness in return. In the enthusiastic confessions of Phaon, the insightful Sappho, the incomparable beauty Sappho, painfully recognizes the notes of flattery, reverence, deification, so familiar to her, but not love in its earthly sense. Phaon, on the other hand, feels completely happy. After all, the one whom the whole ancient world admires, whose poems until recently were reverently read from the scrolls in the family of Phaon and among his friends, fixed her favorable gaze on him. He was sent by his father to a chariot race in Olympia, but, obsessed with the desire to see the divine Sappho as soon as possible, drove the horses, did not participate in the games and did not receive a reward. The best reward for him was the sight of the most beautiful woman. Excited by her victory, Sappho dropped the golden lyre, and Phaon rushed towards her. Their eyes met, the fire in the eyes of the young man carried away the famous poetess, she called the embarrassed and silent Phaon to follow her, and he followed her.

Sappho understands that she is with her chosen one, as it were, in different dimensions: she is on the cold heights of art, where she ended up as a reward for the sacrifices made, for the "difficult feat of singing"; he, endowed with a beautiful appearance, high spirit, courage and the ability to be happy, stands firmly on the ground. And this land and Sappho's house on the seashore, surrounded by colonnades, grottoes and blooming roses, are so beautiful that it is worth trying to connect your so different destinies and enjoy a generous life:

"Let art drink from the cup of life, and life from the cup of bright art!" Sappho invites Phaon to own her house and slaves, to become their master and master.

In the house of Sappho, her beloved slave grew up, a young Melitta, kidnapped as a child from her country and family. She was brought up by Sappho, is grateful and devoted to her, understands the complex nature, the proud and easily vulnerable soul of her kind mistress, surrounded by universal worship, but so misunderstood and lonely. Sappho loves Melitta in his own way, reckoning with her opinion. She wants to know what this girl thinks about Faon, so that together, like sisters, she admires his virtues, dreams of a life together when he begins to love them both, albeit in different ways. Sappho does not know that Melitta also fell in love with Phaon at first sight, hiding it from everyone and from herself. Sappho shares with Melitta her fears about how true and enduring Phaon's love for her is, she suffers from the difference in age and in life experience, in their position. She needs Melitta's support. Such is the constant state of Sappho, hopes and joy alternate with doubts and fears. At first, Sappho notices only Melitta's passivity, a clear lack of any interest in the "master" and a complete misunderstanding of the feelings of the lady. This even calms her, she spares the soul of a young inexperienced girl.

Leaving the noisy feast, Phaon is in deep thought, in indecision. He feels remorse in relation to his relatives, to whom he did not tell anything about himself. Perhaps the Judgmental rumor has already informed them about the son's stay with Sappho in the most unfavorable light for the poetess. Mentally, Phaon is ready to defend his goddess from all reproaches.

Longing for his home and Melitta. She dreams of returning and crying out on the chest of her loved ones the anguish and pain of the slave, aggravated by the meeting with Phaon, who should belong to the mistress.

Young people happen to be nearby, alone. Phaon noticed the beautiful girl during the feast. Melitta tells him the sad story of her life. As a sign of sympathy and friendship, the young man gives her a rose. Melitta wants to answer him in kind, tries to pick a rose from a tall bush, falls and falls into the arms of Phaon, who quickly kisses her. At this moment Sappho appears. Frustrated, she sends Melitta away and remains alone with Phaon. The proud woman pretends to take the whole scene for a joke, and the embarrassed Phaon agrees with her. Now Sappho expects words of love from him, but, not hearing them, seeks solitude.

Some time later, tormented by cruel doubts, Sappho sees Phaon asleep on a bench under a rose bush. This sight touches her, she is again ready to believe in his love, drives away thoughts of betrayal. Sappho kisses Phaon on the forehead, he wakes up and with half-closed eyes pronounces the name of the slave. Thus, the inexorable truth is revealed, which Sappho comprehends earlier than Phaon himself.

So, the one that all Hellas is proud of is "confounded by a slave." No, she, a celestial, did not need to descend from her heights to mere mortals who can deceive, "the lot of the gods" should not be confused with the "lot of mortals."

The goddess arranges an interrogation of the slave, believing that she is deliberately deceiving her. She tries to take away the rose given by Phaon from Melitta, threatening her with a dagger. Phaon comes running to Melitta's cries. He accuses Sappho of cruelty and arrogance, calls him "the insidious Circe". Sappho cries, shocked. Melitta takes pity on her mistress, rushes to her, hugs her knees, offers to give both the rose and her life. But Phaon, having understood his feelings, becomes decisive. He leaves, taking Melitta with him.

Left alone, Sappho asks the gods for help and curses the most terrible of human vices - ingratitude. She orders the slave Ramnes to send Melitta across the sea, to Chios, to separate her from Phaon.

This plan is violated by Phaon, who, together with Melitta, goes on a boat to the sea. The girl cannot resist her beloved, but she does not experience the joy of flight, she feels sorry for her mistress.

Sappho sends servants after the fugitives. She wants to look into Phaon's eyes and ask what she did wrong before him, she still hopes to return his love. Lovers are brought back by force. Confident in his rights as a free man, Phaon also wants to look into Sappho's eyes and understand her, to believe that she is sorry and ready to forgive. But she hides her eyes from Phaon. Melitta rushes to Sappho with a plea for forgiveness, like a loving mother. But she abruptly turns away and leaves.

Phaon angrily expresses his contempt for Sappho, but receives a rebuff from Ramnes, who believes that a mere mortal does not dare to judge the "treasure of Hellas", that love for Phaon has become "the only shadow" in the high and beautiful life of the poetess. And Melitta, in her sacrifice, is ready to become her slave again. Sappho appears, in rich clothes, with a purple robe on his shoulders, with a laurel wreath on his head, with a golden lyre in his hands - as when returning from the Olympics. Majestic and solemn, strong and wise - a completely different Sappho, who has found herself, knows what to do. She appeals to the gods with a request to allow her to "end her life with dignity." Then he blesses the lovers as a mother and friend, and in front of them with an exclamation: "The immortals are honored, but only mortals are loved!" - Throws himself off a cliff into the sea. Great is the grief of those present. “She has now returned to heaven,” Ramnes says.

A. V. Dyakonova

(Konig Ottokars Gluck und Ende)

Tragedy (1823, publ. 1825)

In the Prague castle of King Přemysl Ottokar of Bohemia, confusion reigns among his courtiers. Ottokar divorces his wife Margaret of Austria, widow of the German Emperor Heinrich von Hohenstaufen. The king entered into this marriage for reasons of profit, in order to take possession of Austria, which belongs to the queen by inheritance. This is well understood by Margarita - the "queen of tears", who lost two children in her first marriage. She no longer has any hope or desire to have an heir. She became the wife of Ottokar in order to avoid endless wars, wanting to tie Bohemia and Austria together in peace. Before her eyes, the noble von Rosenberg family plotted to break the already weak ties of her marriage to Ottokar in order to marry the king to the young Bertha von Rosenberg and get closer to the throne. However, due to his selfish plans, Ottokar quickly abandons the girl, not caring at all about the honor of herself and the honor of her family. He already has other plans. Margarita tells about this to Count Rudolf von Habsburg, the future emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, bitterly noting how much evil Ottokar committed. The noble Margarita, the heiress of an ancient family, is forced to give him Austria and Styria, inherited by her, before the divorce, so as not to cause new bloodshed. She still believes in Ottokar's reason and humanity.

Ottokar's lust for power has no barriers or boundaries yet. He dreams of conquering all of medieval Europe. For his Prague, he wants the same power and glory that they use in the XNUMXth century. Paris, Cologne, London and Vienna. Strengthening the power of the Czech Republic requires more and more sacrifices. Without doubting Margarita's understanding, Ottokar confidentially informs her that he "launched his hand" in Hungary, intending to marry Kunigunda, the granddaughter of the Hungarian king. "My country now both marries and divorces me," he cynically declares. In vain Margarita warns him that unrighteous deeds are usually accompanied by manifestations of malice and betrayal behind the back of the winner. Ottokar feels his strength and luck, is not afraid of enemies, and is indifferent to human destinies.

The princes of the Holy Roman Empire sent an embassy to Ottokar with a proposal to accept the imperial crown if the choice falls on him at the emperor's election ceremony at the Diet in Frankfurt. But the arrogant king is in no hurry to answer, "first let them choose," then he will answer. Neither he nor his courtiers, no one doubts that they will elect him - the strongest. Fear will force you to make that choice.

In the meantime, in the throne room of the royal castle, to the sound of fanfare, the motley Bohemian nobility and military leaders, the knights of Austria, Carinthia, Styria, gathered. Tatar ambassadors came to ask for peace. The king of Hungary is present with his children and Cunigunde. Everyone glorifies Ottokar, everyone is in a hurry to prove their loyalty and proclaim him, not yet elected, German emperor.

The ambassadors of the Holy Roman Empire and Count von Habsburg, under their patronage, take Margarita, who is now unwanted here, away from the celebration. They are outraged by the cruelty and deceit of Ottokar.

The young queen, a beautiful "haughty Magyar" has already become disillusioned with her middle-aged wife, who is only interested in state affairs. Kunigunda misses her father's cheerful court, where all the men of the kingdom served her with delight. Zivish von Rosenberg starts an affair with her, Ottokar's secret enemy, his courtier and confidant, has not yet been revealed. But women are only a means of prosperity for Ottokar, and he is sure that the clever Zivish will not dare to encroach on the honor of the king.

Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, everyone hears the message that at the famous Diet in Frankfurt, not Ottokar, but Rudolf von Habsburg, is elected German emperor. The opinion of those who were indignant at Ottokar's indefatigable lust for power, his inhuman acts, and the lawlessness perpetrated on the lands subordinate to him won. The empire needs a just sovereign, and not one who walks over corpses.

The new German emperor invites Ottokar to his place to discuss the need to return all those lands that were captured by him by sword or intrigue. It will be a just and legal act in the interests of the Holy Roman Empire. But how can the Bohemian king answer the emperor, except for the refusal to meet and the threat of new bloody wars that replace politics for him?

On the Danube, on opposite banks, are the armies of Rudolf von Habsburg and Ottokar. Panic reigns in the king's Bohemian camp, the Austrians and Styrians defect to the emperor's side. In impotent fury, Ottokar threatens to turn Austria into a deserted desert. But the harsh reality makes him, an experienced warrior, recognize the inevitability of peace negotiations offered to him by the emperor.

Rudolf von Habsburg is a wise, caring and just ruler, he is completely devoid of ambition, lives only in the interests of the empire and his subjects. This is the exact opposite of Ottokar. Two months after his election, he managed to rally princes around him, he is respected even by opponents. Sparing Ottokar's vanity, Rudolf offers no man's land for negotiations. Zivish von Rosenberg persuades Ottokar to continue the war, promising victory. After a long internal struggle, Ottokar agrees to negotiations, convinced by the only courtier loyal to him - the chancellor, who believes that only in this way Ottokar will be able to maintain his honor and glory, save the country from bloodshed.

At the meeting, in a crown and armor, the haughty Ottokar finds himself in an unusual position for him. The emperor firmly demands from Ottokar the return of what rightfully belongs to the empire, including Austria. At this time, the burgomaster of Vienna brings the keys to the capital to the emperor. The knights of Styria voluntarily come to seek protection from the emperor from Ottokar. "God's will" forbids fighting, Rudolph believes. Having become emperor by "sacred choice", realizing the burden of his responsibility to the peoples and each individual person, Rudolf swore to "defend the world and rule fairly". He also calls on Ottokar for this, because giving peace to the people means making them happy.

Ottokar agrees to return all the lands, while accepting - permission to rule Bohemia and Moravia. He agrees to the emperor's demand to kneel at this ceremony - not before mortals, as Rudolf explains, but "before the empire and God." Rudolf delicately fences off the scene of kneeling with a tent from unnecessary glances. This is prevented by Tsivish, having cut the tent and exposing the king in front of the shocked retinue.

Rudolf invites Ottokar to a celebration in honor of the "bloodless victory". But Ottokar, feeling humiliated, rips off his crown and runs away.

For two days he hides from everyone, and then comes to the doors of his castle, sits at the threshold so as not to "desecrate" the castle with himself. Before him passes Bertha, abandoned by him, who has fallen into madness. The young queen curses her fate and reminds the king of those recent times when he sacrificed other people's lives. She refuses to be his wife until the shame of the king's defeat is washed away.

Warmed up by Kunigunda, Ottokar decides to break the peace treaty and gather an army to fight the emperor. Now he is already defeated in everything - on the battlefields and in his personal life. Kunigunda escapes with Tsivish to the emperor's camp. Margarita dies from a "broken heart". Resentment, pain and regret for the unjustly lived life seize Ottokar. Before the last battle in his life, he realizes how tragic and disastrous his reign was. And not from fear of death, but from sincere repentance, he asks God's judgment on himself: "Destroy me, do not touch my people."

Ottokar's life ends in a duel with a knight once betrayed to him, who avenges his father, who died through the fault of Ottokar, for his beloved Berta. In front of the coffin with the body of Ottokar, the prayers of the insane Bertha and the instructions of Rudolf are heard, transferring the rule of Austria to his son. The German emperor warns the successors of his kind against the most terrible pride - the desire for world power. Let the greatness and fall of Ottokar serve as a reminder and reproach to everyone!

A. V. Dyakonova

(Der Traum - ein Leben)

Dramatic tale (1817-1831, publ. 1840)

In ancient times in Persia, in a picturesque mountainous area, among the rocks and trees, the family of a wealthy peasant Masud lived. Every summer evening Mirza, Masud's daughter, waits with fear and anxiety for Rustan's return from hunting. This is Masoud's nephew, who even at night searches among the mountain peaks for "what he cannot find," the girl sighs sadly. She watches how peacefully return home to their families, the rest of the hunters, their neighbors. Father and daughter want to understand their "naughty" Rustan, who does not know peace, dreams of battles and deeds, power and glory. He fell out of love with work in the field and around the house, he is attracted by the dangers of hunting. Mirza thinks that Rustan, so calm and restrained before, is influenced by the negro slave Zanga who has appeared in their house, who has only battles and victories in his mind.

Masud heard rumors that Rustan had a strong quarrel while hunting with Osmin, the son of the Samarkand emir. Massoud realizes that his nephew is hiding this from him so as not to hear reproaches. Rustan is indeed hiding from his uncle, not wanting to cause him suffering with his confessions. He is ready to take responsibility for his own actions. Now the main thing for Rustan is to take revenge on the impudent Osmin, to prove his strength. Zanga, as an eyewitness, describes a quarrel that could have ended in bloodshed if the participants had not been separated. The hunters gathered in the clearing to rest and chat. The spoiled son of the Emir boasted of his victories in love. He said that the ruler of Samarkand, who finds it increasingly difficult to defend himself from enemies, promises to give the throne and his daughter as a reward to the one who defeats the enemy hordes. Rustan was already ready to rush off. But from the noble Os-min, he received a mocking advice: to return to the hut, not to forget about his inheritance - a plow and a plow.

Zanga plays on Rustan's ambition and urges him to take decisive action. Rustan also thinks so, because his ancestors were warriors, and the current life seems miserable and uninteresting to him. From now on, his motto is - the strong will cope with the weak. He has no doubt that success will come in the process of daring and "what you capture is yours."

Masoud kindly tries to reason with his nephew, to keep him in the family, next to the sensitive and gentle Mirza. But Rustan is now possessed by a different passion, and, finding no way out, it can destroy his life. The fire of struggle burns in his chest. He states that he leaves home in the morning. Even the last argument of his uncle does not stop Rustan: he is loved by Mirza. Rustan also loves Mirza, which means that he will return to her with a victory.

Rejoicing at the coming day, which will give him a new life, Rustan goes to bed. He hears the quiet sounds of a harp and the song that the old dervish sings. The song celebrates true human values: truthful thought, kindness and love. Earthly goods are seduction, vanity. "Life is a dream." Rustan falls asleep, and in a dream he sees a huge snake shimmering with gold ... Everything that follows is already happening in Rustan's dreams.

Far from home and relatives, he enjoys freedom, when there is "no home, no order, no care, no prohibition", when he first feels like a man. But Rustan does not forget about the matter, he needs to rush to Samarkand in order to gain power and glory. Zanga is near and howls to support him. On the way, travelers meet a richly dressed man who is fleeing from a snake. He turns out to be the king of Samarkand. Rustan tries to kill the snake with his spear, but misses it. The snake is struck by another spear thrown from a high rock by a stranger in a brown cloak. Laughing at Rustan's awkwardness, the stranger disappears. At this time, the king, who had lost consciousness for a while, comes to his senses. He considers Rustan to be his savior, which Zanga confirms, keeping his embarrassed master from explaining. In the mind of the king, another image of the shooter vaguely flashes - a man on a rock in a brown cloak. Then the retinue of the king and his daughter Gulnara appear, grateful to the "hero" and subjugated by him, so modest, but strong. The king gives Rustan his dagger, adorned with precious stones, as the first reward. And already there is a hint of the main award, causing joyful embarrassment in both young people.

Rustan shares his experiences with Zanga. He is happy and fears nothing. From an unknown shooter, if he appears, you can generously pay off. All the same, the hearts of the king and his daughter already belong to him. Suddenly, a stranger appears in front of the deceivers with a brown cloak in his hands. Having calmly listened to threats, persuasion and generous promises, the stranger advises Rustan to live his glory, and not someone else's. He continues on his way to the royal court. Overcoming fear and hesitation, Rustan rushes after him and delays him on a bridge over a mountain stream. They fight, the stranger turns out to be stronger, but at the last moment Rustan manages to plunge the dagger presented by the tsar into the unarmed chest. The enemy falls into the river and dies. At the first moment, Rustan feels regret and horror, but the royal messengers are already calling him to the court. He must immediately lead the royal army.

In Samarkand, after a brilliant victory over the Tiflis Khan, Rustan is surrounded by universal recognition, glory and love. Only Zanga saw how, in the decisive moments of the battle, Rustan fell off his horse as the khan approached. But the army began to avenge their beloved leader, and the enemy fled. And now the hero is already receiving honors as the savior of the region.

Meanwhile, the corpse of a murdered man is found in the river with a royal dagger in his chest and a brown cloak. He is recognized as one of the courtiers of the king, whom he disliked and expelled from the capital for his claims to the hand of his daughter. The relatives of the murdered suspect the king.

Unwittingly, the tsar begins to understand the fatal role of Rustan in the story with the snake and in the death of the courtier. A noble ruler has to express his thoughts in the face of the one to whom he wants to entrust the country and his daughter. He gives him a night to look for excuses, but if by morning there are none, the fate of the guilty person will be decided at the council by the best people of the army. After all, the king himself must be justified before his people. He does not yet reveal secrets to Gulnara.

But Rustan feels smarter and stronger than everyone else. With the help of an old sorceress, who saw through the "handsome", he manages to poison the king. The blame falls on the old father of the murdered nobleman.

The army raises a rebellion, wanting to have Rustan as the ruler. Gulna-ra asks him for protection, offering to share the royal crown with him. So far, Rustan is forced to go for it, although he decided to become a full-fledged ruler.

The cruel rule of Rustan does not last long. A conspiracy is ripening, the truth is revealed with the poisoning of the king. Gulnara understands what an irreparable mistake her father and she made by trusting a selfish person who sheds the blood of the innocent. But even convicted of all crimes, Rustan is confident in his superiority over people and demands that Gulnara transfer all power over the country to him. But not always "the strongest is right", the army goes over to the side of the just Gulnara. The warriors pursue the fleeing Rustan and Zanga. Fleeing from them, Rustan jumps into the river from the very bridge on which he killed the man, and wakes up.

A terrible dream still rules over him for some time. Then, with the help of Mirza and Masood, he is convinced that just a dream - one night, and not a whole life, a terrible life - shared it with loved ones. He hardly comes to his senses and joyfully, relievedly realizes that he is innocent, did not commit murders, that he can find peace of mind - and this is the most important thing.

Kneeling in front of Masud, Rustan asks him to fulfill three requests: to accept him again into his family, to release Zanga to freedom and, of course, to give his beloved Mirza for him. Massoud willingly agrees to the first two requests. Then he warns his nephew, because dreams are the "hidden desires" of life - "watch yourself, my son." Happy Mirza hurries her father with an answer to the last request.

A. V. Dyakonova

(Die Mappe meines UrgroBvaters)

Tale (1841)

The hero, describing the old house, which belonged to his great-grandfather, a village doctor, recalls: "the old utensils surrounded us with an indelible chronicle, and we, the children, got used to it, as if in an old picture book, the key to which only grandfather had, he, the only a living biography of the doctor, his father", the chest contained many cherished little things, the only purpose of which was to be stored there. Having become a man, the hero returns to his native nest and finds an old leather-bound book in the attic, familiar to him since childhood. These are Dr. Augustine's notes. The hero is immersed in reading.

The first entry is dated June 1739. After the refusal of his beloved to marry him, Augustine rushed into the forest and wanted to hang himself, but the old colonel, the girl's father, sensing something was wrong, went after him and invited Augustine to talk. Two days later, Augustine came to the colonel. The Colonel told him his life. Disinherited, after the death of his father, he went around the world to seek his fortune. He presented himself as a great commander, but no one wanted to take him into service. In Paris, he once happened to accidentally win a large sum at the gambling table. He was lucky in the future, and soon he became very rich. But one person called him a scoundrel, who trades at the expense of crazy gold; the colonel gave all his fortune to the poor and challenged the offender to a duel. Having shot him in the shoulder, the colonel left for Germany and entered military service. At twenty-six, he inherited a considerable fortune from his uncle and was about to marry, but his best friend betrayed him and married his bride. The colonel wanted to shoot himself, but a simple soldier from his company pushed him under the arm, and the colonel missed. Out of grief, he decided to squander the inheritance and spent six years with his friends everything he had. The war began, and one day the old warrior suggested to the young man a wonderful remedy for love troubles: write down his thoughts and feelings and re-read the notes no earlier than three years later. The Colonel tried this remedy and was convinced of its usefulness. He rose to the rank of colonel, was wounded and retired. During one of the campaigns, his path lay through a picturesque valley, and now he decided to settle in it. He married a girl whom her relatives kept in a black body and she was such a savage that she did not immediately imbue him with confidence. But by gentle and respectful treatment he gradually won her love and was very happy. They had a daughter, Margarita, but when the girl was three years old, the colonel's wife fell into the abyss during a walk and fell to her death. A few years later, the colonel and his daughter left their home, lived in different places, and then decided to settle in the valley near Pierling, where the colonel bought a plot and began to build a house. Dr. Augustine was their neighbor, they became friends, and the doctor fell in love with Marguerite, but she refused him. Fearing that Augustine might kill himself, the colonel advised him to keep notes and reread them no earlier than three years later.

Augustine came from a poor family. When he returned home after finishing his studies, the peasant father did not dare to come up and greet his learned son. Augustine began to treat the sick and devoted all his time and energy to this. Everyone in the district loved the doctor for his kindness and disinterestedness - he not only did not charge the poor, but also tried to help with money. He built a house for himself next to his father's hut and found a healing spring nearby. But soon Augustine's father and sisters died, he was left completely alone and took the sick teenager Gottlieb, the son of a poor peasant, into his house. Augustine bought horses to make it easier to get to the sick, and rode to them in any weather.

The winter was harsh, but then it suddenly became warmer and everything was covered with an ice crust. "Another bush gave the impression of clashing candles or light, watery gleaming corals." Under the weight of the ice, trees were bent and broken, blocking the way, and Augustine had to go around the sick on foot. The wind blew, a storm broke out. Several people died, crushed by fallen trees, but soon the storm subsided, and clear spring days came. When the earth thawed, a colonel came to these places and began to build a house. Augustine first saw the colonel with his daughter in the church. He liked them, and soon the opportunity presented itself to get to know each other better. They became friends and spent a lot of time together. Augustine fell in love with Margarita with all his heart, and the girl reciprocated. But one day his nephew Rudolph, a handsome and noble young man, came to visit the colonel, and it seemed to Augustine that Margarita was not indifferent to him. Margarita was offended and did not dissuade Augustine. She loved him, but refused to become his wife. Augustine wanted to hang himself, but, taken by surprise by the colonel, changed his mind. He tried for the last time to convince Margarita, but the girl was adamant. Then the colonel sent his daughter from home to a distant relative, and Augustine continued to treat the sick throughout the district and kept records, meeting with the colonel from time to time and never talking to him about Margaret. The circle of his activities expanded, and life more and more refuted the words that escaped from him in a difficult moment: "Lonely, like an anchor torn from a rope, my heart yearns in my chest." So three years passed. One day Augustine was invited to a shooting festival in Pirling. There he met a colonel who informed him of Margarita's arrival. During the three years of absence, Margarita realized that she was wrong, the doctor also realized that he was to blame, and they reconciled, to the immense joy of the colonel, who had long dreamed of seeing them as husband and wife. Augustine was in his late thirties, and his heart was beating with joy like that of an eighteen-year-old youth. Returning home, he opened the window and looked out: "the same silence reigned there, calmness and festive splendor - from countless silver stars swarming in the sky."

On this, the hero stops the story, because he has not yet made out the doctor's further notes. Augustine lived a long happy life and in his old age he looked like a colonel. Towards the end of his life, he reread his notes and made new ones, which the hero hopes to publish later.

O. E. Grinberg

Story (1844)

Tiburius Knight was known as a big eccentric. There were several reasons for this. First, his father was an eccentric. Secondly, his mother was also distinguished by oddities, the main of which was excessive concern for her son's health. His tutor had such a strong desire for order that the boy hated all learning. The rich uncle also took part in the upbringing of his nephew, intending to make him his heir. Tiburius grew up thoughtful and absent-minded. When all his caregivers died one by one, he was left alone and helpless. Tiburius bought himself beautiful things, then he began to learn to play the violin, began to paint in oils. One fine day, Tiburius decided that he was seriously ill, and gradually stopped all communication with people. "Now Mr. Tiburius could be compared to a carefully plastered and whitewashed tower: the swallows and woodpeckers, which had previously circled near her, flew away, and she stands alone, abandoned by everyone." From morning till night he read books on medicine, finding more and more new diseases in himself. Not far from Tiburius, a man settled who was also reputed to be an eccentric. As a doctor of medicine, he did not practice at all, but was engaged in arable farming and gardening. It was to him that Tiburius turned for advice. The doctor advised him to marry, but first of all to go to the waters, where he was destined to meet his future wife. Marriage did not attract Tiburius, but the trip to the resort, on the contrary, seemed useful, and he set off.

After traveling only one day, he imagined that he had gone very far from home, and there were still two days of travel ahead. At the resort, he also did not communicate with anyone and, having discussed the treatment plan with a local doctor, he regularly took exercise along the once and for all chosen path. But then one day he changed his usual route and, leaving, as always, the carriage and servants on the road, he went along a narrow path. The path twisted through the trees, the forest grew thicker and colder, and Tiburius realized that he had gone further than he thought. He turned back, walking faster and faster, but neither the familiar rock nor his carriage was visible. Tibu-rius was frightened, and he did what he had not done for a long time: he ran. But the forest did not thin out, the path twisted and twisted between the trees:

Tiburius got lost. He was very tired, he walked and walked and reached a meadow spread out on a mountainside. It was getting dark fast. Luckily, Tiburius met a lumberjack who showed him the way to the city. Tiburius returned to the hotel on foot, in the middle of the night, which surprised the employees a lot. Fearing that this adventure would be detrimental to his health, Tiburius covered himself with two blankets and fell asleep. But when he woke up, he felt fine, and the fact that his legs hurt was completely natural - after all, he had never taken such long walks in his life. He wanted to understand how it happened that he got lost, and after a while he decided to repeat the walk along the forest path. Now he was sure that he would not go astray. He walked along the path, closely following the stone wall along which it wound, and suddenly noticed that in a rocky place, where the path was hardly noticeable, another, more noticeable, merged with it, and not far away it rose directly into the forest. Tiburius realized that every time he turned back, he fell on this branch, which led him far away from the carriage and from the servants. From that day on, he often took walks along the forest path and made sketches.

One day he met a peasant girl on the path with a basket full of wild strawberries. The girl treated him to berries and promised to show him the places where strawberries grow. Tiburius began to often go to the forest with Maria - that was the name of the girl. When the holiday season ended, Tiburius returned to his estate, but in the spring he again went to the waters. In the forest, he again met Maria and again began to walk often with the girl. One fine day, he noticed that Maria was a beauty, and soon the idea came to his mind to marry her. The girl gave her consent. Tiburius moved to her homeland and began, following the example of his healer, to manage the household himself. The doctor, who at one time advised Tiburius to marry, also moved to these places, he often visits Tiburius and respectfully calls him only "my friend Theodore" - after all, Tiburius was not a name, but a nickname for this eccentric, until he became an ordinary happy person .

O. E. Grinberg

Roman (1869)

Venus has a cold. While talking about the coldness of Europe and Europeans, she constantly sneezes and wraps her marble shoulders in dark sable furs. "The rougher a woman treats a man, the more she will be loved and idolized by him." Nice companion! However, we must wake up - Severin is already waiting for tea.

"A strange dream!" Severin says. Strange Severin! A thirty-year-old pedant who lives by the clock, the thermometer, the barometer, Hippocrates, Kant... but sometimes suddenly overtaken by frantic fits of passion. Strange house: skeletons, stuffed animals, plasters, paintings, in the picture - she: Venus in furs. Instead of explanations, Severin takes out a manuscript, and all the time while we are reading "Confessions of the Supersensible", he sits with his back to us by the fireplace, dreaming ...

Before us is a slightly corrected diary, started in the Carpathian resort for the sake of boredom. Gogol, headache, cupids ... - oh, friend Severin! You are an amateur in everything! The resort is almost deserted. Only the young widow from the top floor and the statue of Venus in the garden deserve attention. Moonlit night, the widow in the garden, it's Venus! No, her name is Wanda von Dunaeva. Wanda lets her stone predecessor wear her fur coat and invites the astonished Severin to become her slave, her jester, her plaything. Severin is ready for anything!

They spend all day together. He vividly tells her about his childhood, about a second cousin in a fur katsaveyka, who once whipped him - oh, what a pleasure! - rods; he lectures her about artists who painted women in furs, about legendary masochists, about great voluptuaries. Wanda is visibly aroused...

A few days later, Wanda appears before a shocked Severin in an ermine katsaveyka with a whip in her hands. Hit. Compassion. "Beat me without mercy!" Hail of blows. "Get out of my sight, slave!"

Painful days - Wanda's arrogant coldness, rare caresses, long separations: a voluntary slave should appear to her mistress only on a call. Severin is too noble a name for a servant. Now he is Gregory. "We're going to Italy, Gregory." The lady travels first class; wrapping her feet in a fur blanket, the servant retires to his third.

Florence, a magnificent castle, painted - Samson and Delilah - a ceiling, a sable cloak, a document - an agreement (an inquisitive reader will find in the appendices to the novel a similar "Agreement between Mrs. Fanny von Pistor and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch"). "Mrs. Dunaeva has the right to torture him at her first whim, or even kill him if she pleases." Severin seals this unusual contract and writes a note under Wanda's dictation about his voluntary departure from life. Now his fate is in her lovely plump hands. Delilah in a fur cloak bends over the enamored Samson. For his devotion, Severin is rewarded with a bloody flogging and a month of exile. A weary slave gardens, a beautiful mistress makes visits...

A month later, the servant Gregory finally takes up his duties: he waits on the guests at dinner, receiving slaps in the face for awkwardness, delivers letters from the lady to men, reads Manon Lescaut aloud to her, at her order showers her face and chest with kisses and - "You can be everything, whatever I want - a thing, an animal! .. "- he drags a plow through a maize field, urged on by Vanda's negro maids. The lady watches this spectacle from afar.

The new victim of "Lviv's Venus" (Wanda - countrywoman Sacher-Ma-Zoch) is a German artist. He writes it in furs on a naked body, trampling a lying slave with his foot. He calls his painting "Venus in Furs", no matter how strange it may seem to someone.

…Walk in the park. Wanda (purple velvet, ermine edge) drives the horses herself, sitting on the goats. To meet on a slender hot raven - Apollo in a fur jacket. Their eyes meet...

Gregory receives an impatient order: find out everything about the rider!

The servant reports to Vande Venere: Apollo is a Greek, his name is Alexei Papadopolis, he is brave and cruel, young and free. Wanda is losing sleep.

The slave tries to run away, the slave wants to take his own life, the slave rushes to the river ... A vulgar amateur! Besides, his life does not belong to him. Soaking wet, Severin-Gregory walks around the mistress's house, he sees them together - the goddess and the god: Apollo waves his whip and, angry, leaves. Venus trembles: "I love him like I've never loved anyone. I can make you be his slave."

The slave is furious. Wanda squanders a lot of flattery and caresses in order - "We are leaving tonight" - to calm him down and - "You are completely cold, I will whip you a little" - to tie his hands.

And at the same moment the canopy of her bed parted, and the black curly head of a handsome Greek appeared.

Apollo skinned Marsyas. Venus laughed as she packed her furs into her suitcase and put on her traveling coat. After the first blows, the slave experienced a shameful pleasure. Then, as the blood flooded his back, the pleasure receded before the shame and anger. The clatter of carriage doors, the clatter of hooves, the clatter of wheels.

Its end.

And then? .. Then - two years of peaceful labors in my father's estate and a letter from Wanda: "I loved you<...> But you yourself smothered this feeling with your fantastic devotion<...> I found that strong man I was looking for ... He fell in a duel<...> I live in Paris the life of Aspasia ... Accept a gift for me as a keepsake<...> Venus in Furs.

Along with the letter, the messenger brought a small box. With a smile - "The treatment was cruel, but I recovered" - Severin extracted from him a picture of a poor German.

V. A. Pavlova

The History of New York from the Creation of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, containing, among stories of many wonderful and amusing events, also the inexplicable reflections of Walter the Doubter, the disastrous projects of William the Stubborn, and the chivalrous deeds of Peter Hardhead, the three Dutch governors of New Amsterdam; the only reliable history of that time that has ever been or will be published, written by Diedrich Knickerbocker (A History of New York)

Burlesque Historical Chronicle (1809)

In one of the New York hotels in 1808, a short, nimble old man settled and lived in it for a long time, without paying anything to the owners, so that they eventually got worried and began to make inquiries about who he was and what he did. Finding out that he was a writer, and deciding that this was some kind of new political party, the hostess hinted to him about the fee, but the old man was offended and said that he had a treasure that was worth more than her entire hotel. After some time, the old man disappeared, and the owners of the hotel decided to publish the manuscript left in his room in order to compensate for the losses.

Diedrich Knickerbocker (that was the name of the old man) wrote "History of New York". He names Herodotus, Xenophon, Sallust and others as his predecessors and dedicates his work to the New York Historical Society. Filling his discourse with references to ancient philosophers and historians, Knickerbocker begins his work with a description of an orange-like Earth that once "has got it into her head that she must whirl like a wayward young lady in an Upper Dutch waltz." The earth consists of land and water, and among the continents and islands into which it is divided is the famous island of New York. When Cristobal Colon discovered America in 1492, the discoverers had to cut down forests, drain swamps and exterminate savages - so readers will have to overcome many difficulties before they can easily get through the rest of the story. The author floridly proves that this part of the world is inhabited (the evidence of which is the Indian tribes inhabiting it), and defends the right of the first colonists to own America - after all, they zealously tried to introduce it to the benefits of civilization: they taught the Indians to cheat, drink rum, use foul language, etc. In 1609, Hendrick Hudson, wishing to get to China, climbed the Mohegan River, later renamed the Hudson. The sailors landed in the village of Communipaw and captured it, torturing the locals to death with their Low Dutch dialect. Next to this village, New York grew up, at first called New Amsterdam. Its founders were four Dutchmen: Van Kortlandt, Hardenbroek (Crepe Chestnut Man), Van Zandt and Ten Broek (Ten Pants).

The etymology of the name Manhattan is also controversial: some say that it comes from Man-hat-on (wearing a man's hat) and is associated with the habit of local residents to wear felt hats, others, including Knickerbocker, believe that Manna-hata means "country abounding in milk and honey." As Strongpants and Tenpants argued over how to build the new city, it grew by itself, making further discussions about the city's plan pointless. In 1629 Wouter Van Twiller (Walter the Doubter), a direct descendant of Tsar Chubban, was appointed governor of the province of New Netherland. He ate four times a day, spending an hour on each meal, smoked and doubted for eight hours, and slept for twelve hours. Van Twiller's time can be called the golden age of the province, comparable to the golden kingdom of Saturn described by Hesiod. Ladies, in the simplicity of their morals, could compete with Nausicaa and Penelope, sung by Homer. The calm arrogance, or rather the ill-fated honesty of the government, was the beginning of all the troubles of New Netherland and their capital. Their eastern neighbors were English Puritan settlers who arrived in America in 1620. For their talkativeness, the inhabitants of Mais-Chusaeg (Massachusetts) jokingly called them Yankees (silent people). Fleeing from the persecution of James I, they in turn began to persecute the heretic papists, Quakers and Anabaptists for abusing the freedom of conscience, which consists in the fact that a person can adhere to his opinion in matters of religion only if it is correct and coincides with the opinion of the majority, in otherwise he deserves punishment. Residents of Connecticut turned out to be inveterate squatters and first seized the land, and then tried to prove their right to it. The lands on the Connecticut River belonged to the Dutch, who built Fort Good Hope on the banks of the river, but the impudent Yankees planted onion plantations near the walls of the fort, so that honest Dutch could not look in that direction without tears.

After the death of Van Twiller in 1634, Wilhelmus Kieft (William the Stubborn) began to rule New Netherland, who decided to defeat the Yankees with the help of messages, but the messages had no effect and the Yankees captured Good Hope, and then Oyster Bay. The word "Yankee" became for the Dutch as terrible as the word "Gaul" for the ancient Romans. In the meantime, on the other hand, the Swedes in 1638 founded the fortress of Minnevits and gave the surrounding areas the name New Sweden.

Around 1643, people from the eastern country formed the confederation of the United Colonies of New England (Council of Amphictyons), which was a death blow to William the Stubborn, who believed that it was created to drive the Dutch out of their beautiful possessions. After his death in 1647, Peter Stuyvesant became governor of New Amsterdam. He was nicknamed Peter Hardhead, "which was a great compliment to his thinking abilities." He concluded a peace treaty with his eastern neighbors, and a peace treaty is "a great political evil and one of the most common sources of war," for negotiations, like courtship, are a period of kind speeches and tender caresses, and the treaty, like a marriage ceremony, serves as a signal to hostile actions. Since the eastern neighbors were engaged in the fight against witches, they were not up to New Netherland, and Peter Stuyvesant took advantage of this to put an end to the attacks of the Swedes. General Won-Poffenburg built a formidable fortification in Delaware - Fort Cashmere, named after the greenish-yellow short trousers, especially favored by the governor.

The Swedish Governor Rising visited Fort Cashmere and, after a feast hosted by Won-Poffenburg, captured the fort. The valiant Peter Stive-sant began to gather troops to lead them to Fort Cashmere and drive out the Swedish merchants from there. Having besieged the fort, Peter's troops began to torment the ears of the Swedes with such monstrous music that they preferred to surrender. According to another version, the demand for surrender was drawn up in such a courteous form that the Swedes could not refuse to comply with such a polite request. Peter Hardhead wanted to conquer all of Sweden and moved to Fort Christina, which, like the second Troy, withstood the siege for ten whole hours and was finally taken. New Sweden, subjugated by the victorious Peter Styvesant, was reduced to the position of a colony named the South River. Then Peter went to the eastern country and learned that England and New England wanted to take over the province of New Netherland. The inhabitants of New Amsterdam strongly fortified the city - by decrees, for the authorities decided to defend the province in the same way that Pantagruel defended his army - by covering it with his tongue. Peter returned to New Amsterdam and decided not to surrender the city without a fight. But the enemies circulated among the people an appeal in which they reproduced the conditions presented by them in the demand for surrender; these conditions seemed acceptable to the people, and he, despite the protests of Peter, did not want to defend the city. Brave Peter had to sign a surrender. There are no events that cause such grief to the sensitive historian as the decline and destruction of famous and powerful empires. The same fate befell the empire of High Power Masters in the famous capital of Manhatose, ruled by the peace-loving Walter the Doubting, the irritable William the Stubborn, and the chivalrous Peter the Hardhead. Three hours after the surrender, a detachment of British soldiers entered New Amsterdam. The entire expanse of North America from Nova Scotia to Florida became the sole possession of the British crown. But the scattered colonies united and became powerful, they threw off the yoke of the mother country and became an independent state. As for how Peter Stuyvesant ended his days, in order not to be a witness to the humiliation of his beloved city, he retired to his estate and lived there until the end of his days.

O. E. Grinberg

(Rip Van Winkle)

Novella (1819)

At the foot of the Kaatskil Mountains is an old village founded by Dutch settlers in the earliest period of colonization. In ancient times, when this region was still a British province, there lived a good-natured fellow named Rip Van Winkle. All the neighbors loved him, but his wife was so quarrelsome that he tried to leave the house more often so as not to hear her scolding. One day Rip went hunting in the mountains. As he was about to return home, an old man called out to him. Surprised that a man was in such a deserted place, Rip hurried to the rescue. The old man was dressed in old Dutch clothes and carried a keg on his shoulders - obviously, with vodka. Rip helped him up the slope. The old man was silent the whole way. Passing through the gorge, they came out into a hollow that looked like a small amphitheatre. In the middle, on a smooth platform, a strange company was playing skittles. All the players were dressed like the old man and reminded Rip of a painting by a Flemish painter that hung in the parson's drawing room. Although they were having fun, their faces kept a stern expression. Everyone was silent, and only the sound of footsteps broke the silence. The old man began pouring vodka into large goblets and signaled to Rip that they should be offered to the players. They drank and returned to the game. Rip also could not resist and drank several goblets of vodka. His head became cloudy and he fell fast asleep.

Rip woke up on the same hillock from which he first noticed the old man in the evening. It was morning. He began to look for a gun, but instead of a new shotgun, he found some kind of dilapidated, rusted self-propelled gun nearby. Rip thought that the old players played a cruel joke with him and, having drunk vodka, changed his gun, called the dog, But it disappeared. Then Rip decided to visit the place of yesterday's fun and demand a gun and a dog from the players. Rising to his feet, he felt an ache in his joints and noticed that he lacked his former mobility. When he reached the path along which the day before he had climbed into the mountains with the old man, a mountain stream flowed in its place, and when he with difficulty reached the place where the passage to the amphitheater was, then sheer rocks stood in his way. Rip decided to return home. Approaching the village, he met several completely unfamiliar people in strange clothes. The village has also changed - it has grown and become more populous. There was not a single familiar face around, and everyone looked at Rip in surprise. Running his hand over his chin, Rip discovered that he had grown a long, gray beard. When he approached his house, he saw that it had almost collapsed. The house was empty. Rip went to the tavern, where the village "philosophers" and loafers used to gather, but in the place of the tavern stood a large hotel. Rip looked at the sign and saw that King George III, depicted on it, had also changed beyond recognition: his red uniform had turned blue, a sword was in his hand instead of a scepter, a three-cornered hat was crowned on his head, and “General Washington” was written below.

People crowded in front of the hotel. Everyone listened to the skinny fellow, who ranted about civil rights, about elections, about members of Congress, about the heroes of 1776, and about other things completely unknown to Rip. Rip was asked if he was a Federalist or a Democrat. He didn't understand anything. The man in the cocked hat sternly asked by what right Rip had come to the polls with a weapon. Rip began to explain that he was a local resident and a loyal subject of his king, but in response there were shouts: "Spy! Tory! Hold him!" Rip began to humbly prove that he did not intend anything evil and simply wanted to see one of the neighbors who usually gather at the tavern. He was asked to give their names. Almost everyone he named is long dead. "Does nobody here know Rip Van Winkle?" he cried. He was shown a man standing by a tree. He was like two drops of water similar to Rip, as he was, going to the mountains. Rip was completely at a loss: who then is he himself? And then a young woman approached him with a child in her arms. Her appearance seemed familiar to Rip. He asked her name and who her father was. She said that her father's name was Rip Van Winkle, and for twenty years now he had left home with a gun on his shoulder and disappeared. Rip asked apprehensively where her mother was. It turned out that she had recently died. Rip's heart was relieved: he was very afraid that his wife would give him a thrashing. He hugged the young woman. "I am your father!" he exclaimed. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Finally, an old woman was found who recognized him, and the villagers believed that Rip Van Winkle was really in front of them, and his namesake standing under the tree was his son. The daughter settled the old father in her place. Rip told each new guest of the hotel his story, and soon the whole neighborhood already knew it by heart. Some did not believe Rip, but the old Dutch settlers still, hearing thunder from the direction of the Kaatskil Mountains, are sure that this is Henrik Hudson and his team playing skittles. And all the local husbands, who are oppressed by their wives, dream of drinking oblivion from Rip Van Winkle's cup.

O.E. Greenberg

(The Specter Bridegroom)

Novella (1819)

In the mountains of the Odenwald in southern Germany stood the castle of Baron von Landshort. It fell into disrepair, but its owner - a proud descendant of the ancient Katzenelenbogen family - tried to maintain the appearance of its former greatness. The baron had a beautiful daughter, brought up under the vigilant supervision of two unmarried aunts. She could read quite well, and read several church legends in syllables, even knew how to sign her name, and excelled in needlework and music. The baron was going to marry his daughter to Count von Altenburg. On this occasion, guests gathered in the castle, they were waiting for the groom, but he was still not there. It so happened that on the way to the baron's castle, Count von Altenburg met his friend Hermann von Starkenfaust. The young people were on the way, and they decided to go together. In the forest, they were attacked by robbers and dealt a mortal blow to the count. Before his death, the count asked a friend to notify his fiancee of his sudden death. Herman promised to fulfill the order and, although his family had long been at enmity with the Katzenelenbogen family, he went to the baron's castle, where the owner, without waiting for his daughter's fiancé, had already ordered to serve on the table so as not to starve the guests. But then the sound of the horn announced the arrival of the traveler. The baron went out to meet the groom. Herman wanted to say that his friend had died, but the baron interrupted him with countless greetings and did not allow him to insert a word until the very door of the castle. The bride was silent, but her smile showed that the young man fell in love with her.

Everyone sat down at the table, but the groom was gloomy. The baron told his best and longest stories, and at the end of the feast he told the story of a ghost who, under the guise of a groom, came to the castle and took the bride to the realm of spirits. The groom listened to the story with deep attention and looked strangely at the baron. Suddenly he began to rise slowly, getting higher and higher. It seemed to the baron that he had turned almost into a giant. The groom walked towards the exit. The baron followed him. When they were alone, the guest said: "I am a dead man <...> I was killed by robbers <...> a grave awaits me." With these words, he jumped on his horse and rode away. The next day, a messenger rode up with the news that the young count had been killed by robbers and that he was buried in the cathedral of the city of Würzburg. The inhabitants of the castle were horrified at the thought that a ghost had visited them the day before. The bride, widowed before the wedding, filled the whole house with her complaints. At midnight she heard melodious sounds coming from the garden. Going to the window, the girl saw a ghost groom. The aunt, who was sleeping in the same room, quietly went to the window after her niece and fainted. When the girl looked out the window again, there was no one in the garden.

In the morning, the aunt announced that she would no longer sleep in this room, and the bride, showing a rare disobedience, announced that she would not sleep anywhere except in this room. She took from her aunt a promise not to tell anyone about this incident, so as not to deprive her niece of the bitter joy of living in a room, under the window of which the shadow of her fiancé stands guard. A week later, the girl disappeared, her room was empty, the bed was not wrinkled, the window was open. Auntie briefly told a story that happened a week ago. She suggested that the girl was carried away by a ghost. Two servants confirmed her assumptions, saying that they had heard the clatter of horse hooves at night. The baron ordered to comb all the surrounding forests and he himself was going to take part in the search, but suddenly he saw that two richly dressed horses drove up to the castle, on one of which his daughter was sitting, and on the other - the ghost groom. This time he was not gloomy, his eyes shone with a cheerful twinkle. He told the baron how he fell in love with his bride at first sight, but for fear of a family feud he did not dare to reveal his real name, as the baron, with his stories about ghosts, suggested to him an eccentric way out of the situation. Secretly visiting the girl, he achieved her reciprocity, took her away and married her. The baron was so happy to see his daughter safe and sound that he forgave the young people, and only the aunt could not come to terms with the idea that the only ghost she had seen was a fake.

O. E. Grinberg

(Legend of Sleepy Hollow)

Novella (1822)

On the east bank of the Hudson, in the depths of one of the bays, there is a village, not far from it there is a hollow, which, for its silence and serenity, and also for the phlegmatic disposition of its inhabitants, was nicknamed Sleepy. This place seems to be under some kind of spell that has fascinated the minds of local residents who live in a world of daydreams. The whole district is replete with legends, "unclean places", superstitions. The main spirit that visits this enchanted corner is the Headless Horseman. It is said to be the shadow of a Hessian cavalryman who had his head blown off by a cannonball in battle; his body is buried inside the church fence, and the spirit prowls at night in search of a severed head.

Thirty years ago, a poor village teacher, Ichabod Crane, lived in these places - a lanky, clumsy young man, a conscientious teacher who sacredly observed the rule "who spares the rod, spoils the child" and is confident that the delinquent rascal "will remember and thank him until the end of his days" . He was a mixture of cunning and innocence, he liked to show off his education, especially in front of pretty girls, was the regent of the church choir, and also had an enviable appetite. Cotton Mather's History of Witchcraft in New England was his favorite book, and he knew it by heart. Ichabod Crane fell in love with Katrina van Tassel, the only daughter of a wealthy farmer, a beauty who was sought after by all the local young people. Ichabod's most serious rival was Brom Bonet, a mischievous village boy, strong and brave. Once Ichabod was invited to the van Tassels for a feast. To look worthy, Ichabod brushed his old black pair, diligently combed his hair in front of a piece of a broken mirror and borrowed a horse from the owner of the house where he lodged, a horse - an old stubborn bed. The soul of the holiday was Brom Bonet, who arrived on horseback on the Devil - a hot black horse. Ichabod, rejoicing at the delicious treat, dreamed that one day he would marry Katrina and take over the van Tassel farm. After the dance, everyone began to talk about spirits and ghosts, and Brom Bonet told the story of how one night he met the Headless Horseman and invited him to "measure in the race, promising, in case of defeat, to bring the" headless "bowl of excellent punch." Bonnet almost won, but on the church bridge the Hessian pulled ahead, crumbled with a fiery flash and disappeared.

After the feast, Ichabod lingered, wanting to talk alone with his beloved, but their conversation was short-lived, and Ichabod retired in complete despondency. Returning home at night, he noticed a heroic rider on a mighty black horse. Ichabod galloped forward in fear, but the rider did not lag behind. In a moment, the rider's figure was clearly outlined against the background of the night sky, and Ichabod saw that the rider's head was not in the right place, but was tied to the pommel of the saddle. Ichabod's horse raced like a whirlwind, but in the middle of the ravine the girth loosened, and the saddle slipped to the ground. Ichabod thought about how angry the owner would be when he lent him a festive saddle, but now he was not up to the saddle: he hurried to the church bridge, remembering that it was there that the ghost who competed with Brom Bones had disappeared. Suddenly Ichabod saw the horseman rise in his stirrups and throw his head at him. The head crashed against the skull of Ichabod, and he collapsed unconscious to the ground. The next morning the old horse without a saddle and without a rider returned to the owner. During the search, a broken saddle was found, and behind the bridge near the stream - Ichabod's hat and a gourd smashed to smithereens. The locals thought that Ichabod had been carried away by the Headless Horseman, but an old farmer who traveled to New York a few years after this incident said that Ichabod Crane was alive and well. Having moved to the other end of the country, he became a politician, a deputy, wrote in newspapers, and in the end became a justice of the peace. As for Brom Bones, he married Katrina van Tassel, and it was noticed that whenever the story of Ichabod was told in his presence, a sly expression appeared on his linden, and at the mention of a gourd he began to laugh out loud.

O. E. Grinberg

(The pioneers or the sources of the Susquehaima)

Roman (1823)

An early December evening in 1793. Horses are slowly pulling a large sledge uphill. In the sleigh, father and daughter - Judge Marmaduke Temple and Miss Elizabeth. Judge - one of the first settlers; one of those who have transformed this newly-wilderness. There were churches, roads, schools. Around prosperous villages - cultivated fields.

Evening silence is broken by the loud barking of dogs. A deer jumps out of the forest approaching the road. The judge grabs a double-barreled shotgun and shoots the beast twice. The deer keeps running. Suddenly, a shot is heard from behind the trees. The deer jumps. Another shot and the beast falls dead.

Leather Stocking - Natty Bumpo comes out on the road. He is already old, but he still looks strong.

Natty greets Temple and pokes fun at his bad shot. The judge gets excited, proves that he hit a deer. But a young man comes out from behind a tree - he is wounded in the shoulder by one of the pellets. The judge stops the argument and, worried, offers the victim help. The young man straightens up. The girl joins the requests of her father, by joint efforts they persuade the wounded man.

When descending from the mountain to the town located on the shore of the lake, Marmaduke and his daughter are met by four; among them is Richard Jones. The latter - a very limited man, but extremely ambitious, a liar and a braggart - is the judge's cousin. He rules the horses, and through his fault a disaster almost struck - the sleigh hovered over the abyss. The wounded young man jumps out of his sleigh, grabs the horses of the unlucky four by the bridle and returns them to the road with a strong jerk.

In the judge's house, a self-taught doctor removes a pellet from a young man's shoulder. The young man refuses further help from the esculapius, and trusts the "Indian John" who has appeared imperceptibly - his old acquaintance, the drunkard Indian Chingachguk.

Marmaduke Temple offers Oliver Edwards - that is the name of the injured stranger - to compensate for the harm caused to him, but he, very annoyed, refuses.

The next morning, Richard will have a pleasant Christmas surprise. Marmaduke's efforts were successful - his brother was appointed sheriff of the county. The money entrusted to the judge on the eve of the Revolutionary War by his friend and companion, Mr. Effingham, bore worthy fruits - the whole district is in the hands of the judge. Marmaduke offers Oliver a position as secretary. The young man intends to refuse, but Chingachgook convinces him to agree.

The harsh winter is finally over. The beginning of spring is muddy, slushy, muddy. But why not sit at home? And Elizabeth and her friend often ride horseback. Once, in the company of Marmaduke, Richard and Oliver, the girls were driving along a wooded mountain slope. The judge reminisced about the difficulties of settling this region. Suddenly Oliver shouted: "Tree! Whip the horses!" A huge tree collapsed. Everyone skipped. Oliver Edwards saved his friend Elizabeth at the risk of his life.

The last ice is melting on the lake. Spring dresses the fields and forests with greenery. The inhabitants of the town indulge in mass - much more than is necessary for subsistence - the extermination of migratory birds and spawning fish. Leatherstocking angrily denounces them. "That's what happens when people come to the free land! - He says. - Every spring, for forty years in a row, I saw pigeons fly by here, and until you started cutting down forests and plowing up glades, no one touched the unfortunate birds" .

Summer has come. Elizabeth and her friend go for a walk in the mountains. Edwards' offer to accompany them, Elizabeth refused quite decisively.

Oliver goes down to the lake, gets into the skiff and hurries to Leatherstocking. Not finding anyone in the hut, he goes to catch perches. It turns out that Natty Bumpo and Chingachgook are also fishing. Edward joins them. The distant barking of dogs alerts Leatherstocking. It seems to the hunter that his dogs are off the leash and are chasing the deer. Indeed, a deer appears on the shore. Fleeing from the dogs, he rushes into the water and swims in the direction of the fishermen. Forgetting everything, Nathaniel and Chingachgook pursue him. Oliver tries to warn them, shouting that the hunting season is not open yet, but, succumbing to excitement, joins the pursuers. The three of them herd the animal, and Leatherstocking kills it with a knife.

Meanwhile, the girls, accompanied by only one old mastiff, go further and further into the forest. They run into a cougar with a cub. He, playing, approaches the snarling mastiff, but the dog quickly cracks down on the "kitten". But then the mother rushes at the dog. In a desperate struggle, the mastiff dies. Elizabeth looks with horror at the cougar preparing to jump. Behind her, a shot is heard - a huge cat is rolling on the ground. Leatherstocking appears and finishes off the beast with a second shot.

Marmaduke is in trouble: his daughter's savior is indicted - through the efforts of cousin Richard! - not only in illegal hunting, but also in resistance to the authorities (when Doolittle, a magistrate and part-time sheriff's spy, tried to search his hut, the hunter threw the "volunteer" away and even threatened with a gun the lumberjack strongman Bill Kirby, who was taken for reinforcements).

Court. There are no difficulties with illegal hunting: the fine for hunted deer is covered by the premium for killed cougars. Resistance to government officials is much more serious. And if the jury dismisses the charge of insulting Mr. Doolittle, then on the second count - threatening with a weapon - Leatherstocking is found guilty. Marmaduke Temple sentences him to an hour in the pillory, a month's imprisonment, and a hundred dollar fine.

Elizabeth is upset. Her father convinces her that he could not do otherwise, persuades her to visit Nathaniel in prison and give him two hundred dollars. The hunter is happy with the appearance of the girl, but categorically refuses money. The only thing he agrees to accept from Elizabeth, who accidentally found out about the impending escape, is a can of good gunpowder. The girl happily agrees. After she leaves - with Oliver's help - Nathaniel goes on the run.

The next day, Elizabeth takes gunpowder to the appointed place. However, instead of a hunter, he finds only Chingachgook, who has fallen into a trance. The Indian mumbles something about the imminent departure to the ancestors, about the miserable fate of his people. The air dried up by the sun gradually becomes bitter - it smelled of burning, and smoke appeared. There was a loud crack, a flash of flame - a forest fire! The girl was confused, began to call the Leather Stocking. Edward appears. He tries to save the girl, but the flame is getting closer. There seems to be no escape. In the face of impending doom, Oliver Edwards declares his love for Elizabeth. And, as always, Leatherstocking is in the right place at the right time. Having put Chingachgook, who is indifferent to everything, on his back, he leads everyone to a safe place through the bed of a stream, through smoke and fire. A thunderstorm starts. Chingachgook is dying.

The mystery of Oliver Edwards is revealed. The young man is the son of Mr. Edwards Effingham, a friend and companion of Temple, who emigrated to England and later died. Grandson of the missing, the legendary Oliver Effingham. It turns out that the patriarch is still alive. And it was him, a ruined aristocrat, that Nathaniel and Chingachgook, who once fought under his command, tried to hide from people's gossip. Hence their reclusive life, which caused rumors and hostility among the neighbors. The grandfather, who has fallen into childhood, is presented to the audience. General reconciliation. Marmaduke Temple, it turns out, not only preserved and increased the fortune entrusted to him, but also bequeathed it equally to his daughter and the Effingham family. Elizabeth and Oliver retire. They have something to say to each other.

Autumn. In September, the wedding of Oliver Edwards and Elizabeth took place. A few days later, the legendary Oliver Effingham died, and he was buried on the site of Nathaniel's burned-out hut, next to the grave of the great warrior Chingachgook. On a sunny October morning, newlyweds visit the small cemetery. They find Leatherstocking there. Despite all the persuasion of his friends, he says goodbye to them and sets off. "Hunter went far to the West - one of the first among those pioneers who open new lands in the country for their people."

A. I. Luzin

(The last of the Mohicans)

Roman (1826)

In the wars between the British and French for the possession of American lands (1755-1763), opponents more than once used the civil strife of the Indian tribes. The times were hard and cruel.

Danger lurked at every turn. And it is not surprising that the girls who were traveling, accompanied by Major Duncan Hayward to the commander of the besieged fort, were worried. Alice and Cora were especially worried - that was the name of the sisters - the Magua Indian, nicknamed the Sly Fox. He volunteered to lead them along a supposedly safe forest path. Duncan calmed the girls, although he himself began to worry: are they really lost?

Fortunately, in the evening the travelers met Hawkeye - this name was already firmly entrenched in St. John's Wort - and not alone, but with Chingachgook and Uncas. An Indian who got lost in the woods during the day?! Hawkeye was more alert than Duncan. He offers the major to grab the guide, but the Indian manages to sneak away. Now no one doubts the betrayal of the Indian Magua. With the help of Chingachgook and his son Uncas, Hawkeye ferries travelers to a small rocky island.

In continuation of a modest dinner, "Uncas renders Cora and Alice all the services that were in his power." Noticeably - he pays more attention to Cora than to her sister. However, the danger has not yet passed. Attracted by the loud wheezing of horses frightened by wolves, the Indians find their refuge. Skirmish, then hand-to-hand. The first onslaught of the Hurons is repelled, but the besieged have run out of ammunition. Salvation is only in flight - unbearable, alas, for girls. It is necessary to swim at night, along the rapids and cold mountain river. Cora urges Hawkeye to run with Chingachgook and get help as soon as possible. Longer than other hunters, she has to convince Uncas: the Major and the sisters are in the hands of Magua and his friends.

The kidnappers and captives stop on the hill to rest. Cunning Fox reveals to Kore the target of the kidnapping. It turns out that her father, Colonel Munro, once severely insulted him, ordering him to be whipped for drinking. And now, in revenge, he will marry his daughter. Cora angrily refuses. And then Magua decides to brutally deal with the prisoners. The sisters and the major are tied to trees, brushwood is laid out nearby for a fire. The Indian persuades Cora to agree, at least to pity her sister, who is very young, almost a child. But Alice, having learned about Magua's intention, prefers a painful death.

An enraged Magua throws a tomohawk. The hatchet plunges into the tree, pinning the girl's lush blond hair. The major breaks free of his bonds and rushes at one of the Indians. Duncan is almost defeated, but a shot is fired and the Indian falls. This arrived in time Hawkeye and his friends. After a short battle, the enemies are defeated. Magua, pretending to be dead and seizing the moment, runs again.

Dangerous wanderings end happily - the travelers reach the fort. Under the cover of fog, despite the French besieging the fort, they manage to get inside. The father finally saw his daughters, but the joy of the meeting was overshadowed by the fact that the defenders of the fort were forced to surrender, however, on honorable conditions for the British: the defeated retain their banners, weapons and can freely retreat to their own.

At dawn, burdened with the wounded, as well as children and women, the garrison leaves the fort. Nearby, in a narrow wooded gorge, Indians attack the wagon train. Magua kidnaps Alice and Cora again.

On the third day after this tragedy, Colonel Munro, along with Major Duncan, Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Uncas, inspect the site of the massacre. From barely noticeable traces, Uncas concludes: the girls are alive - they are in captivity. Moreover, by continuing the inspection, the Mohican reveals the name of their captor - Magua! After conferring, friends set off on an extremely dangerous journey: to the homeland of the Sly Fox, to areas inhabited mainly by the Hurons. With adventures, losing and finding traces again, the pursuers finally find themselves near the village of the Hurons.

Here they meet the psalmist David, who, having a reputation for being weak-minded, voluntarily followed the girls. From David, the colonel learns about the situation of his daughters: he left Alice Magua with him, and sent Cora to the Delawares living in the neighborhood, on the lands of the Hurons. Duncan, who is in love with Alice, wants to get into the village by all means. Pretending to be a fool, changing his appearance with the help of Hawkeye and Chingachgook, he goes on reconnaissance. In the Huron camp, he pretends to be a French doctor, and he, like David, is allowed to go everywhere by the Hurons. To Duncan's dismay, the captive Uncas is brought to the village. At first, the Hurons take him for an ordinary prisoner, but Magua appears and recognizes the Swift Deer. The hated name arouses such wrath of the Hurons that, if not for the Sly Fox, the young man would have been torn to pieces on the spot. Magua convinces the tribesmen to postpone the execution until the morning. Uncas is taken to a separate hut. The father of a sick Indian woman turns to the doctor Duncan for help. He goes to the cave where the sick woman lies, accompanied by the girl's father and a tame bear. Duncan asks everyone to leave the cave. The Indians obey the demand of the "doctor" and go out, leaving the bear in the cave. The bear is transforming - Hawkeye is hiding under the animal skin! With the help of a hunter, Duncan discovers Alice hidden in a cave - but then Magua appears. The sly Fox triumphs. But not for long.

"Bear" grabs the Indian and squeezes him in an iron embrace, the major ties the hands of the villain. But from the excitement experienced, Alice cannot take a single step. The girl is wrapped in Indian clothes, and Duncan - accompanied by a "bear" - carries her outside. Otiu, a sick self-styled "healer", referring to the power of the Evil Spirit, orders to stay and guard the exit from the cave. The trick succeeds - the fugitives safely reach the forest. At the edge of the forest, Hawkeye shows Duncan the path leading to the Delawares and returns to free Uncas. With the help of David, he deceives the warriors guarding the Swift Deer and hides with the Mohican in the forest. An enraged Magua, who is found in a cave and freed from his bonds, calls on his fellow tribesmen for revenge.

The next morning, at the head of a strong military detachment, the Sly Fox sets off for the Delawares. Having hidden the detachment in the forest, Magua enters the village. He appeals to the Delaware leaders, demanding to hand over the captives. The leaders, deceived by the eloquence of the Cunning Fox, agreed, but after the intervention of Kora, it turns out that in reality only she is the prisoner of Magua - all the rest freed themselves. Colonel Munro offers a rich ransom for Cora - the Indian refuses. Uncas, who unexpectedly became the supreme leader, is forced to release Magua along with the captive. At parting, Sly Fox is warned: after enough time has passed for flight, the Delawares will set foot on the warpath.

Soon, military operations, thanks to the able leadership of Uncas, bring a decisive victory to the Delawares. The Hurons are broken. Magua, having captured Cora, flees. Swift Deer pursues the enemy. Realizing that they cannot escape, the last of the surviving companions of the Sly Fox raises a knife over Kora. Uncas, seeing that he might not be in time, throws himself from the cliff between the girl and the Indian, but falls and loses consciousness. Huron kills Cora. Swift-footed Deer manages to slay the killer, but Magua, seizing the moment, plunges a knife into the young man's back and takes off running. A shot sounds - Hawkeye pays off with the villain.

Orphaned people, orphaned fathers, solemn farewell. The Delaware have just lost their newly acquired leader - the last of the Mohicans (sagamore), but one leader will be replaced by another; the colonel had a younger daughter; Chingachgook lost everything. And only Hawkeye, turning to the Great Serpent, finds words of consolation: “No, sagamore, you are not alone! We may be different in skin color, but we are destined to follow the same path. I have no relatives and I can say like you, there is no people of your own."

A. I. Luzin

Roman (1827)

In the autumn of 1804, across the boundless expanses of the American prairies - farther to the west, farther and farther from the lands already inhabited - a convoy of stubborn, unpretentious settlers (squatters) slowly moved forward. The head of the family, the phlegmatic bumpkin Ishmael Bush, was looking for a place to sleep. But the hill gave way to the hill, the valley to the valley, but not a stream, not even a bush came across. Suddenly, against the background of the sunset, a human figure appeared. Approaching, the figure decreased, and soon an ordinary old man stood in front of the worried family. Trapper - that is, a man who trades the beast with traps and traps - this is how he introduced himself to the settlers. As for the old man's name, what does it matter now? The Lord, before whose face he will soon appear, is not the main name, but deeds; for people, by the nature of his occupation, he is a trapper, and nothing more.

Ishmael Bush, who did not get on very well with the criminal code, did not interrogate, but asked the old man, if he knew the area, to indicate a place to sleep. The trapper took the caravan to a small poplar grove on the bank of a stream. After sitting for a while with the settlers by the fire, the old man, citing a long-standing habit of loneliness, stepped aside from the camp and settled down nearby, on a hill. To his surprise, when the weary travelers fell asleep, a girl appeared from the side of the camp. When she stumbled upon the hermit, she was a little frightened, but more embarrassed. The riddle, however, was soon revealed: a strong, handsome young man appeared from the darkness of the night. Willy-nilly, the lovers had to trust the old trapper: it turns out that Ishmael's distant relative Ellen Wade, whom the squatter intends to marry to his eldest son Aiza, has long been in love with the beekeeper (a man who extracts wild bee honey) Paul Hover. A brave and enterprising young man, stealthily following the settlers, thus had the opportunity to at least occasionally see his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, while the lovers were talking, not noticing, of course, nothing around, Hector, the trapper's dog, became alert. The old man, hiding in the weeds, quietly ordered the young man and the girl to follow his example. Silent as ghosts, mounted Sioux Indians appeared. Dismounting, the detachment scattered across the plain. The Indian chief discovers the squatter's camp. Sentry sons are sleeping carelessly. The Indians steal all the cattle - there is a noise. Waking up, Ishmael Bush and his sons grab their guns and fire at random into the darkness. Late - the robbers, as they say, and the trace caught a cold. The settlers are in an extremely difficult position: for hundreds of miles around the prairie, inhabited only by unfriendly Indians. The trapper comes to the rescue again - he shows Ishmael a natural fortress: a hard-to-reach rock with a spring on top. The squatter has no choice but to settle down there.

And besides himself, Ishmael Bush can blame only his wife's brother, Ebirama, in such a desperate situation. It was not "minor" discrepancies with the law - like the murder of a bailiff - that caused the squatter to get into such a wilderness, no, a serious crime: the kidnapping of a young woman, daughter a wealthy landowner, the wife of a major in the American army, the charming Ine. And Ebiram prompted Ishmael to do this - the greedy slave trader decided that the ransom for a rich white woman would be incomparably greater than everything he had previously received for the resale of stolen blacks. However, from the moment of the kidnapping, it became more and more difficult for the squatter to maintain not only peace, but even order in his family. The sons, especially the eldest, Eiza, became more and more rebellious. Not daring to openly dare their father, they do not stand on ceremony with their uncle, the culprit of their "good luck". The insidious but cowardly Ebiram pretends that the young man's taunts do not hurt him, but ... - once, brother Esther, Ishmael's wife, returned alone from a joint hunt! According to him, he parted with the young man at the stream, following the deer trail. The next morning, Esther insisted that her careless husband go in search of his missing son. Eiza is found in the bushes, shot in the back. Suspicion falls on the old trapper.

Meanwhile, the old man is engaged in the exact opposite - he seeks to return, if not life, then freedom. From the first meeting he became friends with Paul Hover, he learns from him about the mysterious "beast" transported by the squatter family. Such secrecy alarms the trapper, but before meeting with Major Duncan Uncas Middleton, there was nothing to worry about, but after ... Having learned from the major about his wife who disappeared immediately after the wedding, the old man quickly realized what was happening, he understood who with special precautions transports Ishmael Bush in a separate van. And, of course, he had a burning desire to help Middleton, especially since it turned out that Duncan named the major in honor of his grandfather, and Uncas - in honor of the Mohican, Swift Deer. Memories of those unforgettable days moved the old man to tears. And besides, two of the descendants of Alice, who he saved long ago, bear the name Nathaniel. And this is in his honor. A good deed brought good fruits - evil now seems especially vile. Nathaniel Bumpo - so unexpectedly here in the wilderness the name returned to the trapper - does his best to help free the captive. (Paul Hover managed to learn from his beloved Ellen that Ishmael Bush and Ebiram were hiding not just anyone, but their kidnapped Ine, Middleton's wife.) And while the squatter family is looking for the missing Eiza, Paul Hover, a major and trapper release the prisoner. However, power is on the side of Ishmael Bush, and the liberators, alas, have to flee. Ellen, having hesitated a little between kindred duty and feeling, joins the fugitives.

After many adventures experienced together with the noble leader of the Pawnee Indians who became friends with them - with mortal dangers, miraculous deliverances and other, almost obligatory for adventure novels, a coincidence of improbability - the liberators, together with Ineya rescued by them, fall into the hands of a squatter. He intends to administer a righteous judgment according to the Old Testament principle of "an eye for an eye." True, the presence of Hardheart - the leader of the Pawnee Wolves - forces Ishmael to be as objective as possible. And it turns out that everything is far from being as simple as it seemed to the squatter. In the case of the major and Ine, it is generally unclear who should judge whom: rather, Middleton Bush. With Ellen, it is also confusing: the girl is not his slave and not even his daughter, so, a very distant relative. What remains is Nathaniel Bumpo, a suspect in Asa's murder. But the trapper, tracking down the kidnapped Ine, saw firsthand what really happened. It turns out that the son of Ishmael had a strong quarrel with his uncle; and Ebiram, thinking that they were alone, struck down the wayward youth with a treacherous shot in the back. The scoundrel, taken by surprise, does not know how to justify himself, and begins to beg for mercy. Ishmael Bush retires with his wife. Esther languidly tried to intercede for her brother, but her husband reminded her that when they thought that the old trapper was the murderer, there was no hesitation - life for life. The death of a son demands vengeance! Having freed the captives and hanged the murderer, the squatter family - who had recaptured the horses from the defeated Sioux tribe - set off home.

Recently fugitives in hiding and pursued, then Sioux captives, and finally Ishmael Bush's defendants, the friends are finally the honored guests of the benevolent Pawnee Wolf chief, Hardheart. But not for long - Major Uncas Middleton with his finally found wife and the beekeeper Paul Hover with the "scratched" bride rush to return to the familiar world: to relatives and friends, to the service, duties, joys and concerns of "ordinary Americans". Nathaniel Bumpo, to the surprise of young people, remains among the Indians. At sunset - and the trapper at this time is more than eighty-seven years old - he does not wish for a "quiet old age." There is only one road to God from everywhere. There is nothing to do - the major with Frost and the beekeeper with Ellen have to return without Nathaniel.

The following fall, Duncan Middleton and Paul Hower visit the Pawnee Wolves village with a small band of American soldiers. They send a messenger in advance, but - against all expectations - no one meets them. This alarms the major, and in tension, with soldiers prepared for defense, the detachment approaches the dwelling of the Solid Heart. The leader separates from the large group of Indians and quietly greets the guests. It turns out that Nathaniel Bumpo is dying - alertness is replaced by sadness. An old trapper sits in an armchair, facing the sunset, next to a effigy of Hector - the dog did not survive the owner. He still recognizes those who have arrived, talks to them, disposes of the things left behind, asks to be buried as a Christian, suddenly gets to his feet and, throwing up his head, utters only one word: "Here!"

Nathaniel Bumpo no longer needs human cares anymore. And, I think, it is most appropriate to say goodbye to Deerslayer, Hawkeye, Pathfinder, Leather Stocking and - finally - the trapper with the words of an old Indian: "The kind, just and wise warrior has already set foot on the path that will lead him to the blissful fields of his people! When Wakonda called him, he was ready and immediately answered. Go, my children, remember the just leader of the pale-faced and clear your own trail of thorns!"

A. I. Luzin

(The pathfinder)

Roman (1840)

Nineteen-year-old Mabel Dunhen, accompanied by her uncle, the old sailor Cap, and two Indians (Striking Arrow and his wife June Dew) have been making their way through the endless American wilds from New York to a small English fortress on the shores of Lake Ontario for many days. They are on their way to Mabel's father, Sergeant Dunham. Having overcome another "windfall" - a place where uprooted trees are piled on top of each other, travelers notice the smoke of a fire. During the war (and between the British and the French from 1755 to 1763 there were practically no battles) chance meetings are always dangerous - a small detachment with great precautions reconnoiters who is preparing dinner for themselves: friends or enemies? Fortunately, friends: the Pathfinder (all the same, known to us earlier under the names of Deerslayer and Hawkeye, Nathaniel Bumpo) with the same companion Chingachgook and a new friend, the young man Jasper Westorn. (Indians allied with the French appeared in the vicinity of the fortress, and Sergeant Dunham sent a small but reliable detachment to meet his daughter.)

The remaining few miles of the road will be remembered by Mabel for a long time. Possible thanks to the skill of Jasper, a descent in a pirogue along a waterfall and rifts, victorious (under the guidance of the Pathfinder) skirmishes with superior enemy forces, the desperate courage of Chingachgook - this is not forgotten. The sergeant could be doubly pleased: his daughter had been delivered safe and sound, and besides, along the way, Dunham hoped, she might develop feelings for his old friend Nathaniel Bumpo. Indeed, Mabel was imbued with ... daughters! Almost forty-year-old Pathfinder for a nineteen-year-old girl is more like a father than a possible husband. True, Mabel herself has no idea about anything yet; the sergeant decided without her and, without asking his daughter, managed to convince his friend that he - courageous and honest - could not fail to please the girl. And even the shooting competitions, when Jasper "begged" him for victory, did not reveal to the Pathfinder who had feelings for whom and what kind. He himself - to his grief - enchanted by Mabel and believing her father, falls in love in earnest. So much so that when it comes time to change the guard at a secret post, the Pathfinder allows himself to neglect the duties of a scout and does not go with Chingachgook to the lake shore, but goes along with the girl and the sergeant on a small single-masted boat - a cutter.

Before sailing, the commander of the fortress admits to Sergeant Dunham that he has received an anonymous letter accusing the captain of the cutter, Jasper Western, of treason. Dunham will carefully follow the young man and, in which case, remove him from captain's duties, entrusting the ship to his wife's brother, an experienced sailor Cap. And, despite many years of acquaintance with Jasper, the sergeant starts all of his - the most harmless! - actions to reinterpret in their own way. Finally, the burden of responsibility becomes unbearable for Dunham - he removes Western from command of the cutter and entrusts the ship to Cap. A brave sailor bravely sets to work, but... - "lake" navigation has its own specifics! Not only does no one know anything about the location of the desired island - it’s not very easy to “ride” on a cutter! A storm that has broken out in earnest drives the boat right onto the stones. And, probably, if it were not for the persuasion of Mabel and the Pathfinder - not for a minute, by the way, who did not doubt the honesty of Jasper - Cap and Dunham would have preferred to die "correctly" than to escape according to the rules. But pity for his daughter shook the stubbornness of the sergeant - he returns command to Western. The amazing art of the young man saves the ship.

While the cutter, anchored at the last moment by anchors a few meters from the stone ridge, was waiting out the excitement, the sergeant - supposedly for hunting - invited the Pathfinder and Mabel to go ashore with him. Having landed, the group broke up: Dunham went in one direction, Bumpo with the girl - in the other. Nothing seems to prevent the Pathfinder from explaining himself, but, resolute and courageous in battle, he is shy with the girl. Finally, overcoming the excitement and somehow coping with. in an unexpectedly numb tongue, he explains. Mabel does not understand at first, but when she understands, she is embarrassed. She herself has feelings of a different kind for a well-aimed shooter and a skilled warrior. If not quite affiliated, then only friendly. And no others. Appreciation, gratitude - it seems to the girl that this is not enough for a happy marriage. On the other hand, she does not want to disappoint her father or the Pathfinder. The question, however, is put directly - it is impossible to get away from a direct answer. With all possible tact, carefully choosing words, Mabel refuses to become the wife of the Pathfinder.

Upon the return of the "hunters" the cutter is removed from the anchor - fortunately, the storm subsided and the excitement subsided. Further voyage - under the command of Jasper Western, who knows the lake very well - is made much calmer. The sergeant who took command is preparing an expedition - the British intend to intercept the "strategic" goods supplied by those Indian allies from the French: guns, gunpowder, lead, knives, tomahawks. The Pathfinder, along with Chingachgook, goes on reconnaissance. At night, the garrison, led by a sergeant, sets out on a campaign. Blockhouse - cut down from thick logs, with loopholes instead of windows, a two-story fortification - remains in the care of not very skilled warriors: a corporal, three soldiers, Cap and Lieutenant Muir. (The latter, tugging at Mabel, volunteered.)

The girl is restless. She worries about her father and - for some reason! - for Jasper suspected of betrayal. To ease her anxiety, Mabel takes a walk around the island. Suddenly, from behind the bushes, a quiet familiar voice calls out to the girl - the June Dew. It turns out that her husband, the Shattering Arrow, a long-time secret agent of the French, openly took their side and led the Indians who were about to attack the island. June Dew advises Mabel to take cover in the blockhouse and wait out the attack there. Unreasonable anxiety is replaced by fear - what awaits the father now? And her? June Dew reassures: to become the second wife of the Striking Arrow is a great honor. But such a prospect seems to Mabel worse than death. And there is no one to consult with: the uncle and the lieutenant disappeared somewhere, and the corporal is a stubborn Scot! - He doesn't want to know anything about some Indians. The girl tries to convince him, but the corporal is filled with contempt for the "savages". Mabel sees how, suddenly jumping up, the Scot falls prone. At first, not understanding anything, she rushes to help, but the corporal expires, having managed to croak: "Hurry to the blockhouse." The girl takes refuge in the building and locks the door - the Indians, having shot the soldiers who rushed to help from behind the bushes, take possession of the island.

At night, the Pathfinder sneaks into the blockhouse - a frightened Mabel is slightly encouraged. But not for long - led by a sergeant and returning with a victory, the detachment is ambushed. The tracker, taking advantage of the darkness, manages to drag the seriously wounded Dunham into the blockhouse. Nathaniel resolutely repulsed the ensuing attack, shooting several Indians who were about to set fire to the fortification. The next morning, the winners offer surrender - the Pathfinder refuses. A cutter appears - the situation changes dramatically: the Indians caught in the crossfire, losing their dead and wounded, scatter around the island and hide. Now the French captain, who led the recent winners, is asking for surrender. Having agreed on favorable terms for himself, the Pathfinder and Jasper agree. Disarmed Indians leave the island. All this time, Lieutenant Muir, who has been in captivity, insists that - contrary to evidence! Jasper is the traitor. Unexpectedly Shattering Arrow with the words: "Where are the guns, where are the scalps?" - strikes the lieutenant with a knife and takes off running. The French captain confirms that in reality the traitor was Muir, who was killed by the Indian.

Dying from his wounds, Sergeant Dunham managed to bind Mabel with a promise that the girl would give her hand to the Pathfinder. Then she - filled with gratitude to Nathaniel and not having the strength to refuse her dying father - agreed. But ... the sergeant was buried, Jasper says goodbye to her in a trembling voice, something oppresses the girl. The Pathfinder, who was delighted with the consent, suddenly begins to see clearly: at last, it is revealed to him who is really superfluous in the resulting triangle. After talking alone with Jasper, he calls Mabel and, with difficulty holding back tears, says: "The sergeant left me as your protector, not a tyrant <...> the main thing for me is your happiness ..." The girl tries to object, but her babble is unconvincing - the words expressed are more perfect does not agree with what is hidden in the depths of the soul; the tongue pronounces: "Nathaniel" - the heart taps out: "Jasper." Youth, alas, as/always right: The Pathfinder is a willing victim of his own generosity! - saying goodbye to the lovers, lingers on the island. Something necessary in this world is lost to them forever, but something is no less necessary in that! - probably purchased. And if not, then the essence remains unchanged:

someone, but a Pathfinder cannot be a tyrant ... - only a defender ...

L. I. Luzin

(The deerslayer)

Roman (1841)

Having overcome a barely passable forest thicket, two young people went to the shore of a dazzlingly shining mountain lake. The first of the travelers - a tall strongman and braggart Harry March - noticing the admiration of his comrade, said that in comparison with the Great Lakes of Canada, this, they say, is a lake. But for Natty Bumpo, nicknamed Deerslayer, who grew up in the forests, the huge water mirror was an unprecedented sight. However, there was no time to admire. Especially Harry March (by the apt nickname of the colonists - Fidget), as the giant hoped, the beautiful Judith, the daughter of Thomas Hatter, who settled on the lake a long time ago, would not wait.

Having found the hidden pirogue, the friends soon reached the "castle" - built on piles driven into the shallows of the dwelling of the hermit Tom. The house was empty. Harry guessed the old man and his daughters had gone hunting. Young people are swimming in search of them. First they notice Hatter examining the traps, and only then the perfectly camouflaged "ark" - a large flat-bottomed barge. Tom has already received news of the war that has begun between the British and French, but he does not yet know that the warriors of the Ming Indian tribe, friendly to the French, roam around the lake. With the help of newcomers, he hurries to bring the "ark" to open water.

The immediate danger has passed, but two pies are hidden on the shore of the lake - Hutter, Harry and Deerslayer, not without reason, assume that the Indians will soon find them. Therefore - under the cover of night - it was decided to master the pies. Harry courts Judith, but the girl doesn't like him.

In the dark, the men embark on a dangerous voyage. The enterprise succeeds - the pies are captured. Harry and Hatter decide to attack an abandoned Indian camp. Knowing that St. John's wort would not agree to such infamy, he was sent away. The adventurers, however, miscalculated - the women raised a cry, and the warriors who were nearby managed to help. Unsuccessful scalp hunters are themselves captured.

Waking up at dawn, Deerslayer sees that the pirogue he left is approaching the shore. The hunter is on the run. When there is very little left to the boat - and to the ground, a shot is heard from the bushes. Indian. St. John's wort jumps ashore and hides behind a tree. He offers the Indian peace - he agrees. But, having taken possession of the pirogue and about to sail away, the young man notices that the warrior took aim at him. St. John's wort instantly directs the gun at the enemy hiding behind the bushes - two shots merged into one. The young man was not injured - the Iroquois warrior was mortally wounded. Dying, the Indian calls the hunter Hawkeye.

Deerslayer returns to the "castle". He does not hide from Tom's daughters what a serious mess their father got into. But it was also encouraging: tonight, at sunset, he had an appointment with the Delaware warrior Chingachgook - they would come up with something. Moreover, the Great Serpent - as Chingachgook is translated from the Delaware - came here for the bride stolen from him.

Everyone goes to the "ark", and, tacking the whole day to make it difficult for enemy soldiers, just at sunset, St. John's wort brings the barge to the appointed place - an Indian jumps from a low cliff onto the ship. The pursuers appear on the shore, but too late - the ark is already out of reach.

After consulting, Deerslayer and Chingachgook advise the sisters to ransom the captives. The girls don't hesitate to offer their best outfits - but is that enough? After a little thought, Judith decides to open her father's cherished chest. Artfully carved chess pieces are found among expensive dresses and various things that have never been seen before. Neither Judith nor Deerslayer know what it is, but archers, saddled horses, and especially elephants are amazing. The Indians who appeared for negotiations are simply bewitched. For decency, after a little bargaining, they gladly exchange the captives for two outlandish animals - chess bishops.

Both the liberated and the liberators decide: "the castle" is an unreliable place. The Ark is safer. Everyone gets on the barge and sails away. At night, Chingachgook and St. John's wort sneak into the enemy camp - for Wa-ta-Wa, the bride of the Great Serpent. The girl is guarded. Fortunately, one of the leaders of the Ming orders the old guard woman to bring water. She, having captured the young Delaware, goes to the spring. St. John's wort attacks the old woman, clamps her mouth - Chingachgook with Wa-ta-Wa run to the pie. The Huronka manages to utter a piercing cry - St. John's wort throws the old woman away and takes off running. Near the water, one of the Indians overtakes St. John's wort. A fight ensues. Several more warriors run up - Hawkeye in captivity.

Hatter and Fidget don't care about the fate of St. John's Wort. Judith is different. She spends the whole anxious night - together with her younger sister Hetty - in a boat, hoping to find out what awaits the hunter she likes.

Hutter and Fidget direct the "ark" to the "castle"; it seems to them - he is not captured. Chingachgook warns, recalling the perfidy of the Mings, that they do not listen to him. A carefree couple, seeing intact constipation, enters the house without fear. Crack, roar, curses - the struggle is not for life, but for death. From the door, covered with angry warriors, Harry March falls out. Thanks to his enormous physical strength, he swept away numerous opponents, but deftly thrown ropes entangle the giant and knock him onto the platform. March does not give up, rolls into the water and, with the help of Wa-ta-Wa, climbs onto a barge driven by Chingachgook. Huron warriors do not dare to pursue in unfavorable conditions for themselves and leave the "castle".

The sisters are the first to arrive at the site of the recent fight. Judith and Hetty hear an anguished groan, and they open the shutters to find their father scalped. In addition, he received a mortal blow with a knife. A touching farewell - Thomas Hutter manages to reveal to the girls that he is not their father, and dies.

The next evening - to the surprise of those fleeing on the "ark" - they see St. John's wort heading towards them. The young man, as a truce, was released on parole with obviously unacceptable conditions. But, no matter how the negotiations end, tomorrow he must return to the enemies. And no matter how the mission he has taken on ends, the brave man, in all likelihood, does not expect anything good. Judith tries to dissuade the hunter from recklessly returning - Deerslayer convinces the girl that it is impossible for him to break his promise.

Upon his return, the Hurons, appreciating the courage and honesty of Hawkeye, offer him to marry the widow of the Indian he killed. The prospect of being the husband of a burdened with numerous offspring and an extremely grumpy "matron" frightens St. John's Wort more than death and the most sophisticated torture - he refuses. The enraged brother of the rejected woman launches a tomahawk at the hunter, who dodges, intercepts the weapon and kills the attacker with a retaliatory throw.

St. John's wort is tied to a tree and, trying to intimidate, they throw knives, tomahawks, shoot from guns - so as not to inflict serious wounds. The hunter not only does not turn his head away, but also does not close his eyes. This infuriates the Hurons - they lay out a fire. Hetty appears - she is considered demented and allowed to walk everywhere. She scatters burning brushwood with a stick. The Indians take the girl aside, intending to continue the torture, but Chingachgook intervenes. He jumps out of the thicket, crosses the clearing with lightning speed, cuts the ropes and hands the gun to St. John's Wort. Confusion. However, enemies are plentiful. Friends must inevitably die, but ... The heavy, rhythmic tread of soldiers' feet, drumming, cut off Hurons rushing in panic along the sandy spit, bayonet attack - almost all men and women find death.

Among the wounded - Hetty: a stray bullet hit the girl. The wound is severe, and although Hetty courageously endures suffering, surprising the military doctor, her life is fading away. Judith cries beside her sister - Friends say goodbye to the dying. Hetty is buried at the bottom of the lake.

After her sister's funeral, an orphaned Judith secludes herself with Deerslayer. She really likes the straightforward hunter, but he still ignored all her rather frank hints. Now, realizing - now or never - Judith, overcoming shame, offers Deerslayer to take her as his wife. The hunter is silent and, trying not to offend the girl, answers her that a marriage without mutual love is unlikely to be successful. His feelings, however, are more contradictory and more complex than those expressed aloud. Judith attracts the hunter, but also repels him: something deep. And is it not in the incomprehensible words of the dying Hetty that the key lies: "I feel, Deerslayer, although I cannot say why, that you and I are not parting forever. This is a strange feeling. I have never experienced it before ..."

L. I. Luzin

(The Scarlet Letter)

Roman (1850)

The introductory essay to the novel tells about the author's hometown - Salem, about his ancestors - fanatic Puritans, about his work in the Salem customs office and about the people he had to deal with there. "Neither the front door nor the back door of the customs house leads to paradise," and service in this institution does not contribute to the flowering of good inclinations in people. One day, rummaging through papers piled in a heap in a huge room on the third floor of the customs house, the author found the manuscript of a certain Jonathan Pugh, who died eighty years ago. It was the biography of Esther Prien, who lived at the end of the XNUMXth century. A red patch was kept with the papers, which, upon closer examination, turned out to be an amazingly embroidered letter "A"; when the author put it to his chest, it seemed to him that he felt a burn. Dismissed after the victory of the Whigs, the author returned to literary pursuits, for which the fruits of Mr. Pew's labors were very useful to him.

Esther Prin emerges from a Boston prison with a baby in her arms. She is wearing a beautiful dress that she made for herself in prison, on his chest is a scarlet embroidery in the form of the letter "A" - the first letter of the word Adulteress (adulteress). Everyone condemns Esther's behavior and her provocative outfit. She is led to the marketplace to the platform, where she will have to stand until one in the afternoon under the hostile gaze of the crowd - such a punishment was passed on her by the court for her sin and for refusing to name the father of her newborn daughter. Standing at the pillory, Esther recalls her past life, childhood in old England, a middle-aged, hunched scientist, with whom she tied her fate. Looking around the crowd, she notices a man in the back rows who immediately takes possession of her thoughts. This man is not young, he has a penetrating gaze of a researcher and a hunched back of an indefatigable worker. He asks those around him about who she is. They are surprised that he has never heard of her. But he explains that he is not from here, he was a slave to the pagans for a long time, and now the Indian brought him to Boston to get a ransom. He is told that Esther Prin is the wife of an English scientist who has decided to move to New England. He sent his wife ahead, while he stayed in Europe. During the two years of her life in Boston, Esther did not receive a single word from him: he was probably dead. The indulgent court took into account all mitigating circumstances and did not condemn the fallen woman to death, but sentenced her to just stand for three hours on the platform at the pillory, and then wear a badge of dishonor on her chest for the rest of her life. But everyone is outraged that she did not name the accomplice of sin. The oldest Boston priest, John Wilson, persuades Esther to reveal the name of the seducer, after which the young pastor Dimsdale, whose parishioner she was, addresses her in a voice choked with excitement. But the young woman is stubbornly silent, holding the child tightly to her chest.

When Esther returns to prison, the same stranger whom she saw in the square comes to her. He is a doctor and calls himself Roger Chillingworth. First of all, he calms the child, then he gives the medicine to Esther. She is afraid that he will poison her, but the doctor promises not to take revenge on either the young woman or the baby. It was too arrogant of him to marry a beautiful young girl and expect her to return feelings. Esther was always honest with him and never pretended to love him. So they both hurt each other and quits. But Chillingworth wants to know the name of Esther's lover, the name of the man who harmed them both. Esther refuses to name him. Chillingworth makes her swear that she will not reveal to anyone his real name and her relationship with him. Let everyone believe that her husband is dead. He decides at all costs to find out with whom Esther has sinned, and take revenge on her lover.

After leaving prison, Esther settles in an abandoned house on the outskirts of Boston and earns a living by needlework. She is such a skilled embroiderer that she has no end to customers. She buys only the bare necessities for herself, and distributes the rest of the money to the poor, often hearing insults instead of gratitude in response. Her daughter Pearl is beautiful, but has an ardent and changeable disposition, so Esther is not easy with her. Pearl doesn't want to obey any rules. Her first conscious impression was the scarlet letter on Esther's chest.

The stamp of rejection also lies on the girl: she is not like other children, she does not play with them. Seeing the strangeness of the girl and desperate to find out who her father is, some townspeople consider her a devilish offspring. Esther never parted with her daughter and takes her everywhere with her. One day they come to the governor to give him a pair of ceremonial embroidered gloves. The Governor is not at home, and they are waiting for him in the garden. The Governor returns with Priests Wilson and Dimsdale. On the way, they talked about the fact that Pearl is a child of sin and should be taken from her mother and transferred to other hands. When they report this to Esther, she refuses to give up her daughter. Pastor Wilson decides to find out if Esther is raising her as a Christian. Pearl, who knows even more than her age is supposed to, becomes stubborn and, when asked who created her, replies that no one created her, just her mother found her in a rose bush at the prison door. The pious gentlemen are horrified: the girl is already three years old, and she does not know who created her. They decide to take Pearl away from her mother, and she manages to keep her daughter with her only thanks to the intercession of Pastor Dimsdale.

His knowledge of medicine and piety earned Chillingworth the respect of the people of Boston. Shortly after his arrival, he chose the Reverend Dimmesdale as his spiritual father. All parishioners highly revered the young theologian and were concerned about his health, which had deteriorated sharply in recent years. People saw in the arrival of a skilled doctor the finger of Providence and insisted that Mr. Dimsdale turn to him for help. As a result, the young priest and the old doctor became friends, and then even settled together. Chillingworth, who has taken on the investigation of Esther's mystery with the harsh impartiality of a judge, is increasingly subject to a single feeling - revenge, which subjugates his whole life. Feeling the ardent nature of the young priest, he wants to penetrate into the hidden depths of his soul, and for this he stops at nothing. Chillingworth provokes Dimsdale all the time by telling him about unrepentant sinners. He claims that Dimsdale's physical illness is based on a mental wound and persuades the priest to reveal to him, the doctor, the cause of his mental suffering. Dimmesdale exclaims: "Who are you to <...> stand between the sufferer and his Lord?" But one day the young priest falls asleep soundly in his armchair during the day and does not wake up even when Chillingworth enters the room. The old man comes up to him, puts his hand on his chest and unbuttons his clothes, which Dimsdale never took off in the presence of a doctor. Chillingworth triumphs - "this is how Satan behaves when he is convinced that a precious human soul is lost to heaven and won to hell." Dimsdale feels dislike for Chillingworth and reproaches himself for her, not finding a reason for her, and Chillingworth - "a miserable, lonely creature, even more unfortunate than his victim" - is trying with all his might to aggravate Dimsdale's mental anguish.

One night, Dimsdale goes to the marketplace and stands at the pillory. At dawn, Esther Prin and Pearl pass by. The priest calls to them, they go up to the platform and stand next to him. Pearl asks Dimsdale if he will stand here with them tomorrow afternoon, but he replies that on the Day of Judgment they will all three stand before the throne of the great judge, but now is not the time and daylight should not see them together. The dark sky suddenly lights up - probably the light of a meteor. They see Chillingworth not far from the platform, who is staring at them. Dimmesdale tells Esther that he feels unspeakable horror of this man, but Esther, bound by an oath, does not reveal to him the secrets of Chillingworth.

The years go by. Pearl is seven years old. Esther's impeccable behavior and her selfless help to those in need lead to the fact that the inhabitants of the town begin to treat her with a kind of respect. Even the scarlet letter seems to them not a symbol of sin, but of inner strength. One day, while walking with Pearl, Esther meets Chillingworth and is amazed at the change that has taken place in him in recent years. The calm, wise face of the scientist acquired a predatory, cruel expression, his smile looks like a grimace on him. Esther speaks to him, the first time they've spoken since he took an oath from her not to reveal his real name. Esther asks him not to torment Dimsdale: the suffering that Chillingworth subjects him to is worse than death. In addition, he is tormented in front of his sworn enemy, not even knowing who he is. Esther asks why Chillingworth doesn't take revenge on her; he replies that the scarlet letter avenged him. Esther begs Chillingworth to come to his senses, he can still be saved, because it is hatred that has turned him from a wise, just person into a devil. It is in his power to forgive, the forgiveness of people who offended him will become his salvation. But Chillingworth does not know how to forgive, his destiny is hatred and revenge.

Esther decides to reveal to Dimsdale that Chillingworth is her husband. She is looking for a meeting with the priest. Finally she meets him in the forest. Dimmesdale tells her how he suffers because everyone thinks he is 'pure and undefiled', while he has stained himself with sin. He is surrounded by lies, emptiness, death. Esther reveals to him who is hiding under the name of Chillingworth. Dimsdale is furious: through the fault of Esther, he "uncovered his feeble criminal soul before the gaze of one who secretly mocked her." But he forgives Esther. Both of them believe that Chillingworth's sin is even worse than their sin: he encroached on the shrine of the human heart. They understand - Chillingworth, knowing that Esther is going to tell Dimsdale his secret, invents new intrigues. Esther suggests Dimsdale run away and start a new life. She agrees with the skipper of a ship sailing to Bristol that he will take on board two adults and a child.

The ship is due to sail in three days, and the day before, Dimsdale is going to deliver a sermon in honor of Election Day. But he feels like his mind is going haywire. Chillingworth offers to help him, but Dimsdale refuses. The people gather in the market place to hear Dimsdale preach. Esther meets the skipper of a Bristol ship in the crowd, and he informs her that Chillingworth will also sail with them. She sees Chillingworth at the other end of the square, who smiles ominously at her. Dimsdale delivers a brilliant sermon. The festive procession begins, Dimsdale decides to repent before the people. Chillingworth, realizing that this will ease the suffering of the sufferer, and feeling that the victim is eluding him, rushes to him, begging him not to bring disgrace to his holy dignity. Dimsdale asks Esther to help him up the platform. He stands at the pillory and repents of his sin before the people. Finally, he rips off the priestly scarf, revealing his chest. His gaze fades, he dies, his last words are praise to the Almighty. Various rumors are crawling around the city: some say that there was a scarlet letter on the priest's chest - an exact likeness of the one worn by Esther Prin. Others, on the contrary, argue that the priest's chest was clean, but, feeling the approach of death, he wished to expire in the hands of a fallen woman in order to show the world how doubtful the righteousness of the most immaculate of people.

After the death of Dimsdale, Chillingworth, who had lost the meaning of life, immediately became decrepit, spiritual and physical strength left him at once. Not even a year had passed since he died. He bequeathed all his vast fortune to little Pearl. After the death of the old doctor, Esther and her daughter disappeared, and Esther's story became a legend. After many years, Esther returned and again volunteered to put on the emblem of shame. She lives alone in her old house on the outskirts of Boston. Pearl, apparently, happily married, remembered her mother, wrote to her, sent gifts and would be glad if Esther lived with her. But Esther wanted to live where her sin was committed - she believed that redemption should also be accomplished there. When she died, she was buried next to Pastor Dimmesdale, but a gap was left between the two graves, as if, even in death, the ashes of the two had no right to mix.

O. E. Grinberg

(The House of the Seven Gables)

Roman (1851)

In the pre-notification, the author writes that all his characters are fictional and he would like his work to be read as "a fantastic story, where the clouds passing over Essex County were reflected, but not even an inch of his land was imprinted."

In one of the towns of New England, on the street that everyone calls Pinchenova, stands the old house of the Pinchens - a large wooden house with seven gables. Matthew Mol was the first to settle in this place, but when the village grew, Colonel Pinchen liked his site, and the colonel obtained a donation from the authorities for these lands. Matthew Mol did not give up, and the lawsuit lasted until the death of Mol, who was executed on charges of witchcraft. According to rumors, before his death, Matthew Mol loudly declared that he was being led to his death because of the land, and cursed Pinchen. Having taken possession of the site of the Mole, Pingchen decided to build a family mansion with seven gables on the site of his hut. Oddly enough, the son of old Matthew Maul supervised the construction and did his job in good faith - the house was built spacious and strong. After the construction was completed, the colonel invited the whole city to his place, but, to everyone's surprise, he did not come out to meet the guests. When the guests, led by the governor, entered the house, they saw that the colonel was sitting in an armchair under his own dead portrait.

The mysterious death of the colonel gave rise to many rumors, but nothing indicated that it was violent. And yet, there was an opinion among the people that a curse was hanging over the house. The colonel claimed vast eastern lands, but documents confirming his right to them were not found, so the heirs had to be content with only the former possessions of the Pinchens. It was rumored that in every generation of Pinchens there was at least one Pinchen who inherited the cruelty, insight and energetic acumen that distinguished the old colonel. A hundred years ago, one of them died under circumstances very reminiscent of the sudden death of a colonel, which further strengthened the people in the opinion that a curse was weighing on the Pinchen family. Thirty years ago, one of the Pinchens is said to have been killed by his nephew. True, either due to a lack of evidence, or due to the nobility of the accused, the death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment, and recently rumors have spread that the prisoner will soon be released from prison. The murdered Pinchen was an old bachelor who came to the conclusion that Matthew Maul was innocent and wanted to return the House of Seven Gables to his descendants. Relatives opposed this, but feared that the old man would not bequeath it to the Molam; their fears were not confirmed - kindred feelings prevailed, and the old man bequeathed all his property to another nephew, the cousin of his murderer. The heir, who had previously been a great rake, corrected himself and became a highly respected person. He studied law and became a judge. Judge Pinchen built himself a large house and even invited the sister of his murderous cousin Hefsiba Pinchen to live with him, but the proud old maid did not accept alms from his hands and lived in the House of Seven Gables in deep poverty, communicating only with the daguerreotypist Holgrave, whom she let live to the far wing of the house, so as not to feel so lonely, and with Uncle Wenner, a kind old craftsman who loves to philosophize in his spare time.

Having stood for a hundred and fifty years, the house resembled "a huge human heart that lived an independent life and had a memory where good and bad mixed up." One of the features of this house was a strange door, divided in two horizontally and equipped with a viewing window. It was the door of a petty shop, which about a hundred years ago was cut through by the then owner of the house, who was in cramped circumstances and did not find a better way to improve his affairs, how to open a shop right in the family home. Now Gefsiba, having no means of subsistence, with pain in her heart decided to follow in the footsteps of her little respected ancestor and reopen a small shop. Burning with shame, she lets in the first buyer - a neighbor's boy, but still cannot take money from him and gives him a gingerbread for free. Buyers do not really like the shop of Gethsiba - the old maid seems to them very scary and unfriendly, although in fact she does not frown, but simply looks attentively with her short-sighted eyes. After the first day of work, only a few coppers are collected in her box.

But in the evening, an omnibus stops in front of the House of Seven Gables and a young girl comes out of it - a relative of Gethsiba Phoebe, who came from the village. At first, Gefsiba is not very happy with the unexpected guest, but gradually softens, especially since Phoebe turns out to be economic, hardworking and accommodating. She begins to trade in a shop, and things immediately go uphill. Phoebe meets Holgrave and is surprised at how well he takes care of the garden and vegetable garden. Holgrave shows her a daguerreotype portrait of Judge Pinchen, which is like two drops of water to the portrait of Colonel Pinchen hanging in the drawing room. One night, Phoebe hears rustling and voices, and in the morning Gethsiba introduces her to her brother Clifford - the one who was accused of killing his uncle and spent thirty years in prison. Gethsiba was waiting for her brother all this time, keeping his miniature portrait and not believing in his guilt.

Clifford returned as an old man, broken, with a shattered mind, and Gethsiba and Phoebe surround him with tender care. Clifford asks to remove the portrait of Colonel Pinchen, considering him the evil genius of the house and his own, but Gethsiba thinks that he has no right to do this, and limits himself to closing it with a curtain. Judge Pinchen comes to Phoebe's shop and, having learned that they are relatives, wants to kiss the girl, but she involuntarily recoils, recognizing in him the original of the daguerreotype portrait shown to her just now by Holgrave. Having found out that Clifford has returned, the judge wants to see him, but Gethsiba does not let him in. The judge invites her, along with Clifford, to move to his country house and live there without worries and troubles, but Gethsiba resolutely refuses. Holgrave, who is initially distrustful of Phoebe for his lack of respect for the law, slowly wins her over. At twenty-two, he had already traveled the length and breadth of New England, visited Europe and tried a bunch of jobs - he served as a clerk in a village shop, taught in a village school, lectured on Mesmerian magnetism. For him, the House of Seven Gables is the embodiment of the disgusting Past with all its evil influences, and he lives here temporarily and only in order to better learn to hate this past.

He is a writer and reads to Phoebe his story about Alice Pinchen: “Once the honorable Gervaise Pinchen summoned young Matthew Mol, the grandson of a sorcerer and son of the builder of the House of Seven Gables. east, and Gervaise Pinchen promised Matthew Mol a generous reward if he could help him find this document. agreed. Matthew Maul said that he could only find the papers if Pinchen's daughter, the beautiful Alice, helped him. Maul put Alice to sleep and forced her to obey his will. He wanted to use her soul as a telescopic projectile to look into the other world with it. He managed to enter in communication with the participants in the old litigation, but it was not possible to find out the secret: when the old colonel wanted to reveal it, they clamped his mouth.Mol realized that, as a punishment for sins, the colonel would have to remain silent until the document was no longer valid - so that he could not be seen heirs of coveted wealth. Thus, the House of Seven Gables remained with the Pinchens, but Alice's soul fell into the power of Matthew Mol, who doomed her to a slow shameful mockery. Unable to bear the humiliation, Alice soon died, and there was no gloomier and sadder man who followed the coffin than Matthew Maul, who wanted to teach her a lesson for pride, but did not want her death at all.

While reading his story, Holgrave noticed that Phoebe had fallen into a strange stupor. It seemed that he could take possession of her soul in the same way as once the carpenter Matthew Mol - the soul of Alice, but Holgrave did not do this and simply woke Phoebe, who seemed to think that all Alice's troubles had happened to her. Phoebe leaves for a few days in the village with her relatives: having lived in the House of Seven Gables for only a month and a half, she has become so attached to its inhabitants that she does not want to leave them for a long time. During her absence, Judge Pinchen again comes to Gethsibe. He is sure that Clifford knows the family secret, which gives the key to unheard-of riches. If Clifford does not reveal it, he threatens to put him in a lunatic asylum, and Gefsiba reluctantly goes after her brother. She is very afraid of Clifford's meeting with Judge Pinchen: knowing the vulnerable soul of her brother, she worries about his already weak mind. But Clifford's room is empty. Frightened, Gethsiba returns to the living room and sees the judge sitting motionless in an armchair. On the threshold of the living room stands a joyful Clifford. Gefsiba does not understand what happened, but she feels that something terrible has happened. Clifford takes her out of the house, and she limply follows him to the station, where they board a train and go to who knows where.

The next morning, the inhabitants of Pinchen Street are surprised at the disappearance of two helpless old men, but then a rumor spreads that Judge Pinchen has been killed, and people's rumor immediately attributes this crime to Clifford and Gethsiba. Returning from the village, Phoebe finds only Holgrave in the house, who informs her that Judge Pinchen is dead, and Clifford and Hefsiba have disappeared. Holgrave does not know what happened, but he, like Phoebe, is confident in the innocence of the old people. Holgrave suggests that, shocked by the similarity of the death of Judge Pinchen with the death of a bachelor - his uncle, which had such disastrous consequences for Clifford, the old people fled out of fear, and is afraid that this will bring suspicion of murder to them.

Fortunately, Clifford and Hefsibe return, and Phoebe and Holgrave, who have already confessed their love to each other, joyfully greet them. The medical report confirms that the judge died a natural death and no one killed him. Moreover, it turns out that no one killed both Uncle Clifford and Judge Pinchen. Judge Pinchen, who at that time was a rake and spendthrift, lost his uncle's favor, and he rewrote his spiritual testament in favor of Clifford. One night, the rake-nephew climbed into his uncle's hiding place and was caught red-handed. The old bachelor was seized with an apoplexy, to which, like all Pinchens, he had a hereditary predisposition, and the nephew destroyed the new will and left the old one in the secretary, according to which all his uncle's property went to him. Initially, he did not intend to accuse Clifford of the murder, but when the case took a detrimental turn for Clifford, he kept silent about what really happened and did not stand up for his cousin. Fate severely punished Judge Pinchen: his only son died unexpectedly of cholera. Thus, the heirs of the judge were Clifford, Gethsiba and Phoebe.

Having received an inheritance, they decide to move to the country house of Judge Pinchen. Before leaving, they gather in the living room of the House of Seven Gables. Looking at the portrait of the Colonel, and as if cringing under his stern gaze, Clifford feels some vague memory of childhood come alive in him. Holgrave tells him that he probably knew where the hidden spring that opens the cache is located. Indeed, Clifford remembers how he once accidentally stumbled upon her. Previously, pressing it raised the portrait, but now the mechanical device has rusted, and when Holgrave presses it, the portrait, along with the frame, breaks off the wall and falls to the floor. A depression opens in the wall, where an old parchment lies, asserting for Colonel Pinchen and his descendants the exclusive right to own vast eastern lands. “This is the same parchment, the search for which cost the life and happiness of the beautiful Alice,” says the daguerreotypist, alluding to his work. It was this document that Judge Pinchen, whom Clifford once told about his find, was looking for. Now it's just a piece of old skin that has no legal force. Phoebe wonders how Holgrave knows all this, and the young man admits that his real name is Mol. The son of the executed Matthew Mol, while building the House of Seven Gables, made a recess in the wall and hid there a document certifying the right of the Pinchens to the eastern lands. Thus, due to the unfairly appropriated garden of Matthew Mol, the Pinchens lost several thousand acres of eastern lands. Some time later, a carriage drives up to the House of Seven Gables and takes its inhabitants to a new house. They even take Uncle Wenner with them to settle in a cozy little house in their new garden.

O. E. Grinberg

(The Song of Hiawatha)

Epic Poem (1855)

In the introduction, the author recalls the musician Navadaga, who once sang a song about Hiawatha in ancient times: "On his wondrous birth, / On his great life: / How he fasted and prayed, / How Hiawatha labored, / So that his people were happy, / So that he went to goodness and truth."

The supreme deity of the Indians, Gitch Manito - the Lord of Life, - "who created all peoples", traced the riverbeds along the valleys with his finger, molded a pipe from clay and lit it. Seeing the smoke of the Peace Pipe rising to the sky, the leaders of all the tribes gathered:

"Choctos and Comanches walked, / Shoshones and Omogs walked, / Hurons and Mandans walked, / Delaware and Mogoks, / Blackfeet and Pones, / Ojibways and Dakotas."

Gitch Manito calls on the warring tribes to reconcile and live "like brothers", and predicts the appearance of a prophet who will show them the way to salvation. Obeying the Lord of Life, the Indians plunge into the waters of the river, wash off the war paints, light their pipes and set off on their return journey.

Having defeated the huge bear Mishe-Mokva, Medzhekivis becomes the Lord of the Western Wind, while he gives the other winds to his children: the East - to Vebon, the South - to Shavondazi, the North - to the evil Kabibonokka.

"In the immemorial years, / In the immemorial time" right from the moon, the beautiful Nokomis, the daughter of the night luminaries, fell on the flowering valley. There, in the valley, Nokomis gave birth to a daughter and named her Venona. When her daughter grew up, Nokomis warned her more than once against the spells of Majekivis, but Venona did not listen to her mother. "And the son of sorrow was born, / Of tender passion and sorrow, / Of wondrous mystery - Hiawatha."

The insidious Majekivis soon left Venona, and she died of grief. Hiawatha was raised and raised by a grandmother. As an adult, Hiawatha puts on magical moccasins, takes magical gloves, goes in search of his father, eager to avenge his mother's death. Hiawatha starts a fight with Majekivis and forces him to retreat. After a three-day battle, the father asks Hiawatha to stop the fight. Majekivis is immortal and cannot be defeated. He calls on his son to return to his people, clear the rivers, make the land fruitful, kill the monsters, and promises to make him the lord of the Northwest wind after death.

Hiawatha fasts in the wilderness for seven nights and days. He turns to Gitch Manito with prayers for the good and happiness of all tribes and peoples, and, as if in response, a young man Mondamin appears at his wigwam, with golden curls and in green-yellow robes. For three days Hiawatha struggles with the messenger of the Lord of Life. On the third day, he defeats Mondamin, buries him, and then does not stop visiting his grave. Green stalks grow one after another over the grave, this is another incarnation of Mondamin - corn, food sent to the people of Gitch Manito.

Hiawatha builds a pirogue from birch bark, fastening it with the roots of temrak - larch, making a frame from cedar branches, decorating with hedgehog needles, staining with berry juice. Then, together with his friend Quasind, Hiawatha, a strongman, sailed along the Takwamino River and cleared it of snags and shoals. In the bay of Gitchi-Gyumi, Hiawatha casts his line three times to catch the Great Sturgeon - Mishe-Namu. Mishe-Nama swallows the pirogue along with Hiawatha, and he, being in the belly of the fish, squeezes the heart of the huge king of fish with all his might until he dies. Hiawatha then defeats the evil wizard Majisogwon, the Pearl Feather, who is guarded by terrible snakes.

Hiawatha finds himself a wife, the beautiful Minnehaga of the Dakota tribe. At the wedding feast in honor of the bride and groom, the handsome and mocking Po-Pok-Kivis dances, the musician Chaibayabos sings a tender song, and old Yagu tells the amazing legend of the magician Osseo, who descended from the Evening Star.

To protect the crops from spoilage, Hiawatha tells Minnehaga to go around the fields naked in the darkness of the night, and she obediently, "without embarrassment and without fear" obeys. Hiawatha, on the other hand, catches the Raven King, Kagagi, who dared to bring a flock of birds to the crops, and ties him on the roof of his wigwam as a warning.

Hiawatha invents letters "so that future generations / It would be possible to distinguish them."

Fearing the noble aspirations of Hiawatha, the evil spirits make an alliance against him and drown his closest friend, the musician Chaibayabos, in the waters of the Gitai-Gyumi. Hiawatha falls ill from grief and is healed with spells and magical dances.

The daring handsome Po-Pok-Kivis teaches the men of his tribe to play dice and beats them ruthlessly. Then, getting excited and knowing, moreover, that Hiawatha is absent, Po-Pok-Kivis destroys his wigwam. Back at home, Hiawatha sets off in pursuit of Po-Pok-Kiwis. and he, running away, finds himself on a beaver dam and asks the beavers to turn him into one of them, only bigger and taller than all the others. The beavers agree and even choose him as their leader. Here Hiawatha appears on the dam. The water breaks through the dam, and the beavers hastily hide. Po-Pok-Kivis cannot follow them due to its size. But Hiawatha only manages to catch him, not kill him. The spirit of Po-Pok-Kiwis escapes and takes on the form of a human again. On the run from Hiawatha, Po-Pok-Kiwis turns into a goose, only bigger and stronger than everyone else. This is what destroys him - he cannot cope with the wind and falls to the ground, but runs again, and Hiawatha manages to cope with his enemy, only by calling for help lightning and thunder.

Hiawatha loses another of his friends - the strongman Quasinda, who was killed by the pygmies, who fell into his crown with a "blue spruce cone", while he was floating in a pirogue along the river.

A harsh winter comes, and ghosts appear in Hiawatha's wigwam - two women. They sit gloomily in the corner of the wigwam, not saying a word, only grabbing the best pieces of food. So many days pass, and then one day Hiawatha wakes up in the middle of the night from their sighs and weeping. Women say that they are the souls of the dead and came from the islands of the Afterlife to instruct the living: no need to torment the dead with fruitless grief and calls to return back, no need to put furs, no jewelry, no clay bowls in the graves - just a little food and fire on the road. For four days, while the soul reaches the country of the Afterlife, it is necessary to burn bonfires, illuminating its path. The ghosts then say goodbye to Hiawatha and disappear.

Famine begins in the villages of the Indians. Hiawatha goes hunting, but without success, and Minnehaga grows weaker day by day and dies. Hiawatha, filled with sorrow, buries his wife and burns the funeral pyre for four nights. Saying goodbye to Minnehaga, Hiawatha promises to meet her soon "in the realm of bright Ponim, / Infinite, eternal life."

Yagu returns to the village from a distant campaign and says that he saw the Big Sea and a winged pirogue "larger than a whole grove of pines." In this boat, Yagu saw a hundred warriors, whose faces were painted white, and their chins were covered with hair. The Indians laugh, considering Yagu's story another fable. Only Hiawatha does not laugh. He reports that he had a vision - a winged boat and bearded, pale-faced strangers. They should be met with kindness and greetings - Gitchie Manito said so.

Hiawatha tells that the Lord of Life revealed the future to him: he saw "thick hosts" of peoples moving to the West. "Their dialects were different, / But one heart beat in them, / And boiled tirelessly / Their cheerful work: / Axes rang in the forests, / Cities in the meadows smoked, / On rivers and lakes / Sailed with lightning and thunder / Inspired pies ".

But the future that has opened up to Hiawatha is not always radiant: he also sees Indian tribes dying in the struggle with each other.

Hiawatha, and after him the rest of the Indians, affably meet the pale-faced people who sailed on the boat and join the truths proclaimed by the mentor of the pale-faced people, "their prophet in black clothes" - to the beginnings of the Christian religion, the stories "about St. Mary the Virgin, / About her eternal Son."

The guests of Hiawatha fall asleep in his wigwam, exhausted by the heat, and he himself, having said goodbye to Nokomis and his people and bequeathed to listen to the wise instructions of the guests sent from the kingdom of light, sails away in his pie to Sunset, to the Land of Ponym, "to the Isles of the Blessed - to the kingdom / Endless, eternal life!"

V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva

(The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaal)

Tale (1835)

Out of the ordinary event took place in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Namely: having gathered on the square, the townspeople could observe the following picture: a balloon descended from the heavenly distance to the ground. Glued together from old newspapers, the ball was generally of a strange shape, resembling a cap turned upside down. Moreover, instead of a gondola, a huge hat with the widest brim was hung to the fantastic machine, and many were willing to bet that they had seen it before. It undoubtedly belonged to the humble craftsman Hans Pfaal, who mysteriously disappeared with three comrades five years ago.

The passenger was also unusual. The thickness of the little man did not at all correspond to his height and gave his whole figure an extremely ridiculous spherical appearance. The hands were enormous; wrinkled and at the same time plump cheeks stood out against a face that lacked the slightest sign of ears.

When there was only a hundred feet left of the ground, the little man bustled about, hurriedly pulled out a large morocco-bound notebook from a side pocket, and threw it right at the feet of the burgomaster, who was watching what was happening. Considering the job done, the aeronaut threw half a dozen bags overboard, and soon the balloon, disappearing behind the clouds, hid forever from the astonished eyes of the Rotterdam.

Everyone's attention turned to the notebook, which told the amazing story of Hans Pfaal.

Five years ago, Hans Pfaal, mired in debt and having lost hope of paying them off, fell into despair and seriously decided to end his life in order to get rid of unbearable creditors. Once, wandering aimlessly through the most remote streets, he accidentally wandered into a second-hand bookshop and opened the first book that came across, which turned out to be a treatise on theoretical astronomy. The book made a great impression on Pfaal, and he spent several days reading books on astronomy and mechanics, as if he were hatching some kind of idea. So it was. Tired of life on earth, Hans Pfaal hoped to find peace on the moon.

With the help of his wife and three creditors who have sufficiently bored him, Pfaal prepares everything for departure. Moreover, he does not tell creditors about where he is flying, assuring only that this will serve to return the debt, and he takes an oath from his wife to keep everything a secret. When the balloon is finally ready to fly, Pfaal and three creditors at night in a remote place fill it with a gas that no one has tested before (Pfaal does not give the name). With a cunning maneuver, he diverts the attention of creditors, cuts the ropes connecting the balloon to the earth's surface, and, jumping into the basket, says goodbye to the Earth forever.

It should be noted that Pfaal did not spend the beginning of the journey in the most suitable position for a long journey. When the ball rose into the air, there was a deafening explosion (as a result of which three of Pfaal's "comrades" died), and Pfaal, unable to stay in the basket, fell out. Fortunately, his legs were tangled in the nets, and he only hung upside down (having flown, however, in this position for quite a long period of time), otherwise his initial desire to end his life would certainly have been crowned with success. By morning, Pfaal finally climbed into the basket and, having examined the ball, made sure that he was in perfect order. The ball continued to rise with sufficient speed and soon the traveler was behind the clouds.

Constantly experiencing fits of suffocation, Pfaal was forced to start adjusting the condenser. By this time, he had reached a sufficient height - a magnificent view opened from here. To the west, to the north, and to the south, as far as the eye could see, stretched the endless expanse of the ocean, acquiring a brighter blue hue every minute. Great Britain loomed in the east, the entire Atlantic coast of France and Spain, and part of the northern outskirts of the African continent.

At first, Pfaal was surprised by the apparent concavity of the earth's surface, but, on reflection, he realized that he had not yet reached that height when the visual illusion would disappear.

Pfaal's first night in the air certainly left much to be desired. In order not to suffocate completely, he had to fill his chamber once an hour (this is the only way to call the room that he built for himself from rubber burlap) with rarefied air, which, drawn in through the condenser tube, thickened and became suitable for breathing. In order to wake up exactly every hour, the wise Pfaal built an ingenious device that at the right time poured a few drops of cold water on his head.

So day after day he approached the moon. The Earth became further and further away, and more and more clearly he distinguished the contours of the night satellite of his native planet. There was no sign of water or land, only dim, shifting spots and a tropical equatorial belt.

On the nineteenth day of the flight, Hans Pfaal successfully completed the journey - without a doubt the most unusual and most wonderful of all journeys ever made, undertaken or conceived by the inhabitants of the Earth.

At the end of his message, Pfaal reports that he can tell the Astronomical Society a lot of interesting information - about the climate of the moon, about strange temperature fluctuations, about the constant movement of moisture, about the population, its customs, mores, political institutions; about the special physical organization of the local inhabitants, about their ugliness, lack of ears; about their way of communication, replacing the gift of speech, which the lunar inhabitants are deprived of. For this and other information about which he is silent, Hans Pfaal demands a reward, as well as forgiveness for the murder of three creditors.

Concluding the message, Pfaal informs the public that a letter will be delivered to them by a resident of the Moon.

In a note, the publisher warns gullible readers: they should not take on faith the inventions of Pfaal, who demonstrates in his letter a rich imagination and undeniable wit.

V. I. Bernatskaya

(The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym)

Tale (1838)

Arthur Gordon Pym begins his narrative from the time of his acquaintance with Augustus, the son of Captain Barnard. With this young man, he became friends in the senior classes of the school in the city of Nantucket. August had already gone whale watching with his father in the South Pacific and told his friend a lot about sea adventures, fueling his desire to go to sea himself. They were about eighteen when Captain Barnard once again prepared to sail for the South Seas, intending to take his son with him. The friends develop a plan according to which Arthur must penetrate the Dolphin and only after a few days, when it will be impossible to turn back, to appear before the captain.

August prepares a secret hiding place in the hold for a friend, having delivered food, water, a mattress and a lantern with a candle in advance. Comfortably nestled in an empty box, Arthur spends three days and three nights in the shelter, only occasionally getting out of the box to stretch his muscles. His friend still does not show up, and at first this does not frighten Arthur. However, from the stale air, which is getting worse hour by hour, he falls into a semi-conscious state, losing track of time. Food and water are running out. He loses his candle. Arthur suspects that several weeks have passed.

Finally, when the young man has already mentally said goodbye to life, August appears. It turns out that terrible events took place on the ship during this time. Part of the crew, led by the captain's mate and a black cook, revolted. Law-abiding sailors, including Captain Barnard, were destroyed - killed and thrown overboard. August managed to survive because of the sympathy for him of the lot Dirk Peters - now the young man is with him like a servant. With difficulty seizing the moment, he went down to his friend, taking some food and drink, and almost not hoping to find him alive. Promising to visit at every opportunity. Augustus again hurries to the deck, afraid that he might be missed.

Meanwhile, a split is brewing in the rebel camp. Part of the rebels, led by the assistant captain, intends to piracy, the rest - Peters joins them - would prefer to do without open robbery. Gradually, the idea of ​​piracy attracts an increasing number of sailors, and Peters becomes uncomfortable on the ship. Then Augustus tells him about a friend hidden in the hold, on whom you can count. The three of them decide to seize the ship, playing on the prejudices and bad conscience of the rebels.

Taking advantage of the fact that none of the sailors knows Arthur's face, Peter makes up the young man as one of the victims, and when he appears in the wardroom, the rebels are horrified. The operation to capture the ship is going well - now there are only three of them on the ship and the sailor Parker who joined them.

However, their misadventures do not end there. A terrible storm is rising. No one is washed overboard - they tied themselves well to the windlass, but there is no food or drink left on the wrecked ship. In addition, Augustus is badly wounded.

After many days of bad weather, calm sets in. Exhausted, hungry people are in a daze, silently waiting for death. Parker unexpectedly declares that one of them must die so the others can live. Arthur is horrified, but the rest support the sailor, and the young man can only agree with the majority. They throw lots - Parker draws a short sliver. He offers no resistance and, after being stabbed, falls to the deck dead. Hating himself for his weakness, Arthur joins the bloody feast, August dies a few days later, and soon after Arthur and Peters are picked up by the English schooner "Jane Guy".

The schooner is heading for seal fishing in the southern seas, the captain also hopes for profitable trading operations with the natives, and therefore there is a large supply of beads, mirrors, flint, axes, nails, dishes, needles, chintz and other goods on board the ship. The captain is no stranger to research goals: he wants to go as far south as possible to make sure that the Antarctic continent exists. Arthur and Peters, who have been cared for on the schooner, are quickly recovering from the effects of recent hardships.

After several weeks of sailing among the drifting ice, the lookout notices the land - this is an island that is part of an unknown archipelago. When the anchor is dropped from the schooner, canoes with natives leave the island at the same time. Savages make the most favorable impression on sailors - they seem very peaceful and willingly change provisions for glass beads and simple household utensils. One thing is strange - the natives are clearly afraid of white objects and therefore do not want to approach the sails or, for example, a bowl of flour. The sight of white skin clearly disgusts them. Seeing the peacefulness of the savages, the captain decides to arrange a winter quarter on the island - in case the ice delays the further advance of the schooner to the south.

The leader of the natives invites the sailors to go ashore and visit the village. Well armed and giving the order not to let anyone on the schooner in his absence, the captain with a detachment of twelve people, where Arthur also entered, lands on the island. What they see there plunges the sailors into amazement: neither trees, nor rocks, nor further water - do not look like what they are used to seeing. Their water is especially striking - colorless, it shimmers with all the colors of purple, like silk, stratifying into many flowing veins.

The first trip to the village goes well, which cannot be said about the next one - when precautions are no longer so carefully observed. As soon as the sailors entered the narrow gorge, the overhanging rocks, which the natives had previously dug up, collapsed, burying the entire detachment under them. Only Arthur and Peters manage to escape, who fell behind, collecting nuts. Once on the edge, they get out of the rubble and see that the plain is literally teeming with savages preparing to capture the schooner. Unable to warn their comrades, Arthur and Peters are forced to watch with sorrow how the natives gain the upper hand - already five minutes after the start of the siege, the beautiful schooner is a pitiful sight. Some confusion among the savages is caused by a stuffed animal of an unknown animal with a white skin, caught by sailors in the sea near the island - the captain wanted to bring it to England. The natives carry the scarecrow ashore, surround it with a palisade and shout deafeningly: "Tekeli-li!"

Hiding on the island, Arthur and Peters stumble upon stone wells leading to strangely shaped mines - drawings of the outlines of the mines are given by Arthur Pym in his manuscript. But these galleries lead nowhere, and sailors lose interest in them. A few days later, Arthur and Peters manage to steal a savage pie and safely elude their pursuers, taking a prisoner with them. From him, the sailors learn that the archipelago consists of eight islands, that the black skins from which the clothes of the warriors are made belong to some huge animals that are found on the island. When a sail made of white shirts is attached to makeshift masts, the prisoner flatly refuses to help - the white matter instills incredible fear in him. Trembling, he yells: "Tekeli-li!"

The current carries the pirogue to the south - the water suddenly warms up, resembling milk in color. The prisoner is worried and falls into unconsciousness. A strip of white vapors grows over the horizon, the sea sometimes rages, and then a strange glow appears above this place, and white ash falls from the sky. The water becomes almost hot. On the horizon, the cries of birds are heard more and more often: "Tekeli-li!" Piroga rushes into the whiteness that envelops the world, and then a huge human figure in a shroud grows in its path. And her skin is whiter than white...

The manuscript breaks off at this point. According to the publisher in the afterword, this is due to the sudden death of Mr. Pym.

V. I. Bernatskaya

Novella (1841)

Analytical abilities are not peculiar to every mind and are themselves inaccessible to analysis. The Narrator comes to this conclusion, having met in Paris in the summer of 18 .. with a certain Auguste Dupin, a descendant of an impoverished noble family, who amazed him at the first meeting with his vast erudition and freshness of imagination.

Young people quickly become friends and settle down together. The narrator has to adapt to Dupin's unusual character and habits - a passion for night walks and psychological analysis. A new friend impresses him with his ability to penetrate the interlocutor's hidden thoughts, using what Dupin calls his "method" - according to insignificant external manifestations, he builds a complex pebble of conclusions.

One day, friends, having opened the evening newspaper, stumble upon a message about an unheard-of crime. Tonight, the peaceful sleep of the inhabitants living in the Rue Morgue area was disturbed by heart-rending cries. They came from the house of Madame L'Espane, where she lived with her unmarried daughter Camille. When the bedroom door was broken, people retreated in horror - the furniture was broken, gray strands of long hair stuck to the floor. Later, the mutilated corpse of Camille was found in the chimney, and the body of Madame L'Espanet herself was found in the courtyard. Her head was cut off with a razor.

All witnesses agreed that when the door was broken, the perpetrators were still in the bedroom. One voice clearly belonged to the Frenchman - everyone heard the curse pronounced in French. The nationality of the second remained unknown: each of the witnesses believed that he spoke some foreign language, agreeing that the voice was terribly rude.

The next day, the newspapers brought the news of the arrest of Adolphe Le Bon, who had delivered four thousand francs from the bank the day before the murder of Madame L'Espanet. It is at this stage that Dupin begins to take an interest in such a confusing case. Having received permission from the prefect of police (an acquaintance of Dupin) to inspect the crime scene, the friends go to the Rue Morgue, where Dupin carefully examines everything.

Using his method, Dupin draws attention to three circumstances: the peculiar, "inhuman" voice of one of the criminals, the unusual dexterity that was required to climb the lightning rod through the window, and, finally, the absence of a motive: gold from the bank was found untouched in the room . In addition, the criminals (or at least one of them) possessed incredible strength, since they managed to push the body into the pipe, and even from the bottom up. Extracted from Madame L'Espanay's clenched hand, hairs and "fingerprints" on her neck convinced Dupin that only a giant ape could be the killer.

Dupin advertises the capture of a large monkey, promising to return it to its owner for a small fee. As Dupin expected, soon a sailor from a merchant ship appears to them. Realizing that Dupin knows everything, the sailor tells the true story. He caught an orangutan in Borneo and with great pain - because of the ferocious temper of the monkey - delivered it to Paris, hoping to sell it profitably. On that ill-fated night, the monkey ran away, the sailor chased after it, but did not catch it and was a witness to how the beast climbed into the women's bedroom. When the sailor clambered up the same lightning rod with difficulty, it was all over. Letting out a frightened exclamation, the sailor slid down...

The prefect could not hide his disappointment that the police were too tough for this complicated case, but after Dupin's story, with a grumble, he dismissed poor Lebon in peace.

V. I. Bernatskaya

(The mystery of Marie Roget)

Novella (1843)

Having revealed the secret of the tragic death of Madame D'Espanet and her daughter ("Murders on the Rue Morgue"), Auguste Dupin again plunges into his melancholy thoughts. However, the role of Dupin in the drama on the Rue Morgue earned him the fame of a seer from the Parisian police, and the prefecture repeatedly tried to use his services again. Another attempt by the police is made in connection with the murder of a young girl, Marie Roger.

Beauty Marie worked in a perfume shop. Once she disappeared for a week. It happened about three years ago, and then her mother Madame Roger was beside herself with anxiety. But Marie returned - a little, however, saddened, explaining her absence by the fact that she was visiting a relative in the village.

On the day of her repeated disappearance, Marie went to her aunt, having agreed with her fiancé Saint-Eustache that he would come for her in the evening. When it turned out that Marie did not come to her aunt at all, they began to search for the girl, and only on the fourth day they found her in the Seine. There were signs of beatings on the body of the unfortunate woman, and a medical examination showed that Marie had been subjected to gross violence. A piece of cambric tied around the neck, torn from the victim's underskirt, was tied with a sea knot.

Newspapermen spread conflicting rumors around the city: one wrote that they had not found Marie at all, the other that a whole gang was involved in the murder. Meanwhile, new evidence and clues are emerging. The innkeeper Madame Deluc testified that on the fateful day a girl came into her inn, similar in description to Marie; she was accompanied by a swarthy young man. The couple spent some time in the tavern, and then headed towards the forest. Late in the evening, the innkeeper heard women's cries. She subsequently identified the dress that was on the corpse. A few days later Madame DeLuc's children found in the woods a petticoat, a scarf and a handkerchief marked "Marie Roger".

The narrator, who, at the request of Dupin, collected all the materials relating to this case, finally heard the version of his shrewd friend. Dupin considered his mediocrity to be the stumbling block in this matter. The police didn't pay much attention. No one, for example, bothered to make inquiries about the swarthy sailor who came into the tavern with the girl, or to look for a connection between Marie's first and second disappearances. But the first flight could end in a quarrel with the alleged lover - and the deceived girl returned home. Then the second flight is evidence that the deceiver has resumed his courtship. But why such a long break? But the time elapsed between the first and second disappearances of the girl is the usual period of long-distance voyage of warships.

The alleged place of Marie's murder is a forest near the river, and the found things of the victim seem to speak about this. However, even the police admit that they are scattered too much for show, and the fact that things lay unnoticed for several days in such a crowded place suggests that they were planted later.

Nor did they pay attention to the boat, which was found floating down the Seine the day after the murder, when the body had not yet been found. And the fact that someone secretly took her, without a rudder, from the head of the pier a day later. The fact that a stone was not tied to the body, which is why it surfaced, is explained precisely by the fact that it was thrown from the boat without anything heavy at hand. This was an oversight by the killer. It is difficult to judge what happened between the perpetrator and the victim, but it is clear that Marie was not easy prey and the man had to resort to violence to complete his nefarious plan.

The narrator is silent about how the police used the evidence collected by Dupin, saying only that all the conclusions of his friend were confirmed and the killer was soon found.

V. I. Bernatskaya

Tale (1843)

The descendant of an old aristocratic family, William Legrand, is pursued by failures, he loses all his wealth and falls into poverty. In order to avoid ridicule and humiliation, Legrand leaves New Orleans, the city of his ancestors, and settles on a deserted island near the Atlantic coast. In the thickets of a myrtle grove, Legrand builds a hut for himself, where he lives with an old Negro servant Jupiter and a huge Newfoundland. William's hermitage is brightened up by books and walks along the seashore, during which he satisfies his passion as an entomologist: more than one naturalist would envy his collection of insects.

The narrator often visits his friend in his modest dwelling. In one of these parishes, Aegran and the Negro vied with each other about the latest prey - the golden beetle, which they managed to catch the other day. Asking about the details, the Narrator notices that Legrand perceives this find as a happy omen - the thought of sudden and imminent wealth does not leave him. Jupiter worries if the owner is ill: according to him, Legrand counts something all the time and disappears from the house for a long time.

After some time, the Narrator receives a note from Legrand asking him to visit him on some important matter. The feverish tone of the note makes the Narrator hurry up, and he ends up at a friend's on the same day. Legrand is waiting for him with visible impatience and, squeezing his friend's hand tightly, announces that the recently caught beetle turned out to be of pure gold. The narrator is perplexed: the beetle is really good - this is a specimen hitherto unknown to science, but what does gold have to do with it? Legrand invites everyone to immediately set off - to the mainland, to the mountains - at the end of the expedition they will understand what he means. The hike won't take long, Legrand assures, they'll be back by sunset.

At about four o'clock the company sets off. Jupiter carries a scythe and a shovel, Legrand a beetle tied to the end of a cord. The narrator, seeing in this a clear proof of his friend's madness, with difficulty refrains from tears. Having reached the cape, they board a skiff and cross to the mainland; there, climbing a high bank, they walk for about two hours along a deserted plateau overgrown with blackberries, until a tulip tree of unusual height is shown in the distance. Jupiter mows a path to the tree, and then climbs it, taking with him, on the orders of Legrand, a beetle. Needless to say, both the servant and the friend consider such an order to be the ravings of a madman.

From above comes the frightened cry of a negro: he saw a skull nailed to a bough. This news leads Legrand into an incomprehensible delight, and he gives another, no less strange order - to pass the beetle through the left eye socket of the skull. Jupiter, not wanting to contradict the master who has lost his mind, does this too. Having hammered a peg exactly where the beetle sank, Legrand begins to dig in this place; a friend joins him, thinking that Legrand has contracted the hoarding mania common in the South. However, he decides to continue not to argue with the madman and take part in the search for the treasure in order to visually convince the dreamer of the groundlessness of his plan.

They have been working for an hour and a half when they are interrupted by the desperate barking of a Newfoundland. The dog rushes into the pit, and jumping down there, instantly tears off two human skeletons. Two blows with a shovel - and the companions see several gold coins and an iron ring sticking out of the ground. The work goes faster after that, and it soon becomes clear that the ring is attached to the lid of a perfectly preserved wooden chest. In the chest, which treasure hunters open with trembling hands, there is a real treasure - piles of gold and precious stones.

The return journey with a heavy chest was not easy. When friends are already at home carefully examining and sorting treasures, then, according to the most conservative estimate, the contents of the chest are worth one and a half million dollars. Finally, seeing that the Friend is burning with curiosity, Legrand takes up the story ...

When Legrand caught the beetle, it bit him. Nearby, a piece of paper sticks out of the sand, and Jupiter, picking it up, passes it to the owner, who wraps the beetle in it. At home, Legrand draws attention to the fact that the found paper is parchment, and when, under the influence of heat, the image of a skull appears on it, it warms it up further. Soon, an image of a kid appears next to the skull. After that, Legrand no longer has any doubts that the famous pirate Kidd ("kid" - "kid" in English) buried the treasure. He had heard more than once stories about treasures buried by Kidd and his accomplices on the Atlantic coast. Legrand continues to heat the parchment until numbers appear on it - a pirate cipher, which, after a long mental work, Legrand manages to decipher.

The final text remains cryptic: "Good glass in the bishop's inn on the devil's chair twenty-one degrees and thirteen minutes north-northeast main bough seventh branch east side shoot from the left eye of the dead head straight from the tree through the shot at fifty feet."

After asking local old-timers, Legrand learns that the "bishop's tavern" and "devil's chair" are the names of certain rocks and cliffs. "Good glass" - of course binoculars. Surveying the area in the indicated direction, Legrand sees a tulip tree and has no doubt that, having climbed onto it. Jupiter will find a skull there. "And why did you have to lower the beetle?" - the Narrator is perplexed. "Your hints that I'm not myself made me angry, and I decided to repay you with a little hoax," Legrand replies.

V. I. Bernatskaya

Roman (1852)

The novel is set in the early 1850s. in USA. It opens with a conversation between the "kind" planter Shelby and the slave trader Gailey, to whom he wants to sell his best Negro Uncle Tom to pay off his debts. Speaking about humanism, understood in a very peculiar way, Gailey expresses the point of view of many slave traders: one should not, he believes, sell a child in front of the mother, so that there would be no extra tears and, thus, the goods would not spoil. It’s also not worth smacking them hard, but it’s also not worth rushing around too much - “kindness goes sideways to them.” In addition to Tom, Gailey asks to sell him Harry, the son of the quadroon Elise, the housemaid.

Eliza's husband George Harris is a slave to a nearby planter. Once he worked in a factory, where he proved himself very well, but the owner did not want to tolerate the independence of the Negro and put him on the hardest work. Eliza and George's two children died in infancy, so Eliza is especially attached to her baby.

On the same day, George comes to Eliza and informs her of his intention to flee to Canada, since the owner is forcing him to marry another, although the priest married them to Eliza.

Having signed the bill of sale for Tom and Harry, Mr. Shelby tells his wife about everything. Eliza hears their conversation and decides to run to save the baby. She calls Uncle Tom with her, but he is ready to submit to fate.

The escape becomes known only in the morning. A chase is organized for the fugitive, but she manages to cross the ice floes to Ohio, where slavery is prohibited.

Galey, who missed the fugitive, accidentally meets Tom Locker and his companion named Marx, hunters for fugitive slaves, who agree to help him.

Eliza ends up in the house of Senator Byrd, who does not share the ideas of the slave trade and helps her hide with reliable people.

Meanwhile, Gailey takes Tom away from the Shelby estate, having him shackled. The eldest son of the owners, George, gives Tom a silver dollar as a souvenir and swears that when he grows up, he will neither sell nor buy slaves.

Arriving in the city, Gailey buys several more slaves at auction, separating children from their mothers. Then the negroes are loaded onto a steamer - they need to be transported to the southern states. Shackled slaves are carried on the lower deck, while whites ride freely on the upper deck, talking about the slave trade. Some believe that blacks live better on plantations than in freedom, others believe that the worst thing about slavery is "an abuse of human feelings, affections", others are sure that God himself judged Africans to be slaves and be content with their position.

During one of the stops, Gailey returns with a young black woman who is nursing a ten-month-old baby. He promptly sells the baby for $45 and is secretly taken from his mother. In desperation, she throws herself into the water.

A wealthy and distinguished gentleman from New Orleans named St. Clair is traveling on the same steamer with a six-year-old daughter and an elderly relative. "Tom watched the girl with interest, because the Negroes, with their characteristic kindness and impressionability, are always drawn to everything clean, childish." Somehow, the girl, leaning over the side, falls into the water, and Tom saves her. A grateful father buys Tom from Gailey.

Augustin St. Clair, the son of a wealthy Louisiana planter, returns home to New Orleans. An elderly relative is his cousin Miss Ophelia, the embodiment of precision and order. Its main life principle is a sense of duty. In Augustin's house, she will manage the household, as her cousin's wife is in poor health.

St. Clair's wife Marie turns out to be an eccentric, selfish creature who approves of slavery. Saint-Clair has a purely pragmatic attitude towards slavery - he understands that it cannot be eradicated as long as it is beneficial for whites. Looking at Ophelia, he notes the ambivalent attitude towards the blacks of the northerners: "You treat them with disgust <...> and at the same time stand up for them."

Meanwhile, Eliza and George, sheltered by the Quaker community, prepare to flee to Canada. Negro Jim rides with them. He has been living in Canada for a long time, but returned to the USA to take his elderly mother with him.

Suddenly, they learn that a chase is organized for them, in which Tom Locker, two police officers and the local rabble are involved. During the shootout, George wounds Tom Locker. Accomplices leave him, and the fugitives pick him up and take him to a house where he is well cared for.

The action is again transferred to the house of St. Kderov. Its inhabitants tensely discuss the problem of slavery. Aposten denounces slavery, but cannot stand against it alone. In order not to face the most brutal manifestations of it every hour, he gave up ownership of the plantation. He is sure that in the end the Negroes, like the masses of the people all over the world, will win their own freedom.

One day, he brings as a gift to Ophelia a black woman of about eight years old named Topsy, who was brutally beaten by her former owner. The girl is very smart. She is described as a prankster and a thief, but kind and sympathetic at heart.

Two years pass. It turns out that St. Clair's daughter Evangeline (Eve for short) suffers from consumption. This is a very gentle and sympathetic girl. Her dream is to set all blacks free and educate them. But most of all she becomes attached to Uncle Tom.

Somehow, talking with Otp, she tells him that she will die soon, and asks to release Uncle Tom after her death. Saint-Clair promises her this, but his promise is not destined to be fulfilled: shortly after the death of his daughter, he tragically dies in a drunken brawl. Well, at least Miss Ophelia manages to get a deed to Topsy from him.

After Saint-Clair's death, despotic Marie takes matters into her own hands. Oka is going to sell the house and all the slaves of her husband and leave for his father's plantation. For Tom, this means eternal slavery. The mistress does not want to hear that, in fulfillment of the will of her late daughter, they would give him freedom, and together with other Negroes sends him to a slave barracks, where a batch of Negroes is being collected for an auction.

A slave hut is the same as a trading warehouse: in front of it, as samples of goods, several blacks, women and men, are put up. It is difficult to describe the suffering of blacks before the auction - they are mentally preparing for the fact that they will be separated from their families, torn away from their familiar, familiar environment, given into the hands of evil people. “One of the most terrible circumstances associated with slavery, and among the inhabitants of the estate, including Legree, is superstitious fear. In an attempt to find out where Cassie and Emmeline have gone, he orders his henchmen to beat Tom. They are very diligent in fulfilling the order.

Suddenly, George Shelby arrives at the estate, having miraculously found Uncle Tom, but he cannot take the Negro with him - he dies in his arms. At Tom's grave, George, who became the owner of the estate after the death of his father, swears that he will never have slaves.

Taking advantage of the situation, Cassie and Emmeline flee from the attic. On the ship they meet George Shelby and a certain Madame de Tu, who is traveling with her daughter. She is revealed to be the sister of George Harris. Young Shelby begins to tell her about George's fate, and Cassie, who accidentally overhears their conversation, realizes that his wife Eliza is her daughter.

Together with Madame de Tu Cassy goes to Canada, where he finds his daughter. On mature reflection, the reunited family decides to move to France. On the steamer, Emmeline marries the 1st mate.

In France, George Harris receives a good education and moves to Liberia, which he considers his homeland. Madame de Tu finds Cassie's son, who is also going to Africa.

Upon learning of her husband's death, Aunt Chloe, who specially went to work to ransom him, cannot find a place for herself from grief, and George Shelby fulfills the oath given on the grave of Uncle Tom and gives free rein to all his slaves.

E. B. Tueva

(Walden or Life in the Woods)

Philosophical Prose (1849, publ. 1854)

In this book, Thoreau describes his own life, the period when he lived alone for two years on the shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, and in addition, shares his thoughts on the meaning of being and on the most rational way to combine spiritual activity with providing the necessary material conditions of life.

The hut, which he built with his own hands, stands in the forest at a distance of a mile from any habitation. He earns his livelihood solely by the labor of his own hands. Uses basic necessities, which include food, shelter and clothing. According to Thoreau, modern man goes beyond his needs, forces himself to spend time and effort in order to earn money and acquire with them what, if he did it with his own hands, would cost him much less and would require less effort. Anyone can get food by working on a small plot exclusively for themselves, build a house with their own hands, as Thoreau did, wear simple, homespun clothes. Then a person could stop being a slave of civilization and his own, would get more free time to develop spiritually. By our own example, first of all, it is not the proximity of the crowd and civilization that is needed, but the proximity to the "eternal source of life", to the creator of the universe. Society distracts him from serious thoughts. In addition, according to Thoreau, people communicate with each other too often and do not have time to acquire new value for each other. However, for all his love of solitude, Thoreau is not a hermit. Sometimes up to thirty people come to him. True, the most complete and interesting communication takes place with a small crowd of people. If a guest comes alone, he shares a modest meal with the host; if there are more guests, then everything is limited to spiritual food, that is, conversations. While he lives in the forest, more people come to him than at any other time in his life; for him it is a great opportunity to observe them.

Passersby often find him working on the land, in particular, cultivating beans. Working without a horse, ox and farm laborers, he manages to make friends with them, they tie him to the ground, he draws strength from them. He does not rely on agricultural allowances, because the size of the crop does not matter to him. Simultaneously with the beans, he "plants" the seeds of spiritual values: sincerity, truth, simplicity, faith, innocence. This is more important to him. He turns agriculture into a truly sacred occupation, as it once was, and is ready to sacrifice not only the first, but also the last material fruits of his allotment.

After work, he goes to the nearest village for news at least once every two days. There, having visited one of his acquaintances, after listening to the news, he returns home at night, and at the same time he never goes astray. Although getting lost in the forest, in his opinion, is an unforgettable and instructive feeling. As long as a person does not go astray, he does not comprehend all the "enormity and unusualness of Nature." leaving the house, he never locks the doors. However, he was never robbed. He is convinced that if everyone lived as simply as he did, robberies would be unknown, since they occur where some have a surplus, while others do not have a necessary one.

In addition to Walden, there are several other ponds within a radius of several miles from his hut. He describes their life as the life of living beings. Coastal trees seem to him like eyelashes, pubescent lake-eyes, cliffs are eyebrows, shores are lips that the pond licks. Instead of going to learned people, he, as friends, visits some rare trees in those parts - black birch, beech, or some especially tall pine. Once, during a long walk, he enters the house of a very poor Irishman with many children, advises him to follow his own example, give up working for the owner, live a carefree life and go towards adventure. Then, according to Thoreau, the Irishman will be able to cope with his need.

Sometimes, in addition to striving for spiritual life, wild beginnings awaken in him, and he goes fishing and hunting. However, if a person carries the seeds of spirituality in himself, then growing up, he refuses such activities. This is what Thoreau does over time and almost completely refuses animal food. It seems to him that there is something extremely impure in her. It interferes with the preservation of spiritual forces and poetic feeling. If it is completely abandoned, of course, some physical weakening of the body may occur, but this should not be regretted, since such a life is in agreement "with higher principles." He does not drink wine, but only clean water from the pond, because he wants to always be sober. If you get drunk, then only with air, Thoreau believes. Many animals live near him: a completely tamed wild mouse that eats from his palm, a partridge with her chicks, whose calm and wise eyes of Toro seem as ancient as the sky itself, which is reflected in them. He becomes a witness to the fight of ants, red and black, and feels the same excitement at the same time, as if there were people in front of him. At the pond, he watches a loon who, trying to outwit him, dives into the pond all day long.

Closer to winter, Thoreau lays out a hearth in his house. The fire of the hearth also becomes his friend. Looking at the fire in the evenings, he cleanses his thoughts and soul from the filth accumulated during the day. In winter, few people wander into his hut. But it is a great opportunity to observe animals. Near his house, he scatters unripe corn cobs, potato peels, and then follows with interest the habits of rabbits, squirrels, jays, and tits attracted by the delicacy. Once a sparrow sits on his shoulder, he perceives this as a distinction "higher than any epaulettes."

In winter, the pond falls asleep and is covered with a layer of blue ice. In the morning people come to it to catch perch and pike. Villagers and even whole artels of ice axes stock up on ice for the summer.

There is a popular belief about Walden Pond that it has no bottom. In early 1846, armed with a compass, chain and lot, Thoreau finds the bottom and measures the depth of the pond.

In late March - early April, the pond is opened. Under the influence of sunlight in the morning and in the late afternoon, it buzzes, and then it seems that it is stretching and yawning a waking person. The whole Earth for Toro is a living being. Returning from the south, in spring geese, ducks, pigeons, swallows fly over the pond, frogs and turtles appear. The grass is starting to turn green. Spring morning brings forgiveness of all sins and a call for spiritual rebirth. Thoreau believes that people should live in unison with nature, listen to her commandments. The life of cities would come to a stagnation if the wild nature did not coexist with them, for for them it is a source of vigor. Man wants to know everything at the same time, and to leave the mystery of nature unsolved. He needs to know that there are forces that are superior to his own.

Thus ends the first year of Toro's life in the forest. The second year is very similar to it, and the author does not describe it. September 6, 1847 Thoreau finally leaves Walden.

He leaves the forest for equally important reasons for which he settled in it. It seems to him that he should live a few more lives, and not follow the already beaten path. If a person boldly goes to his dream, then success awaits him, which is not given to everyday existence. His life in this case begins to obey higher laws, and he gains higher freedom. The more he simplifies his life, the simpler the laws of the world seem to him; loneliness, poverty, weakness cease to exist for him. Not even an understanding of others is necessary, since in the general mass around stupidity and conventions reign. Everyone should try to do their own thing, to become what they were born to be. If modern humanity and modern man may seem like pygmies in comparison with the ancient peoples, then, according to Thoreau, one should try to become "the greatest of the pygmies", study one's own soul and improve it.

E. V. Semina

Roman (1846)

In the summer of 1842, the American whaling ship Dolly, after a six-month voyage, reaches the Marquesas Archipelago in Polynesia and anchors in the bay of Nukuhiwa Island. Here one of the sailors (later, in front of the natives, he will call himself Tom), not wanting to endure the captain's tyranny and cruelty, and believing that the voyage may be too long, decides to leave the ship. But the ship's agreement, which each sailor signed when hiring a whaler, actually puts him in the power of the captain for the duration of the voyage. Therefore, it is simply impossible to stay on the shore: it is necessary to run away and then hide for several days from the chase sent for the deserted sailor, just like for a runaway convict, until the search is over and the ship goes out to sea again. Since the archipelago has recently been colonized by the French, and ships under other flags often enter the bay, Tom expects that he will be able to subsequently enter one of them and thus return to the civilized world,

He collects information about the island and its inhabitants in order to develop an escape plan. According to the natives living in the vicinity of the bay, fertile valleys, separated by mountain ranges, exist in other parts of the island, and are inhabited by various tribes, waging endless wars with each other. The nearest of these valleys belongs to the peace-loving Happer tribe. Behind it lie the possessions of the formidable Taipi tribe, whose warriors inspire irresistible fear to all other islanders. Their very name is terrible: in the local dialect, the word "taipi" means "lover of human meat." And the glory that goes about them is quite consistent with such a name. The French hesitate to land in their valley. The natives from the bay show scars from the wounds received in clashes with them. There is also a legend about an English ship, on which bloodthirsty taipis slaughtered the crew cleanly, luring the ship to their shore by deceit.

Tom understands that he has nowhere to hide in the bay itself: it will be enough for the captain to promise the natives tempting gifts - they will immediately find him and give him away. If you go deep into the island, there is a considerable risk of becoming a prey for cannibals. But having found out that the islanders settle only deep in the valleys, because they fear, due to constant hostility, the proximity of foreigners, and generally avoid appearing in elevated places except to descend into the valley for the sake of war or robbery to their neighbors, he comes to the conclusion that , having managed to sneak into the mountains unnoticed, he will be able to stay there for a long time, eating fruits and vegetables. In addition, the departure of the ship in this case will not go unnoticed - from the mountain it will have a view of the entire bay. At first, Tom does not think about the companion, but, watching another young sailor, nicknamed Toby, he also guesses in him the desire to part with the whaler and tells him his plan. They decide to run away together.

Having gone ashore with other sailors, Toby and Tom, taking advantage of the pouring rain, hide in the thickets. Before sunset, they reach the highest point in the center of the island. The reality, however, deceives their expectations. Nowhere is a descent into the valleys visible anywhere - a mountainous landscape, crossed by cliffs and ridges, stretches as far as the eye can see, and among the trees growing here there are no species whose fruits could serve as food. The fugitives distribute their meager grain supply and begin to search for a more fertile refuge.

For several days they either descend into the gorges or climb the cliffs. They spend the night on stones, having built a leafy roof, which, however, does not save from rain. The bread is running out. Tom begins to have a fever, and an inflamed leg in addition prevents him from moving on. One of the valleys opens before him, but, mindful of the taipi, they do not immediately decide to enter it. And only after making sure that further climbing on the rocks is no longer within their power, they head there, relying on providence and hoping that the valley is uninhabited or inhabited by friendly Happarts.

There are still owners near the valley, and one does not have to wait long to meet with them. Soon the fugitives find themselves in a native village, and are surrounded by a crowd of its curious inhabitants. The natives, although somewhat wary, are generally quite friendly - especially since Tom presents a piece of calico and a pack of tobacco, taken from the ship, as a gift in time. Tom and Toby no longer doubt that everything went well and that they are now enjoying the Happarian hospitality. But then, when Tom, with the help of gestures and the few words of the local language he knows, tries to communicate with the native leader, and it turns out that they are among the taipi cannibals.

The savages that Toby and Tom see around them do not at all inspire them with horror, and no one here seems to be in a hurry to build a fire to immediately fry the aliens. However, it is difficult for Tom to get rid of the suspicion that behind the outward courtesy the islanders hide some kind of bloodthirsty plan, and a warm welcome is just a prelude to cruel reprisal. But the night passes, another day - nothing happens; the natives are still curious, but they are already beginning to get used to the presence of white people in the village. They were settled in the house of the famous warrior Markheyo, a young native Kori-Kori was assigned to serve Tom, the first beauty Fayawei does not ignore him, and the local healer tries, albeit unsuccessfully, to cure his leg. His leg is already so bad that Tom is almost unable to walk. Therefore, he asks Toby to sneak back into the bay and try to return from there for him on a French boat, or at least by land with the necessary medicines. The Taipi express their grief and outright protest that one of the guests is about to leave them. However, the deplorable state of Tom convinces them of the need for this. Accompanied by Markheyo, Toby goes to the borders of the territory of the taipi, and soon the old warrior returns alone, and a few hours later the natives find Toby wounded and unconscious: "friendly" happartsy attacked him even before he had time to set foot on their land.

But people from the bay, it turns out, visit these places themselves. Soon several boats appear on the coast of the Taipi Valley. Contrary to expectations, the excited natives are not going to attack their team, but they bring fruits to the shore for exchange. No matter how much Tom begs Corey-Corey to help him get there, he flatly refuses. For some reason, the islanders do not interfere with Toby, and he goes with them to inform the arrivals of the distress his comrade is in and ask for help. But when the natives return to the village by the end of the day, Toby is not among them. To Tom's excited questions, they explain to him that his friend left with the boats and promised to return in three days. However, Toby does not appear either at the appointed time or later, and Tom does not know whom he should suspect: whether Toby himself in low betrayal or savages in that they secretly finished off the stranger, But anyway it is clear that from now on he is left to his own fate.

Many years later, having returned to America long ago, Tom will meet Toby, and he will tell him that he really went to the bay, believing the promise that the next day a boat with armed men would be sent out for Tom, but was deceived by the captain of the ship, who urgently needed sailors, and was taken to sea.

Left alone, considering his situation hopeless, Tom falls into apathy. But gradually interest in life returns to him. Observing the life and customs of the natives, based on a system of taboos, he comes to the conclusion that the opinion that exists about the islanders is deeply erroneous, but the so-called civilized person, with his diabolical art in inventing murder weapons, who everywhere brings misfortune and ruin with him - can rightfully be considered the most bloodthirsty creature on earth. In the village, Tom is considered so much his own that they offer to put a tattoo on his face, which is obligatory for members of the tribe - and it costs him great difficulty to refuse this offer. Treat him with great respect. In order for him to shuttle the beautiful Fiawei across the lake, the strictest taboo forbidding women to enter the boats is even canceled for a while, by some ritual tricks. But thoughts about the fate of Toby still haunt him. And although among the dried human heads that he accidentally found in Marcheyo's house, Toby's head is not found, such a find does not add vigor to Tom - especially since one of the heads undoubtedly belonged to a white man. The natives carefully hide from him everything that may indicate their cannibalism. However, you can’t hide an awl in a bag: after a skirmish with the Happarian neighbors, Tom determines from the remnants of the feast that the Taipi warriors ate the bodies of the killed enemies.

Month after month passes. One day, an unusual native Marnu appears in the village. The taboo that lies on him allows him to roam freely from valley to valley, from tribe to tribe. He is able to communicate in broken English, as he is often in the bay. Marnu unambiguously hints to Tom that sooner or later he will certainly be eaten - for now, the Taipi are just waiting for him to recover and become strong. Tom decides to run. Marnus agrees to assist him: he will wait for him with a boat in the neighboring valley, but Tom must hobble himself there at night, since his leg is gradually on the mend. However, even at night they do not take their eyes off Tom, and it is not possible to deceive the vigilance of the watchmen.

A few weeks later, the village is again agitated by the news that boats have been sighted on the coast, and Tom begs the leaders to let him go this time, if only to the coast. Those of the natives who during this time managed to make friends with Tom and fall in love with him are inclined to let him return with the boats to the bay, while the priests and many others declare that this should by no means be done. In the end, he is still allowed to go - but only under the protection of fifty soldiers. However, a dispute continues between the natives on the shore;

Tom, taking advantage of the opportunity and with the connivance of old Marcheyo, manages to get to the boat, which, as it turned out, was sent from the Australian bark specifically to try to bargain for his freedom: Marnu showed up in the bay and found out on the ship that the Taipi were being held captive by an American sailor. The natives swim in pursuit of the boat, but the rowers manage to repulse the attack. The barque, ready to go to sea immediately, is already waiting behind the cape.

M. V. Butov

(White Jacket or The world in a man-of-war)

Roman (1849)

In 1843, in one of the harbors of the Pacific Ocean, a young sailor - it is not difficult to recognize in him the hero of the novel "Typei", who continues his journey home - enters the American frigate Neversink. Since there is not a single superfluous sailor jacket on the ship after many years of sailing, he is forced to build its likeness from a canvas shirt and all kinds of rags with his own hands, and for the light color of improvised clothes he receives the nickname White Pea Coat. Throughout the voyage, the jacket causes him various troubles, as it distinguishes him from the mass of dark-clad sailors.

the frigate is already returning to America, it will have to round Cape Horn and pass the Atlantic Ocean, but this last part of the voyage takes more than a year. The White Peacoat has enough time to study in great detail the life of a warship and its crew, the peculiar relationships among five hundred people crowded into a very limited space on the ship, where everything is done in plain sight, even a moment of loneliness is inaccessible, and the only place that a sailor can consider his, - a hanging bunk, stretched only at night close to others on one of the lower decks.

White Peacoat is enlisted as a Mars sailor. Mars, whose watches are held at the very tops of the masts, high above the deck - a kind of sailor aristocracy. Senior above them - foreman Jack Chase, an experienced sailor, an extraordinary, educated person, a lover of poetry and one of the few on the "Neversinka" who had a chance to participate in real naval battles. Chase is loved by the sailors, he is admired by the officers, and even in the tone of the commander, when he addresses him, a note of respect is felt. The foreman favors the White Peacoat and more than once comes to his aid in difficult situations. The almost unbelievable story that White Peacoat learns testifies to a very special attitude towards Jack Chase on the frigate: when the foreman deserted the ship to take part in the Peruvian civil war on the side he considered right, and then, by pure chance, was discovered in one of the ports on a Peruvian sloop-of-war, he was only put back on the Neversink, and this was followed not only by punishment, but even by demotion.

The case is all the more surprising because any sailor on the "Neversinka" lives in constant expectation of certain punishments, many of which are corporal. The voyage of an American warship, like the voyage of an ancient galley, passes under the whistle of whips. And if big whips - cats - are still indicative, in the presence of the whole crew, and only the commander of the ship has the right to appoint such a flogging, then the ruler - a piece of cable with a knot at the end - can be put into action by order of any officer right on the spot where the sailor is noticed, if not in a misdemeanor, but at least in ordinary negligence. For more serious crimes - such as desertion or the manifestation of cowardice in a combat situation - special, stage-by-stage executions are already due, such as driving through the squadron formation, when the guilty person is transported from ship to ship, and on each he receives a new portion of lashes before the formation. And in accordance with the maritime regulations, once a month, the team is read excerpts from the Code of Wartime Laws in force in the fleet even in the absence of direct war; of the twenty crimes under the jurisdiction of the military tribunal, thirteen are punishable by death, and it's not just about mutinies or an attempt on the commander - a sailor who simply fell asleep on watch will also be in the loop.

The White Pea understands that it is not so easy to keep in obedience a motley ship's crew, for some members of which the charka of grog issued daily on the ship became the decisive argument in favor of joining the frigate. But still, the excessive cruelty of naval laws and regulations seems to him in most cases unjustified, and the severity of punishments does not correspond to the offenses committed.

Moreover, for the most part, the officers do not at all deserve that respect, to the obsequious display of which, in any case, the regulations oblige sailors. Drunkenness, inability to make decisions, ignorance of naval affairs distinguish many officers on the Neversinka. But even the most worthless of them (even teenage cadets sent to sail for training and used on errands) is able, without hesitation, indulging only their own arrogance, to offend an elderly honored sailor, whom the naval law categorically forbids even to object to an insult. From the same arrogance, the ship's commander is able to keep the crew on deck without sleep all night, during a senseless race in speed with the English or French frigates. The arrogance and ignorance of the flagship surgeon, who did not want to listen to the opinion of other ship's doctors, lead to the death of a wounded sailor. Many meaningless, but supposedly traditional regulations, the observance of which is carefully monitored by officers, are turned into an execution and everyday life on the Neversinka: during the day it is not supposed to stretch the beds - and the sailors who have been replaced from a heavy night watch have nowhere to sleep; patients from the infirmary located on the lower decks are forbidden to go out into the air - and they are forced to suffer from stuffiness and heat. Yes, and many ceremonies between sailors and officers, as well as between senior and junior officers, are useless and even harmful. White Peacoat comes to the conclusion that the cruelty of the commanders, contempt for the sailors, excessive strictness of the routine can only persuade the team to change at the time of the battle and go over to the side of the enemy. For if war promises an officer a rapid rise in rank, and subsequently - honor and prosperity, then for a sailor it does not even bring an increase in salary - nothing but mortal danger. And since many of the sailors are not even American citizens, only genuine respect for their commanders and a sense of duty, not undermined by constant humiliation, can make them fight honestly. No wonder the best naval commanders in history knew how to do without corporal punishment.

Silently, the White Pea coat firmly decides that in no case will he subject himself to flogging. And he tries to fulfill his duties as well as possible. But one day, during a sailing alarm, he takes the wrong place, because the officer did not tell him in time what exactly he should do. And although the White Pea coat tries to justify himself by explaining the situation, they do not believe him and they impose a punishment with cats. He is already preparing to throw himself at the commander and fall overboard with him, preferring death to loss of dignity. But Jack Chase and a Corporal of the Marine Corps come to his defense, and the captain - for the first time! - cancels the execution.

In anticipation of the return, many sailors lovingly grow a special style of "marine" beards, sideburns and long curls. The commander's order to shave and cut everything, as required by the Naval Charter, almost leads to a mutiny. However, the best officer, a born sailor nicknamed Crazy Jack, manages to calm the sailors and persuade them to obey. Only the old sailor Ashant does not agree to part with his beard. The captain sends him under the whip and into the punishment cell for the rest of the voyage - but the spirit of the old man is steadfast, and when the roar of the anchor chain is finally heard, Ashant shouts victoriously, jumping out to the upper deck:

"At home - and with a beard!"

On the last miles of the road home, a homemade jacket almost becomes a shroud for its owner. Entangled in her skirts, the White Pea coat falls into the ocean, and, heavy from the water, the jacket pulls him to the bottom, but he manages to free himself by cutting it with a knife. From the side of the frigate, a white spot is mistaken for a shark - and a bunch of serrated harpoons, having pierced the ill-fated pea jacket, quickly drags him into the depths.

White Pea coat will not return to the fleet. And most of the sailors swear goodbye that they will never again set foot on the deck of a warship. But two or three days will pass, and many of them, having lowered their long-term salary to a penny in the port, will again find themselves in floating barracks in order to subject themselves to humiliation and cane discipline for another year.

M. V. Butov

(Moby Dick or The White Whale)

Roman (1851)

A young American with the biblical name Ishmael (in the book of Genesis it is said about Ishmael, the son of Abraham: "He will be among people like a wild donkey, his hands on everyone and everyone's hands on him"), bored with being on land and having difficulty in money, accepts decision to go sailing on a whaling ship. In the first half of the XIX century. the oldest American whaling port of Nantucket is far from the largest center of this trade, but Ishmael considers it important for himself to hire a ship in Nantucket. Stopping on the way there in another port city, where it is not unusual to meet a savage on the street who joined the team of a whaler who visited there on unknown islands, where you can see a buffet counter made from a huge whale jaw, where even a preacher in a church climbs to the pulpit on a rope ladder - Ishmael listens to a passionate sermon about the prophet Jonah absorbed by Leviathan, who tried to avoid the path assigned to him by God, and gets acquainted in the hotel with the native harpooner Queequeg. They become bosom friends and decide to join the ship together.

In Nantucket, they are hired by the whaler Pequod, who is preparing to go on a three-year circumnavigation of the world. Here Ishmael learns that Captain Ahab (Ahab in the Bible is the wicked king of Israel, who established the cult of Vayal and persecuted the prophets), under whose command he will go to sea, on his last voyage, in single combat with a whale, lost his leg and has not come out since then from gloomy melancholy, and on the ship, on the way home, he even spent some time out of his mind. But neither this news, nor other strange events that make one think about some secret connected with the Pequod and its captain, Ishmael still does not attach any importance. He meets a stranger on the pier, who embarked on obscure, but formidable prophecies about the fate of the whaler and all enlisted in his team, he takes for a madman or a swindler-beggar. And the dark human figures, at night, secretly, climbed onto the Pequod and then seemed to dissolve on the ship, Ishmael is ready to consider the fruit of his own imagination.

Only a few days after sailing from Nantucket, Captain Ahab leaves his cabin and appears on deck. Ishmael is struck by his gloomy appearance and the inescapable inner pain imprinted on his face. Holes were pre-drilled in the deck boards so that Ahab could, by strengthening in them a bone leg made from the polished jaw of a sperm whale, maintain balance during pitching. Watchers on the masts were ordered to look especially vigilantly for the white whale in the sea. The captain is painfully closed, demands unquestioning and immediate obedience even more strictly than usual, and sharply refuses to explain his own speeches and actions even to his assistants, in whom they often cause bewilderment. "The soul of Ahab," says Ishmael, "during the harsh blizzard winter of his old age, hid in the hollow trunk of his body and sucked there sullenly the paw of darkness."

For the first time, Ishmael, who went to sea on a whaler, observes the features of a fishing vessel, work and life on it. The short chapters that make up the entire book contain descriptions of tools, techniques and rules for hunting sperm whales and extracting spermaceti from his head. Other chapters, "whale studies" - from the set of references to whales in various kinds of literature prefaced to the book to detailed reviews of the whale's tail, fountain, skeleton, and finally, whales made of bronze and stone, even whales among the stars - throughout the novel complement the narrative and merge with it, giving events a new, metaphysical dimension.

One day, on the orders of Ahab, the Pequod team gathers. A golden Ecuadorian doubloon is nailed to the mast. It is intended for the one who first notices the albino whale, famous among whalers and nicknamed by them Moby Dick. This sperm whale, terrifying with its size and ferocity, whiteness and unusual cunning, wears in its skin a lot of harpoons once aimed at it, but in all fights with a man it remains the winner, and the crushing rebuff that people received from him taught many to think, that the hunt for him threatens terrible disasters. It was Moby Dick who cut off Ahab's leg when the captain, finding himself at the end of the chase among the wreckage of whaleboats smashed by a whale, in a fit of blind hatred rushed at him with only a knife in his hand. Now Ahab announces that he intends to pursue this whale throughout the seas of both hemispheres until the white carcass sways in the waves and releases its last black blood fountain. In vain does Starbuck's first assistant, a strict Quaker, object to him that it is madness and blasphemy to take revenge on a creature devoid of reason, which strikes only by blind instinct. In everything, Ahab replies, the unknown features of some rational principle peep through a meaningless mask; and if you must strike - strike through this mask! The white whale obsessively swims before his eyes like the embodiment of all evil. With delight and rage, deceiving their own fear, the sailors join in his curses on Moby Dick. Three harpooners, having filled the inverted tips of their harpoons with rum, drink to the death of a white whale. And only the ship's cabin boy, the little Negro Pip, prays to God for salvation from these people.

When the Pequod first encounters sperm whales and the whaleboats are preparing to launch, five dark-faced ghosts suddenly appear among the sailors. This is the whaleboat team of Ahab himself, people from some islands in South Asia. Since the owners of the Pequod, believing that during the hunt from a one-legged captain could no longer be of any use, did not provide rowers for his own boat, he led them to the ship secretly and still hid in the hold. Their leader is an ominous middle-aged Parsi Fedalla.

Although any delay in finding Moby Dick is painful for Ahab, he cannot completely give up on whale hunting. Rounding the Cape of Good Hope and crossing the Indian Ocean, the Pequod hunts and fills barrels with spermaceti. But the first thing Ahab asks when meeting with other ships is whether they have seen a white whale. And the answer is often a story about how, thanks to Moby Dick, someone from the team died or was mutilated. Even in the middle of the ocean, one cannot do without prophecies: a half-mad sectarian sailor from an epidemic-stricken ship conjures to be afraid of the fate of sacrilegious people who dared to fight against the embodiment of God's wrath. Finally, the Pequod meets with an English whaler, whose captain, having harpooned Moby Dick, received a deep wound and as a result lost his arm. Ahab hurries to board it and talk to a man whose fate is so similar to his. The Englishman does not even think about taking revenge on the sperm whale, but reports the direction in which the white whale has gone. Again Starbuck tries to stop his captain - and again in vain. By order of Ahab, the ship's blacksmith forges a harpoon of extra-hard steel, for the hardening of which three harpooners donate their blood. "Pequod" goes to the Pacific Ocean.

Ishmael's friend, the harpooner Queequeg, having become seriously ill from working in a damp hold, feels the approach of death and asks the carpenter to make him an unsinkable coffin-boat in which he could set off on the waves to the star archipelagos. And when suddenly his condition changes for the better, it was decided to caulk and tar the coffin, which was no longer needed, in order to turn it into a large float - a life buoy. The new buoy, as expected, is suspended at the stern of the Pequod, surprising a lot with its characteristic shape of the team of oncoming ships.

At night, in a whaleboat, near a dead whale, Fedalla announces to the captain that neither a coffin nor a hearse is destined for this voyage, but Ahab must see two hearses at sea before dying: one built by inhuman hands, and the second, made of wood, grown in America; that only hemp could kill Ahab, and even in this last hour, Fedalla himself would go ahead of him as a pilot. The captain does not believe: what does hemp, rope have to do with it? He is too old, he can no longer go to the gallows.

More and more clear signs of approaching Moby Dick. In a fierce storm, the fire of St. Elmo flares up on the tip of a harpoon forged for a white whale. That same night, Starbuck, confident that Ahab is leading the ship to inevitable death, stands at the door of the captain's cabin with a musket in his hands and yet does not commit the murder, preferring to submit to fate. The storm remagnetizes the compasses, now they direct the ship away from these waters, but Ahab, who noticed this in time, makes new arrows from sail needles. The sailor breaks off the mast and disappears into the waves. "Pequod" meets "Rachel", who pursued Moby Dick just the day before. The captain of the Rachel begs Ahab to join the search for a whaleboat lost during yesterday's hunt, in which his twelve-year-old son was also, but receives a sharp refusal. From now on, Ahab himself climbs the mast: he is pulled up in a basket woven from cables. But as soon as he is at the top, a sea hawk rips off his hat and takes him to the sea. Again the ship - and the sailors killed by the white whale are also buried on it.

The golden doubloon is faithful to its owner: a white hump emerges from the water in front of the captain himself. The chase lasts for three days, three times the whaleboats approach the whale. After biting Ahab's whaleboat in two, Moby Dick circles around the captain thrown aside, preventing other boats from coming to his aid, until the approaching Pequod pushes the sperm whale away from its victim. As soon as he was in the boat, Ahab again demands his harpoon - the whale, however, is already swimming away, and he has to return to the ship. It's getting dark and the whale is out of sight on the Pequod. All night the whaler follows Moby Dick and at dawn overtakes again. But, having tangled the line from the harpoons pierced into it, the whale smashes two whaleboats against each other, and attacks Ahab's boat, diving and hitting the bottom from under the water. The ship picks up people in distress, and in the confusion it is not immediately noticed that there is no Parsi among them. Remembering his promise, Ahab cannot hide his fear, but continues the pursuit. Everything that happens here is predetermined, he says.

On the third day, the boats, surrounded by a flock of sharks, again rush to the fountain seen on the horizon, a sea hawk reappears above the Pequod - now it carries the torn ship pennant in its claws; a sailor was sent to the mast to replace him. Enraged by the pain caused to him by the wounds received the day before, the whale immediately rushes to the whaleboats, and only the captain's boat, among the rowers of which is now Ishmael, remains afloat. And when the boat turns sideways, the torn corpse of Fedalla appears to the rowers, fastened to the back of Moby Dick with loops of a line wrapped around a giant torso. This is the first hearse. Moby Dick is not looking for a meeting with Ahab, still trying to get away, but the captain's whaleboat is not far behind. Then, turning towards the Pequod, which has already raised people out of the water, and having unraveled the source of all its persecution in it, the sperm whale rams the ship. Having received a hole, the Pequod begins to sink, and Ahab, watching from the boat, realizes that in front of him is the second hearse. No longer be saved. He directs the last harpoon at the whale. A stump line, whipped up by a sharp jerk of a wrecked whale, wraps around Ahab and carries him into the abyss. The whaleboat with all the rowers falls into a huge funnel on the site of an already sunken ship, in which everything that was once the Pequod is hidden to the last chip. But when the waves are already closing over the head of the sailor standing on the mast, his hand rises and nevertheless strengthens the flag. And this is the last thing you can see above the water.

Having fallen out of the whaleboat and remaining behind the stern, Ishmael is also dragged to the funnel, but when he reaches it, it already turns into a smooth foam pool, from the depths of which a rescue buoy - a coffin - unexpectedly breaks out to the surface. On this coffin, untouched by sharks, Ishmael stays on the high seas for a day, until a strange ship picks him up: it was the inconsolable Rachel, who, wandering in search of her missing children, found only one more orphan.

"And I alone escaped to tell you..."

M. V. Butov

(The adventures of Tom Sawyer)

Tale (1876)

The middle of the last century, the town with the pretentious name of St. Petersburg ... America, where there are no factories, no railroads, no class struggle, but instead chickens roam among the houses with gardens ... A pious province where Aunt Polly, single-handedly raising Tom Sawyer, does not takes up the rod, not backing up his fragile severity with a text from the Holy Scriptures ... A demanding province, where children, even during the holidays, continue to cram verses from the Bible in Sunday school ... A poor province, where an unfamiliar boy walking around in shoes on a weekday looks like an impudent dandy, which Tom, of course, cannot but teach a lesson. Here it is very tempting to run away from school and swim in Mississippi, despite the prudently sewn shirt collar by Aunt Polly, and if it were not for the exemplary quiet Sid, the half-brother, who noticed that the thread on the collar had changed color, everything would have been sewn and covered .

For this trick, Tom will face a severe punishment - he will have to whitewash the fence on a holiday. But it turns out that if you convince the boys you know that whitewashing the fence is a great honor and a rare entertainment, then you can not only push the work to others, but also turn out to be the owner of a real treasury of twelve alabaster balls, a fragment of a blue bottle, a cannon from a reel, a collar without a dog , a key without a lock, a glass stopper without a decanter, a copper doorknob and a knife handle…

However, human passions rage everywhere in the same way: one day a great man enters a small church - District Judge Thatcher, a man who has seen the world, for he came from Constantinople, which is twelve miles from St. Petersburg; and with him his daughter Becky appears - a blue-eyed angel in a white dress and embroidered knickers ... Love flares up, jealousy burns, followed by a break, a mortal resentment, then a fiery reconciliation in response to a noble deed: the teacher bludgeons Tom for a book that Becky accidentally tore . And between insult and reconciliation in a fit of despair and hopeless resentment, you can go into pirates, putting together a gang of noble thugs from the local homeless child Huckleberry Finn, with whom good boys are strictly forbidden to hang out, and another friend, already from a decent family.

The boys have a delightful time on the wooded Jackson Island not far from their native St. Petersburg, play, swim, catch incredibly tasty fish, gobble up scrambled eggs from tortoise eggs, survive a terrible thunderstorm, indulge in luxurious vices, like smoking homemade pipes from maize ... But from this boyish paradise the pirates are beginning to be drawn back to the people - even the little tramp Huck. Tom hardly persuades his friends to hold on to a breathtaking sensation - to appear, one might say, at their own funeral, at a funeral service for their own missing souls. Tom, alas, belatedly realizes all the cruelty of their fascinating prank ...

And against the background of these relatively innocent cataclysms, a serious bloody tragedy unfolds. As you know, the surest way to get warts out is to go to the fresh grave of a bad person with a dead cat at night, and when the devils come after him, throw a stiff cat after them with the words: "Damn after the dead man, cat after the devil, warts after the cat, - here and deal with the end, all three away from me! But instead of devils, a young doctor appears with a tin lantern (in pious America it is difficult to get hold of a corpse in any other way, even for medical purposes) and his two assistants - the harmless bumbling Muff Potter and the vengeful half-breed Injun Joe. It turned out that Injun Joe had not forgotten that in the doctor's house five years ago he was pushed out of the kitchen when he asked for food, and after he swore to repay at least a hundred years later, he was also sent to prison for vagrancy. In response to a fist raised to his nose, the doctor knocks the mestizo down, his partner Indian Joe stands up for him; in the ensuing fight, the doctor stuns Meff Potter with a board, and Injun Joe kills the doctor with a knife dropped by Meff Potter, and then inspires him that it was he, Potter, who killed the doctor in unconsciousness. Poor Potter believes everything and begs Injun Joe not to tell anyone about this, but the bloody knife of Meff Potter, forgotten in the cemetery, seems to everyone to be irrefutable evidence. Injun Joe's testimony completes the job. Besides, someone saw Muff Potter washing his face - why would that be?

Only Tom and Huck could save Muff Potter from the gallows, but in horror before the "Indian devil" they swear to each other to remain silent. Tormented by conscience, they visit Meff Potter in prison - they simply approach the barred window of a small secluded house, and old Meff thanks them so touchingly that the pangs of conscience become completely unbearable. But at a fateful moment, already during the trial, Tom heroically reveals the truth: "And when the doctor hit Meff Potter on the head with a board and he fell, Injun Joe rushed at him with a knife and ..."

Fuck! With the speed of lightning, Injun Joe jumped up on the windowsill, pushed away those who tried to hold him, and was gone.

Tom spends his days brilliantly: thanks to Muff Potter, universal admiration, praise in the local newspaper - some even predict that he will be president, unless he is hanged until then. However, his nights are filled with horror: Injun Joe even in his dreams threatens him with reprisals.

Oppressed by anxiety, Tom nevertheless starts a new adventure - a treasure hunt: why not unearth a half-rotten chest full of diamonds at the end of some branch of an old withered tree, in the very place where the shadow from it falls at midnight ?! Huck prefers dollars at first, but Tom explains to him that diamonds go for a dollar a piece, no less. However, they fail under the tree (however, the witches may have interfered). It is much safer to rummage in an abandoned house, where at night a blue light flickers in the window, which means that the ghost is not far away. But ghosts don't walk around during the day! True, friends almost got into trouble by going to excavations on Friday. However, recollecting themselves in time, they spent the day playing Robin Hood - the greatest man that ever lived in England.

On Saturday, favorable for treasure hunting, Tom and Huck come to a terrible house without windows, without a floor, with a dilapidated staircase, and while they are examining the second floor, the treasure below is really - lo and behold! - they find an unknown tramp and - oh horror! - Indian Joe, who reappeared in the town under the guise of a deaf-and-dumb Spaniard. Tracking down the "Spaniard", Huck prevents another terrible crime: Injun Joe wants to mutilate the wealthy widow Douglas, whose late husband, being a judge, once ordered him to be whipped for vagrancy - like some Negro! And for this he wants to cut out the nostrils of the widow and chop off her ears, "like a pig." Having overheard terrible threats, Huck calls for help, but Injun Joe again disappears without a trace.

Meanwhile, Tom goes on a picnic with his beloved Becky. Having had plenty of fun "in nature", the children climb into the huge cave of McDougal. Having examined the already known wonders, which bore the pretentious names "Cathedral", "Aladdin's Palace" and the like, they forget about caution and get lost in the bottomless labyrinth. The hosts of bats were to blame for everything, which almost extinguished their tallow candles for the children in love, to stay in the dark - that would be the end! - and then for a long time they chased them along more and more new corridors. Tom is still repeating: "Everything is fine," but Becky hears in his voice: "Everything is lost." Tom tries to scream, but only the echo responds with fading mocking laughter, which makes it even more scary. Becky bitterly rebukes Tom for not taking notes. "Becky, I'm such an idiot!" repents Tom. Becky sobs in despair, but when Tom begins to curse himself for ruining her with his frivolity, she pulls herself together and says that she is no less guilty than he is. Tom blows out one of the candles, which also looks ominous. Strength is already running out, but to sit down would mean dooming yourself to certain death. They share the leftover "wedding cake" that Becky was going to put under her pillow so they could see each other in their dreams. Tom gives way to Becky for the most part.

Leaving the exhausted Becky at the underground stream, tying a string to a rock ledge, Tom rummages through the corridors available to him and stumbles upon Injun Joe with a candle in his hand, who, to his relief, rushes to his heels. In the end, thanks to Tom's courage, the children still get out five miles from the "Main Entrance".

Judge Thatcher, himself exhausted by unsuccessful searches, gives the order to securely lock up the dangerous cave - and thereby, unknowingly, dooms Injun Joe, who was hiding there, to a painful death - at the same time creating a new attraction in the cave: "Injun Joe's Bowl" - a recess in the stone, into which the unfortunate person collected drops falling from above, a dessert spoon per day. People from all over the area came to the funeral of Injun Joe. People brought children, food and drink with them: it was almost the same pleasure as having a famous villain hung on the gallows in front of their eyes.

Tom guesses that the missing treasure must be hidden in a cave - in fact, he and Huck find a cache, the entrance to which is marked with a cross made with candle soot. Huck, however, offers to leave: the spirit of Injun Joe is probably wandering somewhere near the money. But smart Tom realizes that the spirit of the villain will not wander near the cross. In the end, they find themselves in a cozy cave, where they find an empty gunpowder keg, two guns in cases and other damp junk - a place surprisingly adapted for future robber orgies (although it is not known exactly what it is). The treasure turns out to be in the same place - tarnished gold coins, more than twelve thousand dollars! This despite the fact that a dollar and a quarter could live comfortably for a whole week!

In addition, the grateful widow Douglas takes Huck to raise, and there would be a complete "happy ending" if Huck had the burden of civilization on his shoulder - this vile cleanliness and suffocating decency. The widow's servants wash him, clean his restrictive, breathable clothes, lay him down on disgustingly clean sheets every night, he has to eat with a knife and fork, use napkins, study from a book, go to church, speak so politely that he doesn’t even want to speak. : if Huck had not run to the attic to swear well, it seems that he would simply have given his soul to God. Tom barely convinces Huck to be patient while he organizes a gang of robbers - after all, robbers are always noble people, more and more counts and dukes, and the presence of a ragamuffin gang will greatly undermine its prestige.

The further biography of the boy, the author concludes, would have turned into a biography of a man and, we add, probably would have lost almost the main charm of a child's game: the simplicity of characters and the "repairability" of everything in the world. In the world of "Tom Sawyer" all insults inflicted disappear without a trace , the dead are forgotten, and the villains are deprived of those complicating features that inevitably mix compassion with our hatred.

A. M. Melikhov

(The prince and the pauper)

Tale (1882)

London, mid-XNUMXth century. On the same day, two boys are born - Tom, the son of the thief John Canty, huddled in the stinking dead end of the Garbage Yard, and Edward, the heir to King Henry the Eighth. All England is waiting for Edward, Tom is not really needed even by his own family, where only a thief father and a beggar mother have something like a bed; at the service of the rest - the vicious grandmother and the twin sisters - only a few armfuls of straw and scraps of two or three blankets.

In the same slum, among all sorts of trash, there lives an old priest who teaches Tom Canty to read and write and even the rudiments of Latin, but the old man's legends about wizards and kings are most intoxicating. Tom does not beg very hard, and the laws against beggars are extremely harsh. Beaten for negligence by his father and grandmother, hungry (unless a frightened mother secretly sticks a stale crust), lying on the straw, he draws sweet pictures for himself from the life of pampered princes. Other boys from the Court of Garbage are also drawn into his game: Tom is the prince, they are the court; everything - according to strict ceremonial. Once, hungry, beaten, Tom wanders to the royal palace and with such self-forgetfulness looks through the lattice gates at the dazzling Prince of Wales that the sentry throws him back into the crowd. The little prince angrily stands up for him and brings him to his chambers. He asks Tom about his life in the Court of Garbage, and unsupervised plebeian fun seems so tasty to him that he invites Tom to change clothes with him. A disguised prince is completely indistinguishable from a beggar! Noticing Tom has a bruise on his arm, he runs to make a drag on the sentry - and gets a slap. The crowd, hooting, drives the "crazy ragamuffin" along the road. After long ordeals, a huge drunkard grabs him by the shoulder - this is John Canty.

Meanwhile, there is alarm in the palace: the prince has gone mad, he still remembers the English letter, but he does not even recognize the king, a terrible tyrant, but a gentle father. Henry, by a threatening order, forbids any mention of the heir's illness and hurries to confirm him in this rank. To do this, you need to quickly execute the suspected of treason, Marshal Norfolk and appoint a new one. Tom is filled with horror and pity.

He is taught to hide his illness, but misunderstandings are pouring in, at dinner he tries to drink water to wash his hands and does not know if he has the right to scratch his nose without the help of servants. Meanwhile, Norfolk's execution is delayed by the disappearance of the great seal of state given to the Prince of Wales. But Tom, of course, cannot even remember what she looks like, which, however, does not prevent him from becoming the central figure of a luxurious festival on the river.

An enraged John Canty swings a club at the unfortunate prince; the old priest, who intervened, falls dead under his blow. Tom's mother weeps at the sight of her distraught son, but then arranges a test: she suddenly wakes him up, holding a candle in front of his eyes, but the prince does not cover his eyes with his palm outward, as Tom always did. The mother doesn't know what to think.

John Canty learns of the priest's death and flees with the whole family. In the turmoil of the festivity mentioned above, the prince goes into hiding. And he understands that London honors the impostor. His indignant protests provoke new mockery. But Miles Gendon, a stately warrior in smart but shabby clothes, beats him off with a sword in his hand.

A messenger rushes to Tom at the feast: "The king is dead!" - and the whole hall bursts into cries: "Long live the king!" And the new ruler of England orders pardon for Norfolk - the kingdom of blood is over! And Edward, mourning his father, proudly begins to call himself not a prince, but a king. In a poor tavern, Miles Hendon waits on the king, although he is not even allowed to sit down. From the story of Miles, the young king learns that after many years of adventures, he returns to his home, where he left a rich old father, who is under the influence of his treacherous pet younger son Hugh, another brother Arthur, and also his beloved (and loving) cousin Edith. The king will find shelter in Hendon Hall. Miles asks for one thing - the right for him and his descendants to sit in the presence of the king.

John Canty tricks the king from under Miles' wing, and the king falls into a gang of thieves. He manages to escape, and he ends up in the hut of a mad hermit, who almost kills him because his father ruined the monasteries, introducing Protestantism in England. This time Edward is saved by John Canty. While the imaginary king is doing justice, surprising the nobles with his common sense, the true king among thieves and scoundrels also meets honest people who have become victims of English laws. The courage of the king in the end helps him gain respect even among the vagabonds.

The young swindler Hugo, whom the king beat with a stick according to all the rules of fencing, throws a stolen piglet to him, so that the king almost falls on the gallows, but is saved thanks to the resourcefulness of Miles Gendon, who appeared, as always, on time. But in Hendon Hall, a blow awaits them: their father and brother Arthur died, and Hugh, on the basis of a letter forged by him about the death of Miles, took possession of the inheritance and married Edith. Hugh declares Miles an impostor, Edith also disowns him, frightened by Hugh's threat to kill Miles otherwise. Hugh is so influential that no one in the district dares to identify the rightful heir,

Miles and the king end up in prison, where the king once again sees the ferocious English laws in action. In the end, Miles, sitting in the stocks at the pillory, also takes on the lashes that the king incurs with his insolence. Then Miles and the king go to London for the truth. And in London, during the coronation procession, Tom Canty's mother recognizes him by a characteristic gesture, but he pretends not to know her. From shame the triumph fades for him, At the moment when the Archbishop of Canterbury is ready to lay a crown on his head, the true king appears. With Tom's generous help, he proves his royal lineage by remembering where he hid the vanished state seal. Stunned, Miles Hendon, who had hardly made it to the king's reception, defiantly sits down in his presence to make sure that his eyesight does not change him. Miles is rewarded with a large fortune and the peerage of England, along with the title of Earl of Kent. The disgraced Hugh dies in a foreign land, and Miles marries Edith. Tom Canty lives to a ripe old age, being held in special esteem for "sitting on the throne".

And King Edward the Sixth leaves a memory of himself as an extremely merciful reign in those cruel times. When some gilded dignitary reproached him for being too soft, the king answered in a voice full of compassion: "What do you know about oppression and torment? I know about this, my people know, but not you."

A. M. Melikhov

(The adventures of Hudkleberry Finn)

Tale (1884)

So, Huck returns to the good widow Douglas. The widow greets him with tears and calls him a lost sheep - but this, of course, is not from evil. And again, life is on call, even at the table it is necessary to first mutter something over food. Although the food is good, it’s a pity, each thing is cooked separately: whether it’s the leftovers, when you mix them well, they slip through much easier. The sister of the widow Miss Watson, an old maid with glasses, especially harasses Huck: don’t put your feet on a chair, and don’t yawn, and don’t stretch, and even scares the hell! No, it's better to be in hell with Tom Sawyer than in heaven with such company. However, a person gets used to everything, even to school: the teacher's spanking greatly encouraged Huck - he already read and wrote a little, and even learned the multiplication table up to six seven thirty-five.

Once at breakfast, he knocks over a salt shaker, and Miss Watson does not allow him to throw a pinch of salt over his shoulder in time - and Huck immediately discovers in the snow near the climb a heel mark with a cross stuffed with large nails - to ward off evil spirits. Huck rushes to Judge Thatcher and asks him to take all his money from him. The judge, sensing something is amiss, agrees to take the money for safekeeping, filing it as a "acquisition". And just in time: in the evening in Huck's room his father is already sitting in his own tattered person. The old drunkard has heard that his son has become rich, and, mortally offended by the fact that he sleeps on sheets and can read, he demands money right by tomorrow. Judge Thatcher, of course, refuses, but the new judge, out of respect for the sanctity of the family hearth, takes the side of the tramp, who, while the trial and the case, hides Huck in a secluded forest hut. Huck regains a taste for rags and freedom from school and washing, but, alas, dad begins to abuse the stick - he really doesn’t like the American order: what kind of government and law is it that allows blacks in some states to vote when such a rich man how he must live as a ragamuffin! One day, during a fit of delirium tremens, Father nearly kills Huck with his jackknife; Huck, taking advantage of his absence, staged a robbery of the hut and his murder, and escaped on a canoe to Jackson Island - on a bright night, when it was possible to count all the logs floating far from the coast, black and as if motionless. On Jackson Island, Huck runs into Jim, Miss Watson's Negro, who fled so that she would not sell him to the South: the saint could not resist the eight hundred dollar pile.

The water rises, and snakes, rabbits and other living creatures sit on every fallen tree in the flooded forest. The river carries all sorts of things, and one evening friends catch a great raft, and one day, before dawn, a tilted two-story house floats past them, where a dead man lies. Jim asks Huck not to look him in the face - it's very scary - but they collect a lot of useful things right up to the wooden leg, which, however, is small for Jim, and Huck is large.

Friends decide to go down on a raft at night to Cairo, and from there take a steamboat up the Ohio River to the "free states", where there is no slavery. Huck and Jim stumble upon a wrecked steamer and barely get away from a bandit gang, then lose each other in a terrible fog, but, fortunately, they are found again. Jim rejoices in advance and enthusiastically thanks the "white gentleman" Huck, his savior: in the free states, he, Jim, will work day and night to ransom his family, and if they don't sell him, he will steal it.

Give me a black finger - he will pick up his whole hand: he did not expect such baseness from Jim. “You robbed poor Miss Watson,” his conscience tells him, and he decides to inform on Jim, but at the last moment he helps him out again, composing that his father is lying on the raft, dying of smallpox: no, it’s obvious, he, Huck, the man is completely lost. Gradually, friends realize that they missed Cairo in the fog. But the snakeskin is not satisfied with this: in the dark, a fire-breathing steamer passes right along their raft with a crash. Huck manages to duck under the thirty-foot wheel, but when he emerges, Jim is no longer found.

On the shore, having told a plaintive story about the successive extinction of all his relatives on a small farm in the wilderness of Arkansas, Huck is accepted into the hospitable Grangerford family - rich, handsome and very chivalrous southerners. One day, while hunting, Huck's new friend Buck, about the same age as him, about thirteen or fourteen years old, suddenly shoots from behind the bushes at their neighbor, the young and handsome Gurney Shepherdson. It turns out that thirty years ago, some ancestor of the Grangerfords, it is not known why, was suing a representative of the equally chivalrous Shepherdson family. The loser, of course, went and shot the recently jubilant opponent, so the blood feud has been going on ever since - every now and then someone is buried. Even the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons go to the common church with guns, so that, keeping them at hand, they listen with great feeling to a sermon on brotherly love and similar boring things, and then also seriously discuss theological topics.

One of the local Negroes invites Huck to the swamp to look at water snakes, but, having reached a dry island, he suddenly turns back - and in a small clearing among ivy, Huck sees Jim sleeping! It turns out that on that fateful night, Jim was seriously injured and lagged behind Huck (he did not dare to call out to him), but still managed to track down where he went. Local blacks bring food to Jim and even returned the raft, which was caught on a snag nearby.

A sudden thunderstorm - shy Sophia Grangerford is on the run, supposedly with Gurney Shepherdson. Of course, the knights give chase - and are ambushed. On this day, all men die, and even the simple-hearted brave Buck is killed in front of Huck. Huck hurries away from this terrible place, but - oh horror! - finds neither Jim nor the raft. Fortunately, Jim responds to his cry: he thought that Huck was "killed again" and waited for the final confirmation. No, a raft is the best home!

The river has already overflowed to an immense width. With the onset of darkness, you can swim along the will of the current, putting your feet in the water and talking about everything in the world. Sometimes a light flickers on a raft or on a scow, and sometimes you can even hear how they sing or play the violin. Once or twice a night a steamer passes by, scattering clouds of sparks from the chimney, and then the waves rock the raft for a long time, and nothing is heard except the croaking of frogs. The first lights on the shore - something like an alarm clock: it's time to stick. Travelers cover the raft with willow and poplar branches, throw their fishing rods and climb into the water to freshen up, and then sit down on the sandy bottom, where the water is knee-deep, and watch how the dark strip turns into a forest beyond the river, how the edge of the sky brightens, and the river in the distance is no longer black, but gray, and black spots float on it - ships and long black stripes - rafts ...

Somehow, before dawn, Huck helps two ragamuffins escape from a chase - one is about seventy, bald with gray whiskers, the other is about thirty. A young compositor by trade, but he gravitates toward stage activity, not disdaining, however, lessons in singing, phrenology and geography. The old man prefers to heal incurable diseases by the laying on of hands, and prayer meetings are also in his line. Suddenly, the young, in mournful and grandiloquent terms, admits that he is the rightful heir to the Duke of Bridgewater. He rejects the consolations of the grief-stricken Huck and Jim, but is willing to accept respectful addresses such as "my lord" or "your grace", as well as all sorts of petty favors. The old man pouts and after a while confesses that he is the heir to the French crown. His sobs break the hearts of Huck and Jim, they begin to call him "your majesty" and pay him even more magnificent honors. The duke is also jealous, but the king offers him peace: after all, a high origin is not a merit, but an accident.

Huck guesses that in front of him are inveterate swindlers, but he does not even dedicate the ingenuous Jim to this. He weaves a new pitiful story, as if Jim is his last property, inherited from a completely extinct and drowned family, and they sail at night because they already tried to take Jim from him on the grounds that he was a fugitive. But will a runaway negro swim south! This argument convinces crooks. They land in a remote town that seems to be extinct: everyone has gone into the forest for a prayer meeting. The duke climbs into an abandoned printing press, and the king and Huck - following the whole district - go to listen to the preacher in the heat. There, the king, weeping bitterly, pretends to be a repentant pirate from the Indian Ocean and complains that he has nothing to get to his former comrades-in-arms in order to also turn them to God. Ecstatic listeners collect eighty-seven dollars and seventy-five cents into his hat. The Duke also manages to get a few paid ads, take money for publishing a few more ads in the newspaper, and three who wish to get a preferential subscription. At the same time, he prints an announcement for a two hundred dollar reward for the capture of a runaway black man with Jim's exact signs: now they can sail during the day, as if they were taking the fugitive to the owner.

The king and duke are rehearsing a hodgepodge of Shakespearean tragedies, but the "Arkansas boobies" haven't grown up to Shakespeare, and the duke hangs up a poster: the exciting tragedy "Royal Giraffe, or Royal Perfection" will be staged in the courtroom - only three performances! And - in the largest letters - "women and children are not allowed." In the evening, the hall is packed with men. The king, completely naked, runs onto the stage on all fours, painted like a rainbow, and chipping off things that would make a cow laugh. But after two repetitions, the performance is over. Spectators jump up to beat the actors, but some portly gentleman suggests first fooling his acquaintances so as not to turn into a laughingstock themselves. Only at the third performance everyone comes with rotten eggs, rotten cabbage and dead cats in the amount of at least sixty-four pieces. But the crooks manage to slip away.

In everything new, extremely respectable, they land in another town and find out that a rich tanner has recently died there and are now waiting for his brothers from England (one preacher, another deaf-mute), to whom the deceased left a letter indicating where his cash is hidden. The scammers impersonate the brothers they are waiting for and almost ruin the young heirs, but then a new pair of applicants appears, and both scoundrels (and Huck at the same time) only miraculously manage to avoid the lynching - again without a penny in their pocket.

And then the scoundrels sell Jim to the simple-minded farmer Silas Phelps for forty dollars - along with an ad, according to which, allegedly, you can get two hundred dollars. Huck goes to the rescue, and - America is a very small country - Mrs. Sally Phelps takes him for her nephew Tom Sawyer, who is expected to visit. Tom appears, intercepted by Huck, impersonating Sid. They learn that after Jim's story, reprisals are being prepared for the directors of the "Royal Giraffe", but they do not have time to warn the unfortunate scoundrels - they are already being driven on a pole, two terrible lumps of tar and feathers. And Huck decides not to commemorate them with evil anymore.

It costs nothing to free Jim, locked in a barn, but Tom strives to dramatize the procedure in every possible way so that everything is like the most famous prisoners, right down to anonymous letters warning of an escape. As a result, Tom gets a bullet in the leg, and Jim, who did not want to leave the wounded man, is again in chains. Only then does Tom reveal that Jim has been free for two months now under the will of a repentant Miss Watson. At the same time, Huck learns from Jim that the man who was killed on the houseboat was his father. Huck is no longer in danger - only Aunt Sally intends to take him up. So it's better, perhaps, to escape to Indian territory.

A, M. Melikhov

(A Connecticut yankee in King Arthur's court)

Roman (1889)

A typical business Yankee of the late 19th century, who knows how to do any thing in the world, having been hit in the skull with a crowbar during a skirmish in his factory, comes from the industrial state of Connecticut in the era of King Arthur - more likely the hero of many chivalric novels than the real king of the Britons, at the turn of the 528th-XNUMXth centuries. AD fighting the Anglo-Saxons. A dumbfounded Yankee is taken prisoner by a knight, whom our hero at first takes for a madman, and Arthur's castle of Camelot for a madhouse. Clarence, the Head of the Pages, a joking, pretty boy in bright red pants that looked like a forked carrot, informs him in passing that it is June XNUMX, XNUMX. In dismay, the Yankees recall that in this case a total eclipse should take place in two days, and his from which it came should not be.

The Yankees are led into a huge hall with an oak table the size of a circus arena, around which many men sit in bright outlandish clothes, drinking from whole bull horns and eating meat straight from bull bones, for which a pack of dogs is waiting, now and then rushing into the fray from for booty - to the general delight of those present. Dazzlingly brightly dressed women are located on the gallery - opposite the musicians.

In the intervals between dog fights, the knights, very friendly and attentive to each other, are engaged in the fact that they lie monstrously about their military exploits and just as ingenuously listen to someone else's lies. Obviously, they destroy their enemies not out of malice and not out of selfish thoughts, but solely out of love for glory.

Sir Kay, who captivated our Yankee, sentences him to death, but everyone is embarrassed by his strange, most likely enchanted costume, but the famous court sorcerer, the old man Merlin, advises him to undress - and the hero's nakedness again confuses only him alone. The Yankee pretends to be an even more powerful sorcerer and, already put on the fire, orders the sun to go out, and then, taking advantage of the general horror, returns the sun in exchange for the dignity of a permanent minister, invested with the fullness of executive power.

It quickly turns out that silk and velvet outfits are very impractical, and even ministers are deprived of true comfort - along with soap, candles, mirrors, telephones, gas ... The situation with fine art is also unimportant - not a single color advertisement of an insurance company on the wall. But glory! And the frenzied envy of the old man Merlin, who spreads rumors about the sorcerous impotence of his competitor. With the help of Clarence and several gunsmiths, the Yankees make a decent portion of gunpowder and a lightning rod, and then destroy Merlin's tower with "heavenly fire" in the next thunderstorm: the "magic of science" turns out to be stronger than the obsolete charms.

The prestige of the Yankee rises even higher, and yet the power of the church remains immeasurably more powerful, and in general, the nation does not know how to truly appreciate any valor unless it is backed by a peacock pedigree. In the end, the Yankee receives from the people the only title in the country, "Master", which does not prevent the earls and dukes from looking down on him. True, Sir Sagramore the Desired honors him with a challenge to a duel due to an accidental misunderstanding. The duel itself is postponed for three or four years, until Sir Sagramor returns from another journey in search of the Holy Grail - the goblet, in which, according to legend, the blood of Christ was once collected.

In the allotted time, the Yankees are in a hurry to build a civilization - first comes the patent office, then the school network, and then the newspaper; only a newspaper can raise a dead nation out of its grave. In quiet corners, sprouts of future industrial enterprises are springing up, where special agents gather capable young people. In these corners they also teach free-thinking, undermining chivalry and the church. At the same time, the Yankees are not implanting atheism, but a system of free Protestant congregations, so that everyone can choose their religion to their liking. An electrical civilization with a telegraph and telephone is growing underground, like red-hot lava in the bowels of an extinct volcano. People who have retained their dignity and are prone to independent thinking are sent by the Master personally to the Human Factory.

But his stormy activity is interrupted by an absurd story: an unknown Alisandra la Carteloise (later renamed Sandy by the Master) comes to Arthur's court and tells that her mistress and forty-four other beautiful maidens are imprisoned in a gloomy castle of three one-eyed, but four-armed giants. Arthur grants the honor of freeing the beautiful captives to the mentally swearing Yankee. Accompanied by Sandy, the Yankee goes in search, because they have no idea about maps here. He suffers innumerable inconveniences when traveling in armor, when it is impossible to blow his nose, or scratch, or climb on his own horse, and yet he captures and sends several knights to the court, frightened by the puffs of smoke from his pipe, which the Yankees release through the visor.

Listening to Sandy's chatter, he sadly recalls the "telephone lady" whom he loved in his former life: what happiness it was to say into the phone in the morning: "Hello, central!" only to hear her say "Hello, Hank!" And yet it's nice to meet your sales agent on the way - a knight-errant with ads on his chest and back: "Persimmons soap! All prima donnas wash themselves with this soap!" Soap production is growing, despite the terrible stench, from which the king one day almost faints, and the most famous knight Lancelot only walks on the roof and swears, regardless of the presence of the ladies.

It is no less pleasant to meet a knight who advertises toothbrushes, who pursues a colleague who deceived him, distributing polish for stoves.

Finally, the wanderers reach the castle, which during this time, by the power of evil spells, turned into a pigshed, giants into shepherds, and beautiful captives into pigs. Buying the whole herd in bulk turned out to be an easy task - it was much more difficult, without taking off the armor and observing exquisite courtesy, to escort the captives to the night, placing them, of course, in the house: the Yankees had never smelled anything like this! Fortunately, it is possible to hand over the pigs to the hands of the servants, so that they wait under supervision for their friends from all over the world. But, unfortunately, he fails to get rid of the excessively talkative Sandy - some other knight must beat her off in a duel.

The Yankee encounters terrible pictures of slavery, but wants to eradicate it with the hands of a people so far remarkably indifferent to the suffering of slaves. Then he learns that nearby, in the Valley of Holiness, a miraculous spring has dried up and Merlin has been strenuously conjuring over it for three days, but in vain. Yankee discovers that the holy well is in need of routine repairs and restores it, but to make it more effective he furnishes the opening of the water with such pyrotechnics that Merlin is sent home on a stretcher. The new papers portray the event in such a sassy Arkansas style that even the Boss is disgusted.

In his absence, the king undertakes to embody the idea of ​​an examination for an officer's rank, and the main requirement is generosity.

But the Master finds a way out: to compose a special regiment of His Majesty for noble youth, endowed with all sorts of privileges, and to compose the rest of the army from more ordinary materials and demand knowledge and discipline from them, since other virtues are inaccessible to them. Yankee even thinks of making service in the court regiment so prestigious that in the name of it, members of the royal house must refuse to use the special royal fund. This promises a noticeable relief for the state treasury.

To get a closer look at the life of the common people, the Yankee intends to travel around the country, disguised as a free commoner. The king is delighted with this idea, ties in with him. Travelers are given a lot of trouble and danger by the proud posture of the king; one day, the Master literally saves him from the knights, enraged by his scolding, by throwing a dynamite bomb under the hooves of their horses. The King, under the guidance of the Master, is trying to master the submissive posture, but he lacks the main teacher - hopeless worries. But the king behaves surprisingly nobly when faced with black pox! And at the same time, even in the most egregious cases, he takes the side of the noble against the ignoble.

The common people that they come across along the way show depressing dullness and downtroddenness in conversations, but there are also manifestations of a sense of justice, readiness to sacrifice in the name of loved ones; any nation, the Yankee thinks, is capable of creating a republic, even one as oppressed as the Russian, and as timid and indecisive as the German.

In the end, despite the courage of the king, they and the Boss are illegally sold into slavery at a public auction, and the king seems to be most offended by the fact that they gave nine dollars for the minister, and only seven for him. The slave trader quickly realizes that the "swagger" of the king (the Yankee begs the king not to talk about his royal rank, so as not to destroy them both) repels buyers, and begins to beat the proud spirit out of him. But, despite all the torture, the king remains unbroken. Trying to free themselves, the Yankees and the king almost fall on the gallows, but they are saved by a detachment of knights on bicycles, called by the Boss on the phone in time.

Meanwhile, Sir Sagramor, who has returned, starts a duel, and the Yankees, despite all the tricks of Merlin, kill Sagramor with a shot from a revolver that no one has seen here. In continuation of his victories, he challenges all the knights-errant to battle. Five hundred horsemen rush at him, but a few shots, each time knocking out a rider, are enough to put this avalanche to flight.

Knight-errant as an institution is dying. The triumphal march of civilization begins. Earls and dukes become railroad conductors, knights errant become salesmen, the Yankees are already planning to switch tournaments to baseball matches. Yankee marries Sandy and finds that she is a treasure. Hearing how in a dream he often repeats "Hello, central!", She decides that he repeats the name of his former lover, and generously gives this name to their daughter.

And then, taking advantage of the host's own rigged absence, the church strikes - excommunication: even the funeral takes place without the participation of the priest. Excommunication is accompanied by civil unrest. Sir Lancelot, a big stockbroker, is ripping off other railroad stockholders, including two of the King's nephews, with skillful machinations. In retaliation, they open Arthur's eyes to the long-standing relationship of his wife Guinevere with Lancelot. During the unleashed war, the king dies, and the church, along with his killer, excommunicates the Master.

Having fortified himself in the old Merlin cave, the Master, with the faithful Clarenoom and fifty-two other young men, gives battle to "all of England", for as long as he is alive, the church will not lift the excommunication. With the help of dynamite and artillery, the Master destroys the knightly vanguard of a huge army, but he himself is stabbed by a wounded knight, whom he is trying to help. While he is recovering, an epidemic begins from the decomposition of thousands of corpses. Merlin, clean-shaven, appears in the cave under the guise of a lonely old woman and, with the help of some kind of manipulation, puts the Master to sleep for thirteen centuries.

Returned to the previous era, the Master dies, deliriously repeating the names of Sandy and Allo-Central.

A. M. Melikhov

(Gabriel Conroy)

Roman (1876)

We first meet the heroes in March 1848 in the Sierra of California, when they are almost starving to death, having been lost in a blizzard for some time and camped in a canyon. Two of them, Philip Ashley, a young man of extraordinary mind and strong character, and his beloved Grace Conroy, leave the camp in order to find some settlement and inform its inhabitants about a detachment of settlers dying in the snow that has lost its way. Among others, Grace's brother Gabriel Conroy and their three-year-old sister Ollie remain in the camp. Before Grace leaves the camp, her friend Dr. Devarges, an elderly, near-death man, gives her a piece of silver and gives her a document confirming his ownership of the land where he discovered the silver vein, and a donation transferring this vein to Grace's ownership . Their farewell conversation is overheard by a certain Peter Dumphy, who soon also leaves the camp.

After a few days, Philip and Grace finally reach a village. Philip leaves Grace in the house of a hospitable lumberjack, and he sets off on his way back to the Hungry Camp to show her brother and sister the way to the village. However, when he finds himself in the camp, he meets a rescue squad there. It turns out that one of his former companions has already died, and the rest, who still have some strength left, including Gabriel and Ollie, left this dead place following the example of Philip Ashley.

Philip Ashley, who for some reason took on this alias only for the duration of the trip, is actually a former military officer, Arthur Poinzet. In the rescue squad, he meets his old army comrade, and his manner of behavior and conversation changes, acquiring a skeptical and somewhat cynical tone, although everything shows that he is a well-mannered and educated person. When, after examining the corpses, the rescuers come to the conclusion that Grace Conroy is also among the dead (according to the patch on the dress of one woman, to whom the girl gave it before leaving, when she herself changed into a men's suit), he decides not to refute this misinterpretation of the facts and hides that he himself is one of the surviving inhabitants of the Hungry Camp.

In mid-May, after waiting in vain for Ashley's return, Grace, posing as his sister, goes to the commander of the garrison, Comandante Juan Salvatierre and asks him for help. From him, she learns that the rescue expedition sent to search for the camp has already returned and that the body of Grace Conroy has been found among the dead. Then Grace declares that a mistake has occurred, calls her real name and faints from excitement and weakness. At that moment, she drops Dr. Devarges' document. Then the secretary, the Mexican Ramirez, steals it and later uses it for his own purposes.

Don Juan Salvatierra feels sorry for the poor emaciated girl, and he decides to adopt her. At the end of 1848, with the consent of Grace, he recognizes her as his daughter, born out of wedlock from an Indian princess, and makes her the heir to his entire vast fortune. Under the name of Donna Dolores Salvatierra, she leads a secluded life in his possessions and remains incognito for several years. To look like an Indian woman, on the advice of her maid, she washes her face and hands daily with yokoto juice, and they turn bronze.

The next five years are not described in the novel, and then the author talks about the life of Gabriel and Ollie Conroy, about how it develops after these five years. They live in a mining village called Rotten Hollow on the land donated by Dr. Devarges Grace, in a small cabin on a hill; their life is very modest, since Gabriel does not manage to drop into a rich vein. Gabriel cannot be called a hero in the generally accepted sense of the word, although in all his actions he is guided by good intentions. He is naive and poorly oriented in the true sense of what is happening. Gabriel has remarkable physical strength, he is able to overcome the raging mountain stream, but in the turbulent stream of life he is helpless. So, one day he saves one young lady from death, which threatens her with a breakthrough of the dam, and later she marries him to herself. This person's name is Julie Devardzhes. She is the divorced wife of the late Dr. Devarges. Once Ramirez met her and, in the hope of winning her heart and profiting from this deception, gave her a gift of a doctor in the name of Grace. Julie pretends to be Grace and comes to the Rotten Hollow with the intention of taking away from Gabriel his land in court, in which runs a rich silver vein, which he has not yet found. However, after Gabriel saves her and she sees that he is a very attractive man, she falls in love with him and decides to end the case amicably, that is, not through the court, but simply by marrying him. As a result of her marriage, she becomes the legal co-owner of the Konroy land. Gabriel for a long time does not even suspect that Julie was impersonating his sister, as well as the true purpose of her arrival in Rotten Hollow.

Ramirez is pissed that he's been tricked into both love and business. He is going to take revenge on Julie and Peter Dumphy, now a successful banker, who is also involved in the donation scam and, approving Julie's unexpected move, is trying to take over Gabriel's land. Through the mediation of Julie, Gabriel allows the banker to create, on the basis of his development, a joint-stock company with fixed capital from Dumphy, since he cannot process the ore at his own expense, because this requires large material investments at the first stage. He receives a large sum from Dumphy, becomes a manager at his enterprise and a prominent person in the village, without losing his characteristic simplicity and diligence.

Ramirez, meanwhile, is trying to undermine the stability of Dumphy's enterprise. He orders in San Francisco from his friends a false deed of gift for the same piece of land that was donated by the governor to Dr. Devardzhes. He draws it up in the name of Don Salvatierra and tosses the Comandante, already deceased by that time, into the papers. Grace discovers the donation, calls a lawyer and asks him to find out if it's real. The lawyer works in the same building where Ramirez came to his friends with a request to make a fake document for him, and then they met by chance. His name is Henry Perkins, he is the brother of the late Dr. Devarges, who once ran away with his wife Julie, but he carefully hides his real name and leads a very secluded and modest lifestyle. He undertakes to fulfill the request of Donna Dolores (Grace) and, to find out all the details of the case, first travels to San Francisco, and then to Rotten Hollow.

To understand whether she should claim her rights to the Conroy land, Grace invites another lawyer, Arthur Poinzet, the same Philip Ashley, who was her fiancé five years ago, and now has become a famous lawyer. First, she tries to get advice through her neighbor and friend, a wealthy young widow, the owner of a huge estate, the beautiful Maria Sepulvida. However, later she decides to meet with Poinsette herself. The young man is blinded by her beauty, but due to the dark color of her skin, he does not recognize Grace in her. The girl behaves very reservedly with him.

One day at the church, Grace spots Ramirez, apparently watching her. She is confused and fearful that Don Salvatierra's former secretary will recognize her. However, a certain Jack Gemlin, a handsome young man, a professional card player, comes to her rescue, who falls in love with Grace at first sight. Shortly before that, his path had already crossed with Ramirez, and he had a frank dislike for this slippery Mexican. He knocks him down, while Grace manages to escape.

Ramirez begins to guess that Donna Dolores is Grace, but her countrymen partially dissuade him from this. He goes to Rotten Hollow with the intention of telling the naive Gabriel everything he knows about his wife, and thus annoy Julie. However, under pressure from Gabriel, he is forced to reveal his cards ahead of time and thus is deprived of the opportunity to fully enjoy his revenge and humiliation of Julie. After talking with the Mexican, Gabriel leaves his wife in an unknown direction.

Ramirez threateningly appoints Julie a date in the forest, wanting to explain himself to her. Arriving at the meeting point, Julie is surprised to run into Henry Perkins, her former lover. After talking to him, she runs away home. Then he meets with Ramirez, who, due to his insignificance and cowardice, is trying to justify himself and beg her forgiveness, because he hopes that she will return to him again. Julie refuses to return and insults him. Ramirez, in a fit of rage, draws a knife and tries to stab her. At that moment, someone puts a hand on his shoulder. This is Perkins. A fight breaks out. Julie is in hiding. She runs home and writes a note to Gabriel saying that she has new information about Grace (Ramirez managed to share his guesses with her). She gives the note to the Chinese who works in her house and sends him to look for Gabriel. The Chinese man walks through the forest, and at the moment when Ramirez is ready to kill Perkins, he passes by the fighting, although he does not see the fight itself behind the bushes. The steps of the Chinese frighten Ramirez, and, as Perkins later stated, the Mexican plunges a knife into his chest.

The Chinese finds Gabriel, hands him a note, and he returns home through the forest, but his wife is no longer there. She disappeared. Passing by his forest hut, he saw the body of Ramirez and now comes to the conclusion that his wife is responsible for the death of the Mexican. Despite his breakup with Julie, he decides to protect her if need be, even at the cost of his own life.

He goes to Wingdam, a neighboring town, enters some hotel, where he is going to dine. However, the suspicion of Ramirez's murder falls on him. The sheriff arrives from Rotten Hollow and arrests him. Gabriel doesn't resist. Jack Gemlin is in the same restaurant at the same time. When he understands why Gabriel is being arrested, he is filled with brotherly love for this simple-hearted giant, since he himself has long been going to deal with Ramirez. Gabriel asks him to fetch Ollie from the boarding house where she is currently staying.

On the way back, having already taken Ollie from the boarding house, Gemlin learns that vigilantes are chasing Gabriel, who want to deal with him before the trial. He leaves the sleeping Ollie at Wingdam in the care of his negro servant Pete and rushes to Gabriel's aid. In the prison building, Gabriel and the sheriff guarding him barely hold back the door, which is cracking under the pressure of a lynch mob. Gemlin gets inside, but the sheriff, who did not immediately recognize him, shoots Jack and wounds him in the leg. Gabriel, with a wounded Jack on his back, and the sheriff, fleeing the vigilantes, try to climb onto the roof, so that later they can go down the rope and hide in the forest. However, at this very moment, an earthquake is sweeping across California. The door of the court below and the door to the attic are wedged, and the sheriff, who did not have time to get out, is trapped. Gabriel and Jack get to the abandoned adits and wait for dark. In the evening they move into the woods, where they are found by Ollie and Pete. The next morning, Gabriel is re-arrested by the sheriff, but is later released on bail that Dumphy pays for him. In the courtyard of his house, Gabriel finds his wife's sewing basket, and in it - a vest and realizes that Julie is expecting a baby.

Arthur Poinzet, hired by Peter Dumphy, arrives to protect Gabriel in the Hollow. Thanks to his talent as a lawyer and the testimony of witnesses, Gabriel is acquitted. During the trial, it is discovered that a certain lady who appeared in court under a thick veil is Grace (with an already natural complexion). She opposes her brother, as she is offended by him for marrying an impostor and thereby depriving her of her legal rights to land in the Hollow. Poinzet is shocked by the sudden appearance of Grace and the fact that he failed to recognize her in the guise of an Indian. In the future, he manages to make peace with her, and the young people get married.

Ollie and Gabrielle forgive their sister for nearly throwing a noose around her brother's neck. Julie, out of excitement, prematurely gives birth to a child, and she and Gabriel again live as one family. Instead of the silver vein that went underground during the earthquake, Gabriel discovers another on his own plot. The Conroys become rich again and reclaim their good name.

E. V. Semina

Tale (1878)

Brother and sister - Felix Young and Baroness Eugenia Munster - for the first time in their lives come to their mother's homeland in America. They grew up in Europe, feel like Europeans and anxiously await the meeting with the Wentworth family - uncle, cousins ​​and cousin. Felix is ​​the first to come to meet his relatives, but he finds only his younger cousin Gertrude - everyone has gone to church, and she, despite the persuasion of the priest Brand, who is in love with her, and her older sister Charlotte, has remained at home. Gertrude greets him cordially and asks about his family. The late mother of Felix and Eugenia converted to Catholicism and married a man who, although an American, lived in Europe from birth. Relatives disliked her husband and broke off all relations with her. Eugenia has married a German crown prince, but his family wants to end this morganatic marriage. Evgenia has not yet given her consent to this, so now the question is open. From all the stories and events, Gertrude's head is spinning, and she, confused, introduces Felix to her relatives who have returned from the church as Crown Prince Silberstadt-Schrekenstein.

Returning to his sister at the hotel, Felix enthusiastically talks about the kind reception given to him by his relatives, and Eugenia immediately realizes that he has fallen in love with Gertrude. Felix says that, besides the Wentworths, he met their distant cousin Acton, a rich, social, witty gentleman who would surely please Eugenie. The next day, Eugenia arrives at the Wentworths with Felix. They welcome them cordially and invite Felix and Evgenia to live with them. They provide them with a separate house, where they settle. The Wentworths accept them very well, but all the habits of Europeans are alien to the Americans, alien to their cheerfulness, love for the new. Only Gertrude is drawn to them, only she is attracted by everything new, unknown. the Wentworths wonder what brought Felix and Eugenia to their land. Felix is ​​an amateur artist, he draws with enthusiasm, thanks to his cheerful sociable character he easily converges with everyone and is very satisfied with life. Felix invites Mr. Wentworth to paint his portrait, but he does not agree to pose, because posing is a kind of idleness, and Wentworth is the embodiment of puritan morality. Felix begins to paint a portrait of Gertrude, entertaining her with tales of his adventures and travels. Brand blames her for spending too much time with Felix. This upsets the whole family:

Wentworth and Charlotte, troubled by Gertrude's frivolity and oddities, are eager for her to marry Brand, who they think is a beneficial influence on her. Evgenia rearranges the furniture in the house, goes to visit the Wentworths, gets herself a Negro cook. She flirts with Acton, who is more social and open-minded than the others, but he's also an exemplary Bostonian at heart. Acton is trying to awaken Evgenia's interest and love for the nature of America, for its inhabitants. Evgenia tells him the story of her marriage. Acton asks what she would do if her husband returned to her. She replies that she would tell him; "Now it's my turn. I break with you, Your Grace!" She tells Acton that she has almost made up her mind to send the paper she calls her renunciation and regain her freedom.

Wentworth asks Felix if he is going to stay in America forever, but Felix hasn't decided yet. Knowing that Wentworth is depressing by his son Clifford's addiction to drinking, Felix offers to bring him closer to Eugenia in the hope that his passion will help the young man cope with his pernicious passion for alcohol. To Wentworth, such a thought seems wild: what can a twenty-year-old boy have in common with a thirty-three-year-old married lady? But Eugenia welcomes Clifford, and he visits her more and more often. Felix is ​​finishing the portrait of Gertrude, but they still spend a lot of time together. They often meet Charlotte and Brand, and Felix notices that the young people love each other. He shares his observation with Gertrude and she, on reflection, agrees with him. Believing Brand to be her sister's fiancé, Charlotte suppresses her feelings, and Brand simply does not realize that he does not really love Gertrude, but Charlotte. Felix and Gertrude decide to help Brand and Charlotte sort out their feelings. Felix confesses his love to Gertrude. He dreams of marrying her, but the beggar artist is not a match for her, and he is afraid of rejection.

Acton introduces Eugenia to his mother, and this brings them closer. He tries to understand his feelings, but comes to the conclusion that he is not in love, and the main thing that drives him is curiosity. Nevertheless, having been absent for several days on business, he is in such a hurry to see Evgenia that he comes to her at a late hour, which surprises her very much. Seeing that she is bored, he invites her to take a trip to Niagara together. He asks if she has sent her retraction, she promises to reply to Niagara. Suddenly, Clifford appears, who allegedly looked at Felix's drawings in his studio. When Clifford leaves, Eugenia says that she cured Clifford of drunkenness and for this he fell in love with her. Being a romantic youth, he made it a rule to come to her at midnight. Acton informs Eugenia that everyone believes Clifford to be his sister Lizzie's fiancé, and Eugenia promises not to encourage his advances. The next day, Clifford tells Acton that he was at Eugenie's when he heard footsteps, and, fearing it was his father, hid in Felix's workshop. Unable to get out of there to the street, he entered the living room. To Acton's direct question whether he is in love with Evgenia, Clifford replies that he is not.

Felix tells Evgenia that he has achieved Gertrude's reciprocity and she is ready to go with him to Europe. Eugenia says that Acton wants to marry her, but she has not yet decided what to do, because he will never agree to live in Europe. Felix persuades her to agree to this marriage. Acton does not visit Evgenia for several days. Eugenia pays a visit to Acton's mother and announces that she is going to leave. Leaving her, she sees Acton lying on the lawn under a tree and announces to him about her imminent departure. Acton feels he is in love with her and tries to keep her. He once again asks if she sent the paper back to her freedom. She says yes. Acton asks himself "is this the lie he wanted to hear" but takes no decisive action. Eugenia invites Clifford to visit her in Europe, and visit her here before she leaves, but Clifford is more interested in seeing off his father's friends than talking with Eugenia. She is annoyed: is she really going to leave with nothing? Prosaic Americans do not show such ardor of feelings as she expects from them.

Felix opens Brand's eyes to the fact that Charlotte loves him, the Priest is stunned. Felix asks Wentworth for the hand of Gertrude, and Brand asks for permission to marry them, admiring everyone with his nobility. Clifford proposes to Lizzie Acton and everyone asks Eugenia to stay and attend the weddings, but she is in a hurry to leave. Felix asks his sister about her relationship with Acton. Evgenia says that she refused him. She has not sent her consent to divorce and is returning to Germany. Acton is saddened by her departure, but not for long. After the death of his mother, he marries a sweet and well-bred girl. Felix and Gertrude live in Europe and visit their relatives only once: they come to the wedding of Brand and Charlotte.

O. E. Grinberg

(Daisy Miller)

Tale (1879)

The young American Winterbourne, who has lived in Europe for many years and has managed to wean himself from American customs, comes to the small Swiss town of Vevey to see his aunt. In a hotel, he accidentally meets the wealthy American Miller family - a nine-year-old boy, his older sister and their mother. They travel around Europe accompanied by their agent and are going to Italy. The girl - Daisy Miller - amazes Winterbourne with her beauty, as well as free and laid-back behavior, which is not accepted in Europe. She talks without embarrassment to a stranger and captivates Winterbourne with her spontaneity. She talks about her family, about traveling in the company of her mother and brother, about future plans. She really likes Europe and wants to see as many sights as possible. The only thing that upsets her is the lack of society, in America they traveled much more often, and she was often in a male company. Winterbourne is at once fascinated and puzzled; he had never heard young girls say such things about themselves. Is he trying to understand what is behind this strange behavior from a generally accepted point of view? He finds a definition for Daisy: a pretty windy American, and rejoices that he has found a successful formula. Finding out that the girl has not yet been to Chillon Castle and really wants to visit him, Winterbourne offers to accompany her. Frightened by his own insolence, he adds that he would be glad to accompany her and her mother, but neither his insolence nor his respectfulness seems to make the slightest impression on the girl.

Completely bewildered by her calmness, Winterbourne rejoices at the opportunity to make this excursion alone with Daisy and promises to introduce the girl to his aunt. But when he talks to his prim relative about the Miller family, she says she prefers to stay away from these vulgar and ill-mannered people. She is shocked that they treat their traveling agent as a close friend, she is outraged by Daisy's free behavior, and after learning that the girl is going to Chillon Castle in the company of Winterbourne, who barely knows her, she flatly refuses to get acquainted with the Millers. In the evening, Winterbourne meets Daisy in the garden. Despite the late hour, the girl walks alone and enjoys the meeting. Winterbourne is embarrassed: he does not know how to tell the girl about her aunt's refusal to meet her. He refers to the migraine that torments her, but Daisy immediately guesses that this is not the case. However, such intelligibility in acquaintances does not upset her at all, Winterbourne still cannot understand whether the girl is showing ostentatious or true indifference. They meet Mrs. Miller, and the girl calmly introduces Winterbourne to her, after which she calmly announces that she is going to visit Chillon Castle in his company. Winterbourne fears Mrs. Miller's displeasure, but she takes the news quite calmly. Daisy says she wants Winterbourne to give her a boat ride right now.

The agent of her parents who approached them and Mrs. Miller believe that this is indecent, but they do not dare to argue with Daisy. Slightly teasing everyone, she declares: "That's what I need - for someone to get a little worried!" - and goes home to sleep. Winterbourne is puzzled and ponders over the incomprehensible quirks and arrogance of the girl. In two days he rides with Daisy to Chillon Castle. In his opinion, there is something bold, risky in this escapade of theirs, he expects a similar attitude from Daisy, meanwhile the girl is completely calm. In Chillon Castle, she chats with Winterbourne about everything in the world, admires his education. She invites Winterbourne to go with them to Italy and take over the training of her brother Randolph and is very upset when she hears in response that he has other things to do and not only will he not be able to go to Italy with them, but in a day or two he must return to Geneva. Daisy assumes that there is some kind of "enchantress" waiting for Winterbourne and, with a striking mixture of innocence and tactlessness, begins to shower him with ridicule, saying that she will stop teasing him only if he promises her to come to Rome in the winter. Winterbourne is ready to promise her this: his aunt has rented a house in Rome, and he has already received an invitation to visit her there. But Daisy is unhappy: she wants Winterbourne to come to Rome not for her aunt, but for her. When he tells his aunt that Daisy went with him to Chillon Castle, she exclaims: "And you were going to introduce me to this person!"

At the end of January, Winterbourne arrives in Rome. Auntie informs him that Daisy appears in the company of a certain gentleman with refined manners and a magnificent mustache, which causes a lot of talk. Winterbourne tries to justify Daisy in the eyes of her aunt, assuring her that she is simple-minded and ignorant, nothing more. But the aunt finds the Millers appallingly vulgar and their behavior reprehensible. Information that Daisy is surrounded by "possessors of magnificent mustaches" keeps Winterbourne from visiting her immediately. He goes to visit Mrs. Walker, an American acquaintance who lives most of the time in Switzerland, and she unexpectedly meets the Miller family. Daisy reproaches him for not coming to see her. Winterbourne makes excuses, saying that he arrived only the day before. Daisy asks Mrs. Walker for permission to come to her house for the evening with her close friend Mr. Giovanelli. Mrs. Walker hesitates to refuse her. Daisy is going to walk in the park on Pincio, where Giovanelli is already waiting for her. Mrs. Walker remarks to her that it is indecent for a young girl to go there alone, and Daisy asks Winterbourne to accompany her. In the park, Winterbourne does not want to leave the young people alone and walks with them, surprised that Daisy does not try to get rid of him. The combination of shamelessness and purity in a girl is a mystery to him. Mrs. Walker, believing that Daisy is ruining her reputation, comes to the park for her, but Daisy resolutely refuses to leave her companions and sit in her carriage. She does not see anything wrong in her behavior and does not understand why she should sacrifice her freedom to decency. Winterbourne tries to convince Mrs. Walker that she is wrong, but Mrs. Walker believes that Daisy is compromising herself by dancing all evening with one partner, having guests at 11 pm, etc. She advises Winterbourne to stop dating Daisy, but Winterbourne refuses .

Three days later, Winterbourne arrives for an appointment with Mrs. Walker. There he meets Mrs. Miller, and Daisy arrives at twelve o'clock in the company of Giovanelli. Winterbourne tries to reason with Daisy, explaining to her that it is not proper for a young girl to flirt with young people. “And it seemed to me that flirting is more to the face of unmarried girls than married ladies,” Daisy retorts. She calmly retires with Giovanelli in the window niche of the next room and spends almost the entire evening there. Mrs. Walker decides to finally show firmness, and when Daisy approaches her to say goodbye, she turns her back on the girl. Daisy is startled and hurt, and Winterbourne's heart sinks at the sight of this scene. He often visits the hotel where the Millers are staying, but rarely finds them at home, and if he does, then in the company of Giovanelli. He tries to figure out if Daisy is in love and discusses his assumption with his aunt. The aunt fully admits the idea of ​​a marriage between her and Giovanelli, who seems to her a dowry hunter. Winterbourne begins to doubt Daisy's purity and is inclined to think that her wildness is not so innocent. He tries to find out if Daisy is engaged to Giovanelli. Her mother says no, although she herself is not sure. Daisy, during a chance meeting, tells Winterbourne that she is engaged, but immediately retracts her words. Winterbourne cannot understand in any way whether Daisy does not notice that the whole society has turned away from her, or, on the contrary, is deliberately challenging others.

A week later, Winterbourne goes for a walk late at night and wanders into the Colosseum, where he meets Daisy with Giovanelli. He decides to leave, but Daisy calls out to him. And then Winterbourne remembers how dangerous it is to walk here, for the air is full of poisonous miasma, and Daisy can get a fever. He scolds Daisy and her companion for their imprudence, Giovanelli justifies himself: he tried to dissuade his companion, but to no avail. Seizing the moment, Daisy asks if Winterbourne believed that she and Giovanelli were engaged. Winterbourne answers evasively and concludes by saying that now it seems to him that this is not so important. Daisy leaves home, accompanied by Giovanelli, and Winterbourne learns two days later that she is dangerously ill. Mrs. Miller tells him that, waking up from her delirium, Daisy asked him to tell him that she was not engaged to Giovanelli, and to ask if he remembered a trip to Chillon Castle. Daisy dies a week later. At the funeral, Giovanelli tells Winterbourne that he has never met such a beautiful and kind girl, such a pure innocent soul. Winterbourne's heart clenched in pain and anger. In the following year, Winterbourne thinks a lot about Daisy, his conscience torments him because he was unfair to her. In fact, she really appreciated self-respect. He confesses to his aunt: "I could not help but be mistaken. I lived too long abroad."

O. E. Grinberg

(The Portrait of a Lady)

Roman (1881)

Mr Tachit and his son Ralph live at their homestead, Gardencourt, about forty miles from London. Mrs. Tachit travels a lot and only visits her husband's house for a month of the year. She spent the winter in her homeland, in America, where she met her niece and wrote to her husband and son that she had invited the young girl to stay with them at Gardencourt. Tachita's father and son, along with their friend Lord Warburton, are waiting for the arrival of Mrs. Tachita and wondering what her niece will turn out to be. While they are throwing witticisms, a girl of rare beauty appears - this is Mrs. Tachit's niece Isabella Archer. The men greet her warmly, although they have never heard of her before: Mrs. Tachit was in a quarrel with her late sister's husband, and only after his death went to Albany to see her relatives. A smart, sincere girl quickly wins universal sympathy.

Ralph faithfully takes care of his old father, although he himself is seriously ill: due to weak lungs, he had to leave the service. Feeling that he will not live long, Ralph wants to spend the rest of his days with the greatest - as far as possible in this position - pleasantness. He discovers the joy of contemplation. Isabella arouses his interest, and he talks with enthusiasm with her. English conventions are new to Isabella, she is used to freedom, She likes to do things her own way, but still wants to know what not to do here. "To do just that?" asks Mrs Tachit. "No, to be able to choose," Isabella replies,

Seeing Isabella's passion for everything romantic, Lord Warburton invites her, along with her aunt and Ralph, to his possession of Lockley, where he and his sisters welcome guests. Isabella receives a letter from her friend Henrietta Stackpole, a correspondent for the New York Interviewer. Henrietta comes to England and the Tachitas invite her to stay. The inhabitants of Gardencourt treat the overly energetic and somewhat intrusive Henrietta with good-natured irony. Henrietta loves America very much and criticizes all European foundations and customs. Mrs. Tachit does not like her, but considers herself not entitled to tell Isabella who she should be friends with.

On the same ship with Henrietta, Caspar Goodwood arrived in England - a young man from Boston, passionately in love with Isabella. Isabella is alarmed: she is afraid that Goodwood would not come directly to Gardencourt, but he sends a letter asking for a meeting. Before Isabella left America, he made her an offer, to which she refused. Goodwood has not resigned himself to defeat and does not lose hope of winning her heart. Just as Isabella has finished reading Goodwood's letter, Warburton appears. He proposes to Isabella, but the girl believes that they still know little of each other. She promises to think and write to Warburton. Isabella tells Mr. Tachit about Warburton's proposal, but it turns out that he already knows about it from Warburton himself. Isabella likes Warburton, but she doesn't want to get married yet, she wants to be free. She leaves Goodwood's letter unanswered, and warburton responds with a polite refusal.

Henrietta asks Ralph to invite Goodwood to Gardencourt - she favors a compatriot because she does not want Isabella to marry some "soulless European". But Goodwood, having received an invitation not from Isabella, but from Ralph, refers to urgent matters and does not come. Lord Warburton is trying to figure out the reason for Isabella's refusal, but the girl can't really explain anything. "I can't deviate from my path," she says. Isabella understands that peace, honor, wealth, a chosen position in society await her with Warburton, but she deliberately rejects all this. Tachits are amazed that Isabella refused such a brilliant suitor.

Isabella and Henrietta decide to go to London. Ralph volunteers to accompany them. In London, the girls meet Ralph's friend Mr. Bentling, who willingly accompanies Henrietta everywhere, admiring her education and bold judgments. While Bentling is showing Henrietta the sights of London, Ralph is talking to Isabella. He is very interested to know "what path the young lady who rejected Lord Warburton will choose." When Isabella returns to the inn, Goodwood's arrival is reported to her. She realizes that Henrietta set up their meeting by telling Goodwood which hotel they were staying at. Isabella asks Goodwood not to follow her. Upon receiving word that Mr. Tachit is in critical condition, Ralph and Isabella return to Gardencourt. There at this time is a friend of Mrs. Tachit - Madame Merle, a secular lady, causing Isabella's admiration for her impeccable demeanor. This woman of strong feelings, who knows how to keep them in check, seems to Isabella an ideal. Ralph does not like Madame Merle, although he does not say so directly. Mr. Tachit advises Ralph to marry Isabella before dying, but Ralph realizes that he is seriously ill and will not live long. He asks his father to change the will and leave Isabella half of the amount that he intends for him. Ralph believes that in order to fully show all her abilities, Isabella needs money - then she will gain complete freedom and independence. Isabella is a proud girl and will not accept money from Ralph - so he asks his father to take on the role of her benefactor. Mr Tachit dies and Isabella is bequeathed seventy thousand pounds.

Isabella and Mrs. Tachit go to Paris, where Isabella meets Edward Rosier, whom she knew as a child - their fathers were friends. Now Rosier is a well-bred young man who collects a collection of art objects. Mrs Tachit decides to visit Ralph in San Remo where he spends the winter.

Isabella rides with her. The girl asks her cousin why suddenly his father left her such a large inheritance, but Ralph does not tell her the truth. Six months later, in Florence, Madame Merle introduces Isabella to her friend Mr. Ozmond. Madame Merle tells Ozmond that Isabella is a profitable match, besides she is beautiful, intelligent and virtuous. Ozmond is a widower, the father of a fifteen-year-old daughter Pansy, brought up in a monastery and just left. At first, he is skeptical about Madame Merle's intention to marry him, but, having met Isabella, he cannot but appreciate her merits. Ralph treats Ozmond without affection, considering him "inexpressive". Isabella Ozmond likes its sophistication, originality and significance. Ozmond's sister, Countess Gemini, does not like Madame Merle and wants to warn Isabella against her brother, but the Countess's reputation is such that no one listens to her opinion.

Ozmond visits Isabella often, and Mrs. Tachit, with whom she lives, begins to worry. But Ralph reassures his mother, saying that Isabella will not accept Ozmond's advances. Yes, and Mrs. Tachit herself believes that it would be foolish, refusing the peer of England, to be satisfied with "an obscure American dilettante, a middle-aged widower with an absurd daughter and a dubious income." Ralph invites Isabella to go to Rome. Henrietta and Bentling are also going there. Ozmond tells Isabella that he would like to be there with her, and she invites him to join their company. Madame Merle rejoices: everything is going according to her plan. In Rome, Isabella accidentally meets Warburton, who still loves her. Warburton and Ralph exchange opinions about Ozmond: they both do not like him, and they hope that Isabella will not marry him. Before Isabella leaves Rome, Ozmond declares his love for her. Isabella leaves and travels for a year, first with her aunt, then with her sister, then with Madame Merle. After visiting Greece, Turkey and Egypt, the ladies return to Italy, where Isabella settles in Rome with Madame Merle. Ozmond comes there for three weeks and visits them every day. When Isabella visits her aunt in Florence, Goodwood appears again. Upon learning of the upcoming marriage of Isabella, he hastened to come "to hear her voice." Seeing that she is not happy with him, Goodwood promises to leave tomorrow. The aunt is not happy with Isabella's choice, but prefers "not to interfere in other people's affairs." Ralph arrives, he tries to dissuade Isabella from marrying Ozmond, but to no avail.

Several years pass. Rosier, accidentally meeting Pansy, falls in love with her. Rosier is not rich, and Ozmond dreams of a better match for his daughter, especially since he raised her in such a way that, although she loves Rosier, she will never dare to disobey her father. Rosier regularly visits the Ozmonds, he hopes for the sympathy of Isabella, who is very attached to her stepdaughter. Warburton arrives in Rome and comes to Isabella to pay his respects. He came with Ralph, but Ralph is so sick that he can't come. Hearing about this, Isabella promises to visit her cousin tomorrow. Warburton tries to find out if Isabella is happily married. She claims to be very happy. Warburton begins courting Pansy, and Ozmond wants to marry his daughter to him. Neither the big age difference, nor the fact that Pansy loves another, does not frighten him - Warburton is noble and rich, and this is exactly what Ozmond needs. Warburton is about to ask for Pansy's hand in marriage. One day, Isabella accidentally finds Ozmond with Madame Merle, and something in their treatment of each other alarms her - it begins to seem to her that they are connected by some kind of close ties, much closer than the ties of friendship. Madame Merle takes Pansy's affairs very close to her heart. She, like Ozmond, believes that Warburton is the perfect match for Pansy. Isabella is afraid of Ozmond, but she feels sorry for her stepdaughter. She tells Warburton that Pansy loves Rosier. In addition, she suspects that the forty-two-year-old Warburton is not so passionately in love with the girl, but subconsciously wants to be closer to Isabella herself.

Upon learning that Pansy does not love him, Warburton decides not to propose to her and leaves. Ozmond is furious: he believes that Isabella upset Pansy's marriage to Warburton. Three days after Warburton's departure, Goodwood arrives in Rome. He is unhappy, and Isabella feels guilty before him. But she herself is deeply unhappy, although pride does not allow her to admit it. Ozmond turned out to be an empty, calculating man. Isabella feels that he and Madame Merle have deceived her, made her a toy in their hands. She realizes that Ozmond married her for the money. Goodwood visits Isabella regularly on Thursdays when she hosts parties. She introduces him to Ralph and asks Goodwood to take care of her cousin. Ralph wants to return to England, but he cannot go alone: ​​Henrietta and Goodwood volunteer to accompany him. Isabella promises Ralph to come when he calls her. "I'll save this joy for last," Ralph replies.

Rosier informs Isabella that he sold his collection of trinkets and got fifty thousand dollars for it. He hopes that Ozmond will have mercy on him, but Isabella realizes that Ozmond will never agree to marry his daughter to him. Ozmond sends Pansy to a monastery for a while so that she can be alone, think, rest from society.

Having received the news that Ralph is dying, Isabella is going to go to Gardencourt. Ozmond objects to her trip, but Isabella breaks up with him. Ozmond's sister reveals a secret to Isabella: Pansy is Ozmond's daughter not from his first wife, but from Madame Merle, although she does not suspect it. Pansy was born when Monsieur Merle was still alive, but he did not recognize the girl, and Ozmond made up a story that his wife died in childbirth, when in fact she died childless. Ozmond was Madame Merle's lover for six or seven years, then they parted, but they are so connected that they cannot do without each other. Upon learning this story, Isabella is imbued with even greater pity and tenderness for Pansy, whose life her father and mother are ready to break. Before leaving, she visits Pansy in the convent, where she also meets Madame Merle, who has come to see the girl. Pansy does not like Madame Merle, and Isabella is once again convinced that, for all her meekness, Pansy is not so simple. Pansy asks Isabella not to leave her, and Isabella promises her to return. Madame Merle opens Isabella's eyes to the fact that she owes her wealth to Ralph: it was he who persuaded her father to leave her a fortune. "I know you are unhappy. But I am even more unhappy," Madame Merle says to Isabella.

Isabella arrives in London, where Henrietta meets her. She is going to marry Bentling and even, contrary to her convictions, intends to move to England. At Gardencourt, Isabella is told by her aunt that Lord Warburton is getting married. Isabella only now understands how much Ralph loved her and says that she is ready to die, if only not to part with him. She asks Ralph if it's true that he made her rich. "I think I've ruined you," Ralph replies woefully. Isabella confesses to him that she is unhappy, that Ozmond married her for money. After Ralph's death, Goodwood comes to Gardencourt. He persuades Isabella not to return to her husband, begs to stay with him. Isabella asks him to take pity on her and leave. Goodwood kisses her. Excited, Isabella runs into the house. When Goodwood arrives in London two days later and visits Henrietta in the hope of finding Isabella there, Henrietta informs him that Isabella has gone to Rome. Seeing his despair, she advises him to wait - after all, he is still young and he has time.

O. E. Grinberg

(The Aspern papers)

Tale (1888)

The researcher of the great poet Geoffrey Aspern comes to Venice to meet his former lover Juliana Bordereau, who lives with her unmarried niece Tina in a big house and does not communicate with anyone. Juliana has Aspern's letters, which the hero of the story wants to take possession of, but she hides them from everyone and stops all attempts of Aspern's biographers and admirers to make acquaintance with her. Knowing that she lives in poverty, the hero decides to rent several rooms from her. Obsessed with the idea of ​​getting letters, he is ready to follow his niece in order to achieve his goal. His old friend Mrs. Preet, to whom he confides his plans, exclaims: "Oh, look at her first!" In order not to arouse Juliana's suspicions, the hero enters the house as an American traveler who dreams of renting an apartment with a garden, and a garden in Venice is a rarity. Tina accepts him with timid bewilderment, but the hero's courtesy, his assertiveness and promise to put the garden in order lead to her promising to talk to her aunt. The hero with bated breath waits for a meeting with the legendary Juliana, who turns out to be a suspicious and greedy old woman who is most interested in money. She asks the hero for an exorbitant fee for rooms, and he is even afraid that by agreeing to her, he will give himself away: no normal traveler would pay so much. But making sure that when talking about money, Juliana forgets about everything in the world, the hero agrees. Juliana proudly demonstrates her ability to manage business in front of the impractical and helpless Tina. She dedicates the money to Tina, who adores her and devotedly cares for her. The niece treats the hero with sympathy, and he hopes to find an assistant in her. The hero moves in with Juliana, but in a month and a half of living in the house he sees Tina only once - when he brings money, but he never sees Juliana. He hires a gardener and hopes to woo the housewives by sending them bouquets of flowers.

One day, returning home at an odd hour, he meets Tina in the garden. The hero is afraid that he embarrassed her with his appearance, but she is glad to see him, and unexpectedly turns out to be very talkative. He tries to ask Tina about Aspern and eventually admits that he is engaged in his work and is looking for new materials about him. Tina leaves in confusion. Since then, she has avoided the hero. But then one day he meets Tina in a large hall, and she invites him to talk to Juliana. The Hero is worried, but Tina says she didn't tell Juliana about his interest in Aspern. Juliana thanks the hero for the flowers, and he promises to send them in the future. The hero is constantly trying to discern in the greedy old woman the appearance of the former Juliana, the inspirer of Aspern, but he sees only an ancient old woman who hides her eyes under an ugly green visor. Juliana wants the hero to entertain her niece, and he willingly agrees to take a walk around the city with her. Not spoiled by attention, Tina becomes more and more attached to the hero. She candidly tells him everything she knows about Aspern's letters, but she only knows that they exist. She does not agree to take the letters from Juliana and give them to the hero - after all, this would mean betraying her aunt. The hero is afraid that Juliana would destroy the letters. Juliana offers the hero to extend his stay in their house, but he has already spent so much money that he can no longer pay so much for housing. She agrees to a reasonable price, but the hero does not want to pay for six months in advance and promises to pay monthly. As if to tease the hero, Juliana shows him a miniature portrait of Aspern, which is supposedly going to be sold. The hero pretends not to know who it is, but he likes the skill of the artist. Juliana proudly says that the artist is her father, thus confirming the hero's guess about her origin. She says she won't part with the portrait for less than a thousand pounds. The hero does not have such money, in addition, he suspects that in reality she was not going to sell the portrait.

After a few hours, Juliana becomes ill and Tina fears she is about to die. The hero tries to find out from Tina where Juliana keeps Aspern's letters, but two feelings struggle in Tina - sympathy for the hero and devotion to her aunt. She looked for letters, but did not find them, and if she did find them, she herself does not know whether she would have given them to the hero: she does not want to deceive Juliana. In the evening, seeing that the door to Juliana's room is open, the hero enters and holds out his hand to the secretary, where, as it seems to him, letters can be stored, but at the last minute he looks around and notices Juliana on the threshold of the bedroom. At that moment, for the first time, he sees her unusually burning eyes. She hisses furiously, "You vile scribbler!" - and falls into the arms of the arrived niece. The next morning the hero leaves Venice and returns only after twelve days. Juliana is dead and has already been buried. The hero comforts Tina, asks her about her plans for the future. Tina is confused and hasn't decided anything yet. She gives the hero a portrait of Aspern. The hero asks about his letters. He learns that Tina stopped Juliana from burning them. They are now with Tina, but she does not dare to give them to the hero - after all, Juliana so jealously protected them from prying eyes. Tina timidly hints to the hero that if he were not a stranger, if he were a member of the family, then she could give him letters.

The hero suddenly realizes that this clumsy old maid loves him and would like to become his wife. He rushes out of the house and can’t come to his senses: it turns out that he unwittingly inspired hopes in the poor woman, which he is unable to realize. “I can’t marry a miserable, absurd, old provincial girl for the sake of a bunch of tattered letters,” he decides. But during the night he realizes that he cannot refuse the treasures that he has dreamed of for so long, and in the morning Tina seems to him rejuvenated and prettier. He is ready to marry her. But before he can tell Tina, Tina informs him that she burned all the letters, sheet by sheet. The hero's eyes darken. When he comes to his senses, the spell is broken, and he again sees before him an unsightly, baggyly dressed elderly woman. The hero leaves. He writes to Tina that he sold Aspern's portrait and sends a rather large sum, which he could not help out if he really thought of selling it. In fact, he keeps the portrait for himself, and when he looks at it, his heart aches at the thought of what he has lost - of course, Aspern's letters are meant.

O. E. Grinberg

Roman (1816)

On May 5, 1679, in the quiet outback of Upper Ward Clydesdale, a place in Scotland, all new participants arrive at the annual review. Elegant ladies and gentlemen, a motley crowd of onlookers. The picture is quite peaceful. But it only seems. The Privy Council, the highest body of executive power in Scotland, ruthlessly punished those vassals who missed the review without sufficient reason. Even the steward of the rich estate of Tillitudlem, Garryoon, while recruiting participants for the review, ran into resistance from Mother Mose, who deceived him by declaring that her son Cuddy Hedrig was ill. I had to take Gibby the Gosling instead, a frail kid, which had tragic consequences.

Scotland at this time was going through the last years of the era of religious wars. Tories and Whigs, Puritan Protestants and Catholics were at odds with each other over religious beliefs.

But back to the show. Among the arrivals is the owner of Tillithuddem, the widow Lady Margaret Bellenden, with her lovely granddaughter Edith. After various competitions in agility and strength, the main Competition began - for the title of "Captain Ass". The carcass of a bird was hung, studded with multi-colored feathers, which made it look like a parrot - hence the name. You had to be a very accurate and dexterous shooter to hit such a small target.

Two remained in the final. One of them is Henry Morton, son of the late Presbyterian leader. He "inherited from his father undaunted courage and stamina, an uncompromising attitude towards any kind of violence, both in politics and in religion <...> His commitment to his convictions, not grown on the yeast of the puritan spirit, was free from any fanaticism." His rival is the noble Lord Avendel, a wealthy man of noble birth, an adherent of royalty and an important person in the country. After three attempts, Henry Morton won. In the future, their destinies will intertwine more than once - both of them are fascinated by Edith.

Henry Morton modestly celebrating his victory at the Orphanage. Royal Sergeant Boswell bullies a stranger who is busy eating dinner. The skirmish ends with the victory of the stranger, who is forced to leave the Shelter. He imposes himself as a companion to Henry Morton. On the way, they meet an old woman who warns of an ambush for the royal soldiers. The stranger asks to shelter him for the night. Henry Morton hesitates - the stranger is unpleasant to him. In addition, after the death of his father, he lives with his uncle, very tight-fisted, whom he does not want to endanger. Then the stranger calls his name - Burley Belfour. Morton was called this name by his father. They were friends, Belfour saved Morton Sr. from death. But they parted with hostility towards each other because Belfour became a rabid fanatic and tied his fate with the protesting party. Morton does not yet know that Belfour is the murderer of the Archbishop St. Andrew. Faithful to his filial duty and innate philanthropy, he gives shelter to Belfour in his uncle's stable.

The meeting with Belfour had a tragic effect on the fate of Morton. The next day he is arrested by Sergeant Boswell. In terms of honor, Henry Morton does not deny that he hid Belfour, but he did not know that Belfour participated in the brutal murder of the archbishop, and, moreover, he was fulfilling a duty to the memory of his father. Henry Morton hopes that these circumstances will significantly mitigate his guilt, and is waiting for a fair trial.

A little later, the peasant Cuddy Hedrig and his mother are arrested. Here is how it was. When everyone was leaving the competition, Jib6i the Gosling, unable to cope with huge jackboots, tortured the horse with spurs so much that it began to buck. The unfortunate warrior became a laughingstock, much to the indignation of Lady Margaret Bellenden, who only now learned that Mother Mose had refused to send her son to the review. Lady Morton reproaches Mother Mose, who lives without enduring want, with ingratitude. A stubborn fanatic agrees to leave her nest, but not to sacrifice her religious beliefs. The exhortations of Cuddy's son, who has a natural peasant mind and is completely alien to his mother's intransigence, do not help. It's a shame to leave his home and because of Edith's servant - Jenny Dennison, with whom he is in love. But the deed is done. They go to Uncle Morton's estate, Milnwood, where they hope to find shelter. When the soldiers came to old Milnwood, Mother Mose burst into swearing and cursing. There was no way Cuddy could stop her. Her violent attacks aggravated Henry Morton's situation and led to the arrest of her son and herself. The soldiers who made the arrest, of course, did not fail to regale themselves with wine and extort money from the old uncle, promising to treat their nephew more gently.

The detachment follows in Tillitudlem. Here Henry Morton and the other prisoners await their fate. Edith, with the help of her nimble servant Jennis and her purse, gets a date with Henry. Learning that his fate will be decided by John Graham Claverhouse, a fanatic like Belfour, only from the opposite camp, she sends a note to her uncle Major Belland, an old friend of Claverhouse, by courier.

But no intercession and efforts could change the decisions of the old warriors - execution. Henry Morton did not flinch during interrogation, refused to answer Claverhouse's questions. He demanded a trial, and Claverhouse considered his own trial sufficient. So Henry Morton is faced with the arbitrariness of power, and this revolts his just heart.

Two fanatics decided the fate of a talented, honest young man, by joint efforts putting him outside the law. However, at the last moment he is saved by Lord Avendel, who at one time rendered a service to Claverhouse.

A message arrives at the castle that Belfour's supporters have revolted. Despite the significant numerical superiority of the rebels and the convenience of their position, Claverhouse decides to attack the enemy. The Scots are dying on both sides. The royal troops are forced to retreat. Morton is now saving Lord Avendel from certain death. He helps him run. Evendel lost a lot of blood and would not have reached the castle, but he was sheltered and bandaged his wounds by a blind old woman, who at one time warned Belfour about the ambush. She is a true believer, she does not care what religion a person is - if he is in trouble, he needs help.

Henry Morton and Cuddy, who began to serve him, ended up in the camp of Belfour. There were people here "illumined with spiritual pride" and "overshadowed by violent fanaticism", there were also people who were uncertain, preoccupied, regretting that they had made a hasty decision. Consent was not observed even among the spiritual shepherds of the rebels. Irreconcilable preachers McBrayer and Timpan do not accept the position of the shepherd Peter Poundtext who accepted the indulgence ...

By bringing Henry Morton into the Council, Burghley hoped to get a man who could be easily manipulated. But he was cruelly mistaken - Henry Morton was used to thinking for himself, his brains were not clouded by any fanaticism, and he was used to being firmly guided by philanthropy and tolerance.

Their first serious clash occurred because of the fate of the inhabitants of Tillithudlem, which is besieged by the victorious rebels.

Avvakum the Many-Angry, the holy fool, whose speeches were considered prophetic, demanded death for all, and "let their corpses become fat for the land of their fathers." He was supported by the evil fanatic priests Tympan and MacBryer. Poundtext believes that the Devil possessed the Many-Angry One after being kept in captivity by his enemies for a long time. Henry Morton thinks all this is vile and sacrilegious. In anger, he wants to leave the camp, Burley reproaches him for running out of steam too quickly. He gives the example of the parliamentary armies of XNUMX in which Morton's father served.

To which Henry retorts: "But their actions were wisely directed, and their irrepressible religious zeal found its outlet in prayers and sermons, without introducing cruelty into their behavior."

Burghley managed to convince the young man to stay. He is sent at the head of an army to drive Claverhouse out of Glasgow. Morton is reluctant to do this - he is worried about the fate of the defenders of Tillitudlem.

Morton successfully leads the military operations. Rebels occupy Glasgow. The Scottish Privy Council is appalled at the extent of the resistance and paralyzed with fear. There is a lull in military operations. Morton, tormented by the unknown, comes back. He learns that Belfour has captured Lord Avendel, who has made a sortie for provisions, as the defenders of the estate are starving. The servant Edith Jenny, who made her way out of the castle, talks about the terrible situation of the inhabitants of the estate - they are starving, and the soldiers called to protect them are ready to revolt. Henry Morton obtains Lord Avendel from Burghley under his protection. And at night, he secretly transports all the inhabitants of the castle to the Duke of Monmouth in Edinburgh, handing Evendel a letter outlining the main reasons for the uprising, with the elimination of which most of the rebels will lay down their arms. Henry Morton stands up for peace, he sees the senselessness of war, and it is precisely this, and not just love for Edith, that dictated his act.

This mission would have been successful if all the Whigs were as moderate in their demands as Morton, and all the adherents of the King's Tories were impartial in their assessment of events.

Belfour is furious over the release of Avendel and the inhabitants of Tillithoodle Manor. He convenes a council of war to decide what to do next. At this council, vehemently attacked by Burleigh, Timpane, and Ephraim McBrayer, Henry Morton courageously defends his position of making peace on honorable terms that ensure freedom of belief and inviolability of the rebels. It is supported by Poundtext. And it is not known how this council would have ended if the messengers had not reported that the Duke of Monmouth was already on his way to them with a significant army.

Once again, Henry Morton takes on a peacekeeping mission - he agrees to go to the Monmouth camp for negotiations.

Monmouth and his generals - Dalzela and Cloverhouse - agree to negotiate on the condition of the complete surrender of weapons. Claverhouse pleads guilty to Morton and offers to save him. But Morton considers it dishonorable to leave his comrades. Morton's mission gave the rebels a reprieve of one hour.

Returning to his own, Morton once again tries to persuade them to peace. But in vain...

The Prosbyterian army is defeated. Henry Morton finds himself in the hands of the most extreme fanatics from his camp - the Cameronians, led by McBryer. He is saved from execution by Claverhouse, who was called to help by the faithful Cuddy.

The Privy Council judges the rebels. He pardoned Cuddy, but sentenced Henry Morton to exile. However, Lord Avendel and Claverhouse, sending Morton to Holland, supplied him with letters of recommendation.

And Berkeley Belfour again managed to escape from retribution.

Years have passed. A new era has begun in Scottish history. There was a change of dynasties. King William was prudently tolerant, and the country was spared the horrors of civil war. People gradually came to their senses and instead of political and religious debates, they were engaged in their usual activities - tillage and handicrafts. The victorious Whigs restored Presbyterianism as the national religion, but far from the extremes of nonconformists and Cameronians. Only Graham Claverhouse, leading a handful of dissatisfied with the new order, was hiding in the mountains, and the Jacobites, who had become a disgraced party, held secret gatherings. These were the last pockets of resistance. The time of religious wars for Europe is over.

And what about our heroes? Cuddy married Jenny, is engaged in peasant labor and raises children. It was at his house that Henry Morton, who returned to his homeland incognito, stopped. He learns that the Tillitoodle estate was taken from Lady Margaret and Edith by Basil Oliphant, their distant relative. This happened thanks to Belfour, who, during the plunder of the estate, stole a document proving the rights to Lady Margaret Bellenden. Henry Morton is considered dead, as the news came that his ship was wrecked. And the wedding of Lord Avendel and Edith Bellenden will soon take place.

This prompts Henry Morton to act.

But first he visits his uncle's house. From the old devoted servant Alison Ullis, he learns that his uncle expired and left his nephew a large fortune. Henry Morton talks about his service in a foreign land, in Switzerland, in the province, from where he left with the rank of major general.

Henry Morton finds Belfour's refuge with the help of the same old woman - Elizabeth Mac Lure, who warned them about the ambush, and then saved Lord Avendel. He learns that now Burley Belfour is friends with Claverhouse, and Lord Avendel did not want to deal with him. And he hated the lord for it.

Morton finds Burley with a Bible and a naked broadsword in his hands. Morton needed a deed to the estate, but Burley burned it at the stake and tried to kill Morton. Morton eludes him.

The old woman Mac Lure informs Morton about the impending assassination attempt on Lord Avendel, organized by Basil Oliphant, who has long sought Edith's hand and wants to remove a successful rival. A cavalry unit led by Oliphant and Belfour ambush Evendel. Cuddy's bullet strikes Oliphant, Belfour also dies, taking several lives with him. Lord Avendel also perishes. And now nothing prevents the happiness of Henry Morton and Edith Bellenden, And Cuddy returned with delight to his house in Tillitudlem and took up the most important business on earth - arable farming.

T. V. Gromova

Roman (1817)

Rob Roy gives a broad and complex picture of Scottish and English social relations in the early eighteenth century. The action develops quickly, more lively than in other novels by Walter Scott. The main character, Francis Osbaldiston, is suddenly recalled from Bordeaux to his father on an important matter. Arriving in London, a twenty-year-old youth learns that his father wants to entrust him with the business of the Osbaldiston and Tresham trading house, of which he is the director. Osbaldiston Sr. understands that years or a sudden illness will someday overwhelm his strong body, and seeks to prepare in advance an assistant in the person of his son, who will take the helm from him when his hand weakens, and lead the ship according to the advice and instructions of the old captain. But Frank has no desire to comprehend the secrets of commerce, this is an artistic nature, he writes poetry, loves literature. His refusal infuriates his father, our hero is in danger of losing his inheritance, but this does not frighten him, and Frank throws to Owen, the firm's senior clerk, the phrase: "I will never sell my freedom for gold." As a punishment, his father sends Francis to the north of England to visit his uncle and meet his family, with whom he himself does not maintain any relationship. One of the uncle's sons, according to the plan of Osbaldiston Sr., will have to take Frank's place in the trading house.

Francis sets off and in one of the hotels at dinner he meets Mr. Campbell, a Scot by origin, who becomes the soul of the company and arouses general interest. But Campbell and Frank's paths diverge.

So, the young man arrives at his uncle's castle, Osbaldiston Hall, a stronghold rising above the forests and rocks of Northumberland - the border region beyond which romantic Scotland begins, unknown to Frank. The family portrait of the inhabitants of the castle is devoid of romance. "Not a bad collection," says Frank after meeting six cousins ​​- drunkards, gluttons and loafers. Only one of them stands out from the general row - Rushley, the younger Osbaldiston; it is he, as we later learn, who should take the place of Frank. A distant relative of my uncle, Miss Diana Vernon, lives in the castle, a beautiful, intelligent and educated girl. Frank is fascinated by her, he heeds her every word, listens to the well-aimed psychological characteristics that she gives to the inhabitants of the castle; her speech wonderfully combines insight, courage and frankness.

The measured, boring life in the castle suddenly ends. Frank is accused of high treason - such news is reported by Diana. Morris, one of Frank's traveling companions, has been robbed and suspects him of his deed; due to the fact that Morris was carrying money from the treasury to pay troops in Scotland and at the same time very important documents were stolen from him, this is no longer a simple robbery, but treason. Diana offers Frank her help and wants to smuggle him to Scotland. (“No one will intercede for you, you are a stranger; and here, on the outskirts of the kingdom, local courts sometimes do ridiculous things.”) But Frank objects: he is not guilty, so it is necessary to go to court and restore justice. Mr. Campbell unexpectedly appears at the judge's house, who exposes Morris, convicting him of a lie. It turns out that Campbell accompanied Morris on the road and was a witness to the incident; he outlined the picture of events, and the listeners learned that Morris was terribly afraid and did not even try to resist the robbers, although he was in the army of his majesty, and there were only two robbers. To himself, Campbell noticed that he was distinguished by a peaceful disposition and never interfered in quarrels and fights. Frank, who listened carefully to Campbell's story, caught the discrepancy between the words and the expression on his face when he spoke of his peacefulness, and suspected that Campbell was involved in the incident not as a companion of Morris, who suffered with him, and not even as a spectator. But it is thanks to Campbell that the slanderous and cowardly Morris is ready to retract his testimony against Mr. Osbaldiston. The court case is closed, Frank is beyond suspicion.

However, this story is only the beginning of the trials that befell our hero. From Rashley, Frank learns Diana's secret: according to the agreement between the families, she must either marry one of Frank's cousins ​​or enter a convent. In love, Frank falls into despair. Diana warns him of a new danger: Frank's father has left for Holland on urgent business, and has entrusted Rashley to run the firm in his absence; which, in her opinion, will lead to the ruin of her father, since he wants to use the income and property of Osbaldiston Sr. as a means to implement his ambitious and insidious plans. Miss Vernon, alas, turns out to be right: Frank soon receives a letter from his father's companion, who asks him to immediately go to the Scottish city of Glasgow, where Rashley is probably hiding with a large amount of stolen money and bills, Frank, upon arrival, needs to meet with Owen, who is already left for Glasgow. The young man is saddened by parting with Diana, but he understands that for his father "bankruptcy will be the greatest, indelible shame, grief, for which the only cure is death"; therefore, taking a Scotch gardener as a guide, he gets to the city by the shortest route.

In the church, during the service, a stranger makes an appointment with Frank, adding: "You are in danger in this city." He brings Osbaldiston to the prison, to Owen's cell, where this hard-working and devoted man tells the following. In Glasgow, the trading house had two main companions: the obliging and compliant McVitty and the stubborn, intractable Jarvey. Therefore, when, at a difficult moment for the company, Owen, having arrived in Scotland, turned to Mac Vitty for help, he hoped for support, but his request was rejected; moreover, the "reliable" partner demanded that the firm's entire cash asset be handed over to him as a guarantee in the event of a collapse. Owen indignantly rejected this demand and ended up in prison as a debtor, Frank realized that the warning he received meant that he himself could lose his freedom if he openly spoke out in defense of Owen, since Scottish debt laws are mercilessly harsh. Suddenly, Mr. Jarvey, an alderman (a senior member of the city council), appears in the prison, who, having learned about the troubles of Osbaldiston and Tresham, came to the rescue. He gives a guarantee, and Owen is free. During this meeting, we learn that the alderman and the mysterious stranger who brought Frank on a date with Owen are relatives, the amazed Jarvey exclaims: "You notorious lawless one, you dare to crawl through here to the Glasgow prison? Robber, robber, what do you think how much is your head worth?!" But Frank's guide, whose name is Robin, is imperturbable, he answers his cousin: "We mountaineers are a stubborn people." What was Frank's astonishment when he suddenly realized: the stranger Robin and Mr. Campbell are the same person! And again this extraordinary man offers his help. Robin's advice is to let Owen stay in Glasgow and do his best while Frank goes the next morning, accompanied by Jarvey, who knows the way, to him (Robin) in the mountains.

In the evening, walking in the city park, our hero meets a strange trinity: Rushley, Mac Vitty and Morris. They do not notice Frank, they carry on a conversation, and he waits until Rashley is left alone. A duel on swords between two enemies could lead to a tragic outcome, but the timely appearance of Robin stops the bloodshed.

Frank, on the eve of leaving for the Highlands, asks Jarvie to tell about her customs, and the alderman willingly describes this corner of Scotland. This is a very special, wild world with its own laws. Half of the adult population is unemployed, and they live by theft, robbery, cattle rustling, and, worst of all, they are proud of it. ("They know no other law than the length of their blade.") Each laird keeps with him a small army of such robbers, called a clan, and since 1689 peace in the mountains has been maintained by money, which, at the behest of the king, the lairds distributed to their daring men. But now, since the accession of King George, the order is different: no more money is distributed, the leaders have no means to support the clans that devour them, and, most likely, an uprising will soon break out. This event can speed up Rashley. Osbaldiston Sr. bought forests in Scotland, and the trading house paid large sums of bills; and as the credit of the firm was high, the gentlemen of the Hill Country, the holders of the bills, always obtained credits in Glasgow for the full amount indicated in the bills. Now, if the bills are not paid, Glasgow merchants will rush into the mountains to the lairds, who have almost no money, and will pull their veins out of them, driving them to despair, so that the termination of payments by Frank's father's trading house will hasten the explosion, long overdue. "How strange," Frank remarked, "that the trading affairs of London merchants influence the course of revolution and uprisings." What can Robin do in this situation, and why did he call Frank to the Mountain Country? Alderman advises Frank to rely on Robin.

Finding Rob Roy (that's what Robin was called for his red hair) in the mountains is not at all easy, Captain Thornton of the royal army was ordered to catch the robber Rob Roy as soon as possible, and despite the fact that the mountaineers disarmed a military detachment that outnumbered them three times, Rob Roy is still captured. When crossing the river, he manages to escape thanks to the help of friends. At night in the mountains, the paths of Frank and Rob Roy converge. Rob Roy brings Frank and Jarvey to his home, and Frank listens with interest to the story of this amazing man. Once Robin was prosperous and hardworking, but hard times came, and Rob liked to take risks and, as a result, found himself bankrupt, a barefoot tramp, stripped of all his fortune. There was no help from anywhere - "there is no shelter or protection anywhere" - then Rob Roy moved into the mountains, began to live "by his own law". Farmers paid him "black tribute"; this money served as a guarantee to them that their property was inviolable: if, for example, thieves took away at least one sheep, Rob must return it or reimburse its value. And he always kept his word. Soon Rob Roy rallied a whole team of daredevils around him and became their favorite leader, a man whose name alone was terrifying. Robin has long suspected Rashley's dastardly intentions and is now forcing him to return all the bills and securities by threats in order to immediately hand them over to the Frank. Our hero is once again convinced that this "robber" is a generous, honest person, with whom one does not want to part.

In Glasgow, Frank meets with his father, who managed to settle all the cases and sue Rashley. But the trial never takes place, because just before the Osbaldistons leave for England, a mutiny breaks out in the mountains. Frank, in the ranks of the royal troops, participates in its suppression. During the fighting, all of Frank's cousins ​​who lived in Osbaldiston Hall die, and Frank remains the sole heir to the castle. But he does not want to live alone and goes in search of Diana Vernoy. Meanwhile, the girl, fulfilling the will of her father, ends up in a monastery.

There, Frank finds her before she can get her hair cut as a nun. They marry and live happily ever after in the castle.

And in his native country, the memory of Rob Roy still lives on as a Scottish Robin Hood.

N. B. Vinogradova

Roman (1820)

Almost one hundred and thirty years have passed since the Norman Duke William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo-Saxon troops and took possession of England at the Battle of Hastings (1066). The English people are going through hard times. King Richard the Lionheart has not returned from the last crusade, taken prisoner by the treacherous Duke of Austria. The place of his imprisonment is unknown. Meanwhile, the king's brother, Prince John, recruits supporters, intending, in the event of Richard's death, to remove the legitimate heir from power and seize the throne. A real schemer, Prince John is wreaking havoc throughout the land, igniting the long-standing feud between the Saxons and the Normans.

The proud tan Cedric of Rotherwood does not give up the hope of throwing off the Norman yoke and reviving the former power of the Saxons, placing at the head of the liberation movement a descendant of the royal family of Athelstan of Koningsburg. However, the blunt and unacceptable Sir Athelstan is distrustful of many. To give more weight to his figure, Cedric dreams of marrying Athelstan to his pupil, Lady Rowena, the last representative of the family of King Alfred. When Lady Rowena's affection for Cedric's son, Wilfred Ivanhoe, got in the way of these plans, the adamant tan, not without reason nicknamed Sachs for his dedication to the cause, expelled his son from the parental home and disinherited.

And now Ivanhoe, dressed as a pilgrim, is secretly returning home from a crusade. Not far from his father's estate, he is overtaken by the detachment of the commander of the order of the templars, Brian de Boisguillebert, who is heading to the jousting tournament in Ashby de la Zouche. Caught on the road by bad weather, he decides to ask Cedric for an overnight stay. The hospitable house of a noble tan is open to everyone, even to the Jew Isaac from York, who joins the guests already during the meal. Boisguillebert, who also visited Palestine, boasts at the table of his exploits in the name of the Holy Sepulcher. The pilgrim defends the honor of Richard and his brave warriors, and on behalf of Ivanhoe, who has already once defeated the templar in a duel, accepts the challenge of the arrogant commander to fight. When the guests leave for their rooms, the pilgrim advises Isaac to quietly leave Cedric's house - he heard how Boisguillebert gave the order to the servants to seize the Jew, as soon as he drives away from the estate. The shrewd Isaac, having seen the spurs under the wandering attire of the young man, in gratitude gives him a note to a merchant relative, in which he asks to lend the pilgrim armor and a war horse.

The tournament at Ashby, which brought together the entire color of English chivalry, and even in the presence of Prince John himself, attracted everyone's attention. The host knights, including the arrogant Briand de Boisguillebert, confidently win one victory after another. But when it seemed that no one else would dare to oppose the instigators and the outcome of the tournament was decided, a new fighter appears on the arena with the motto "Deprived of Inheritance" on the shield, who fearlessly challenges the templar himself to a mortal battle. Several times the opponents converge, and their spears scatter in fragments to the very handles. All the sympathy of the audience is on the side of the brave stranger - and luck accompanies him: Boisguillebert falls from his horse, and the duel is recognized as over. Then the Disinherited Knight fights in turn with all the instigators and decisively takes over them. As the winner, he must choose the queen of love and beauty, and, gracefully bowing his spear, the stranger places the crown at the feet of the beautiful Rowena.

The next day, a general tournament is held: the party of the knight of the Disinherited fights against the party of Briand de Boisguillebert. The templar is supported by almost all instigators. They are pushing the young stranger, and if not for the help of the mysterious Black Knight, he would hardly have managed to become the hero of the day for the second time. The queen of love and beauty should put an honorary crown on the head of the winner. But when the marshals take off the stranger's helmet, she sees in front of her pale as death Ivanhoe, who falls at her feet, bleeding from his wounds.

Meanwhile, Prince John receives a note from a messenger: "Be careful - the devil is unleashed." This means that his brother Richard got his freedom. The prince is in a panic, in a panic and his supporters. To secure their loyalty, John promises them rewards and honors. To the Norman knight Maurice de Bracy, for example, he proposes Lady Rowena as his wife - the bride is rich, beautiful and noble. De Bracy is delighted and decides to attack Cedric's squad on the way home from Ashby and kidnap the beautiful Rowena.

Proud of his son's victory, but still unwilling to forgive him, Cedric Sacks sets off on his return journey with a heavy heart.

The news that the wounded Ivanhoe was carried away by a stretcher of some rich lady only kindles a feeling of indignation in him. On the way to the cavalcade of Cedric and Athelstan of Coningsburg, Isaac from York joins with his daughter Rebekah. They were also at the tournament and now they are asking to be taken under protection - not so much for themselves, but for the sick friend they are accompanying. But as soon as the travelers go deep into the forest, a large detachment of robbers pounces on them and all of them are taken prisoner.

Cedric and his companions are taken to the fortified castle of Fron de Boeuf. The leaders of the "robbers" are Boisguillebert and de "Bracy, which Cedric guesses when he sees the battlements of the castle. "If Cedric Sax is unable to save England, he is ready to die for her," he challenges his invaders.

De Bracy, meanwhile, comes to Lady Rowena and, confessing everything to her, tries to win her favor. However, the proud beauty is adamant and, only learning that Wilfred Ivanhoe is also in the castle (namely, he was in Isaac's stretcher), prays to the knight to save him from death.

But hard as it is for Lady Rowena, Rebekah is in much greater danger. Captivated by the mind and beauty of the daughter of Zion, Brian de Boisguillebert was inflamed with passion for her, and now he is persuading the girl to run away with him. Rebekah is ready to prefer death to disgrace, but her fearless rebuke, full of indignation, only gives rise to the templar's confidence that he has met the woman of his destiny, his soul mate.

Meanwhile, detachments of free yeomen are gathered around the castle, brought by Cedric's servants who escaped captivity. The siege is led by Ivanhoe, who once came to the aid of the Black Knight. Under the blows of his huge ax, the gates of the castle crack and disintegrate, and stones and logs flying at his head from the walls annoy him no more than raindrops. Rebekah, who made her way into Ivanhoe's room in the turmoil of the battle, tells the bedridden young man what is happening around. Reproaching herself for her tender feelings for a non-believer, she is unable to leave him at such a dangerous moment. And the liberators win back span after span from the besieged. The Black Knight mortally wounds Front de Boeuf and captures de Bracy. And what is strange - the proud Norman, after a few words spoken to him, unquestioningly resigns himself to his fate. Suddenly the castle is engulfed in flames. The Black Knight barely manages to pull Ivanhoe out into the open air. Boisguillebert seizes the desperately resisting Rebekah and, putting her on the horse of one of the slaves, tries to escape from the trap. 'However, Athelstan rushes in pursuit of him, deciding that the templar has kidnapped Lady Rowena. The sharp sword of the templar falls with all his might on the head of the ill-fated Saxon, and he falls dead to the ground.

Leaving the dilapidated castle and thanking the free shooters for their help, Cedric, accompanied by a stretcher with the body of Athelstan of Koningsburg, goes to his estate, where he will be given the last honors. The Black Knight also parted with his faithful assistants - his wanderings are not over yet. The leader of the shooters, Luxley, gives him a hunting horn as a farewell gift and asks him to blow it in case of danger. Released, de Bracy gallops at full speed to Prince John to tell him the terrible news - Richard is in England. The cowardly and vile prince sends his main henchman, Voldemar Fitz-Urs, to capture, or better yet, kill Richard.

Boisguillebert takes refuge with Rebekah in the abode of the Knights of Templestow. Grandmaster Beaumanoir, who arrived at the monastery with a check, finds many shortcomings, first of all, he is outraged by the promiscuity of the templars. When he learns that a captive Jewess is hiding within the walls of the preceptory, who, in all likelihood, is in a love affair with one of the brothers of the order, he decides to arrange a trial for the girl and accuse her of witchcraft - for what, if not witchcraft, explains her power over the commander The stern ascetic Beaumanoir believes that the execution of a Jewess will serve as a cleansing sacrifice for the love sins of the Knights of the Temple. In a brilliant speech that won the sympathy of even her opponents, Rebekah rejects all Beaumanoir's accusations and demands a duel: let whoever volunteers to defend her prove her case with a sword.

Meanwhile, the Black Knight, making his way through the forests to his only target, comes across an ambush. Fitz-Urs carried out his vile plans, and the king of England could have fallen from a treacherous hand, if it were not for the sound of the horn of free arrows led by Loxley. The knight finally reveals his incognito: he is Richard Plantagenet, the rightful king of England. Loxley does not remain in debt either: he is Robin Hood from Sherwood Forest. Here the company is caught up by Wilfred Ivanhoe, traveling from St. Botolph Abbey, where he was recovering from his wounds, to Koningsburgh Castle. Forced to wait until his supporters muster enough forces, Richard goes with him. In the castle, he persuades Cedric to forgive the recalcitrant son and give him Lady Rowena as his wife. The resurrected, or rather, never dying, but only stunned Sir Athelstan joins his request. The turbulent events of recent days have repulsed his last ambitious dreams. However, in the midst of the conversation, Ivanhoe suddenly disappears - some Jew called him urgently, according to the servants.

At Templestow, everything is ready for the duel. There is only no knight willing to fight with Boisguillebert for the honor of Rebekah. If the intercessor does not appear before sunset, Rebekah will be burned. And then a rider appears on the field, his horse almost falls from fatigue, and he himself can barely keep in the saddle. This is Wilfred Ivanhoe, and Rebekah trembles with excitement for him. Opponents converge - and Wilfred falls, unable to withstand the well-aimed blow of the templar. However, from a fleeting touch of Ivanhoe's spear, Boisguillebert also falls - and no longer gets up. God's judgment is over! The Grandmaster declares Rebekah free and innocent.

Having taken his rightful place on the throne, Richard forgives his dissolute brother. Cedric finally agrees to the wedding of Lady Rowena and her son, and Rebekah and her father leave England forever. “Ivanhoe lived happily ever after with Rowena. They loved each other even more because they experienced so many obstacles to their union. But it would be risky to ask in too much detail if the memory of the beauty and generosity of Rebekah did not come to his mind much more often than that could please Alfred's beautiful heiress."

S. A. Solodovnik

Roman (1823)

The action takes place in medieval France, against the backdrop of wars and complex court intrigues, the French king Louis XI, a smart and subtle politician, is fighting powerful European rulers for the prosperity of France. The unprincipled and cautious Louis is the opposite of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, the first enemy of the French monarch. Mistaking the prudence of Louis for cowardice (an unforgivable vice in that era of chivalry), the reckless and warlike Charles does everything to conquer France. By the beginning of the novel, the mutual enmity of the two great sovereigns reaches its extreme limits.

Not far from the royal castle, fate unexpectedly brings together Quentin Dorward, a young nobleman from Scotland, with a certain modest citizen. On the same day, Quentin tries to save the life of a gypsy, because of which he himself narrowly avoids the gallows. A tragic set of circumstances forces the young man to seek the protection of the king, and he enters the service of the personal guard of the archers of his majesty. Watching the solemn exit of the king, Quentin recognizes in the sovereign a long-time acquaintance of the townspeople. In the hotel, where they dined together the day before, the king visited incognito two mysterious ladies, the youngest of whom struck Quentin with her beauty. The royal exit is interrupted by the arrival of the ambassador of the Duke of Burgundy, Comte de Creveker. The ambassador accuses Louis of harboring two noble ladies, subjects of the duke. The younger lady, Countess Isabella de Croix, was under the tutelage of Charles the Bold and secretly fled to escape an unwanted marriage. The insulted duke is ready to declare war on France if the king does not give up the fugitives. Louis barely succeeds in persuading the Count to wait one day. Quentin guesses that yesterday's strangers are the runaway countess with her aunt. That day on the hunt, Quentin Dorward saves the life of the king, but wisely does not brag about his feat. For this, the sovereign gives him a number of special assignments, which pleases and surprises Quentin. Where does this unexpected trust come from? Everyone knows the monstrous suspicion of the king and the fact that he never trusts new people. Quentin could not know anything about the personal conversation of the king with his privy councillor, the barber Olivier. The king told him a vision: on the eve of his meeting with Quentin, the patron saint of wanderers, Saint Julian, brought a young man to him, saying that he would bring good luck in any undertaking. That is why the superstitious Louis decides to instruct the hero to accompany the Countess de Croix to the distant Liege Monastery. The fact is that poor women, without knowing it, have become a bet in a major political game of Louis of France. Their ancestral possessions were on the border with Burgundy, and the king wanted to marry the beautiful Isabella to a man devoted to him, in order to have Charles of Burgundy at his side in the fight against him. After discussing this with Olivier, the king, despite the feelings of Isabella, decides to promise Isabella to Guillaume de la Marck, a scoundrel and a robber. But first, the countesses must be sent outside the castle, where the ambassador of Burgundy is located, presenting this as their escape.

Guillaume de la Marck, nicknamed the Boar of the Ardennes, was supposed to kidnap Isabella from the monastery and marry her. Quentin knew nothing of this plan, and he would surely die in a fight with a wild boar. So Quentin and the beautiful ladies set off, while the king boldly decides to pay an open visit of friendship to Charles of Burgundy, if only this will help avoid war.

At the very beginning of the journey, the spell of the beautiful Isabella makes the young Scot lose his head. To his delight, Quentin notices that the girl is also not completely indifferent to him. A courteous young man chivalrously protects the ladies, they cannot but be enchanted by his company. Quentin's detachment consisted of only three soldiers and a guide for the first part of the journey. But looking closer at the conductor, Quentin discovers that this is the royal hangman, who once tried to hang Quentin himself. Suddenly, the detachment is overtaken by riders and ordered by Quentin to hand over the women to them. In the fight that followed his refusal, Quentin stuns one of the opponents and rips off his mask. It turns out to be the younger brother of the king, the first prince of the blood, Louis of Orleans. The prince wanted to help his friend, the reckless nobleman, capture such a rich bride. For this offense, both will be imprisoned in a terrible dungeon by order of the king. After this incident, Isabella is imbued with tender gratitude for her savior.

In complete ignorance of their future, the detachment continues on its way. The new guide leaves Quentin with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief. Gairaddin was a gypsy, a spy for the king, and in addition was the brother of the hanged gypsy whom Quentin was trying to save. From the start, Gairaddin's behavior seemed suspicious to Quentin. His fears were confirmed when the travelers reached a small monastery where they wanted to spend the night. The gypsy slipped away behind the fence at night, and Quentin, unnoticed, followed him. Hiding in the branches of a large tree, he overheard a secret conversation between a gypsy and a soldier of the Ardennes Boar, from which he learned that the guide should betray them to the Boar. The young man is shocked by the meanness of the king and decides to reach the Liege monastery at any cost. Without saying anything to the gypsy, Quentin changes the route and avoids the Ambush. The Travelers arrive safely at the monastery, where they place themselves under the patronage of the bishop, a deeply decent man.

Quentin accuses the gypsy of betrayal, but he promises to help the young man win the heart of a noble lady. The monastery was located near the Flemish city of Liege, whose townspeople defended their privileges as a free city and rebelled against their legitimate overlord, the Duke of Burgundy. Quentin and Isabella did not know that the proud Flemings were ready to raise a new uprising and their inspirer was Boar de la Mark, to whom Isabella was promised as a rich bride. Suspecting nothing, Quentin goes to the city, where he meets influential citizens and learns from them about the impending uprising. He hurries to the monastery to warn the good bishop of the danger, but nothing can be done. That same night, the rebels, led by de la Marck, attack the monastery, taking its inhabitants by surprise. Quentin is awakened by the furious roar of the besiegers and the cry of a gypsy bursting into the room, who urges him to save the ladies. Quentin hurries downstairs where he finds two veiled women. Thinking that these are both countesses, the brave young man takes them out of the castle and discovers a new deception of the gypsy: instead of Isabella, he saves the servant of the old countess, Ghairaddin's accomplice. The gypsy, it turns out, wanted to thank Quentin in this way, getting him a rich bride in the person of Aunt Isabella, who was in love with him. Desperate, Quentin hurries back to the convent, hoping that Isabella is still alive. He finds the girl and miraculously saves her from de la Marck, passing her off as the daughter of a respectable citizen, his acquaintance. To Quentin's dismay, the rebels execute the bishop.

Quentin and Isabella take refuge in the city, where Isabella decides to return under the protection of Charles of Burgundy, since Louis only deceived and betrayed them. She asks Quentin Durward to accompany her to Burgundy. They manage to slip out of the city, reach the border with Burgundy, but then they are overtaken by the pursuit of de la Marche. But at this moment a detachment of Burgundian knights appears. They put de la Marck's warriors to flight. To the delight of Isabella, the detachment is commanded by the Comte de Creveker, her relative and noble man. He joyfully greets his long-vanished relative, but is suspicious of Quentin - he is a servant of the French king. The count always considered Isabella's escape the height of stupidity and, knowing the furious disposition of his master, foreshadowed great trouble for the girl and her savior. A wave of anger was caused in him by the news of the death of the Bishop of Liege, who was loved by everyone for his wisdom and decency. The count swears to take revenge on the murderer Guillaume de la Mark, but for now he hurries with this sad news to Charles of Burgundy. The count suspects Quentin of inciting the townspeople to rebellion, although Isabella tries to assure him of the nobility of the young man. Exhausted by the road, Isabella is left in the care of the venerable canoness of a nearby monastery, while Quentin and Count de Creveker continue their journey to the court of the Duke of Burgundy.

Meanwhile, events of extraordinary importance were taking place in the ducal castle. King Louis with a small retinue decided to pay a visit of friendship to his sworn enemy, the Duke of Burgundy, reminding everyone of the mouse that came to visit the cat. In fact, the king, wanting more than anything in the world to prevent a war with Burgundy, wanted to disarm his simple-minded and quick-tempered rival by such an act of trust and friendship. Charles was at first benevolent, and intended to observe the etiquette of receiving the King of France as befits a loyal vassal. Hating the king in his heart, he does his best to restrain his anger, which, as you know, does not correspond to his temperament. But right during the hunt, the Comte de Crevecoeur arrives and tells the tragic news about the uprising of the Liege and the death of the bishop. He adds that a messenger of the French king was involved in these events, meaning Quentin Durward. This hint alone is enough to arouse the duke's hard-to-control anger.

Charles orders Louis to be imprisoned in a dungeon tower, where the king's ancestor was once treacherously killed. The king is overcome with despair, and he dreams of taking revenge on his astrologer, who predicted good luck on the trip. The cunning astrologer only by a miracle manages to avoid the revenge of the cruel monarch. He predicts that the hour of his death is only a day away from the death of the king himself, which terribly frightens the superstitious Louis. Finding himself in an almost hopeless situation, the king tries to acquire as many supporters as possible among Charles's close nobles. He uses both flattery and bribery for this. Fortunately, the nobles themselves were interested in maintaining peace between countries, since many owned lands in France and did not want to lose them at all. The gold of France also did its job. As a result, the duke was persuaded to consider the matter officially and fairly, for which the Council of State should be convened and the king invited to it. Kreveker promised to present at the council a witness capable of confirming the innocence of the king, meaning Quentin Durward. Quentin, as a knight and a man of honor, was not going to testify against the helpless and abandoned king. He is grateful to Louis for accepting him into the service at a difficult moment and is ready to forgive the king for his betrayal. But the young man explains to Krevker that, since Karl also intends to call Countess Isabella, he needs to warn the girl, which she will have to keep silent about. Krevker objects to their meeting and reminds Quentin what an insurmountable distance separates him, a poor foreigner, from the most noble and beautiful bride of Burgundy.

At the council, Charles intended to put humiliating conditions on Louis for his release. The king would have been required to cede territories and privileges to Burgundy, and most importantly, to agree to the marriage of Isabella with the king's brother, the Prince of Orleans. Thanks to Quentin, the king manages to prove his non-involvement in the uprising in Liege. But when the duke announced his decision to betroth the prince and Isabella, the girl falls at the feet of the duke and begs him to take all her wealth, but let her manage her soul herself and let her go to the monastery. The duke hesitates, and suddenly the arrival of the herald Wild Boar de la Marche is announced. It turns out to be a disguised gypsy Gayraddin, who announces the will of the self-styled bishop to single-handedly command the city of Liege, as well as pay him the dowry of his wife, Countess Ameline de Croix, Isabella's self-styled aunt. To these impudent demands, Charles and Louis respond with the order to hang the gypsy and decide together to oppose de la Marck. Before this, the duke announces that Isabella will marry the one who brings the head of de la Marque and thus avenges the death of the bishop, in which Isabella was indirectly guilty.

During a brutal battle with the forces of Liege, Quentin attempts to fight his way to the Boar and fight him personally. But the duel was interrupted by a cry for help. It was the daughter of the townsman who had helped rescue Isabella from the besieged monastery. For her sake, Quentin leaves his opponent and the victory goes to his uncle, also a Scottish shooter. He brings the head of de la Marck to the sovereigns, but, to the unspeakable joy of young lovers, he concedes the precious prize to Quentin.

A. A. Friedrich

(Sense and Sensibility)

Roman (1811)

The story centers on two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. The endless vicissitudes of their love (“sensitive”) experiences and longings will form the plot outline of the novel.

But let's start from the beginning and try to understand the intricate plot moves and family ties of the characters.

Outside the narrative, another gentleman departs into the world, Mr. Henry Dashwood, a descendant of an old family, the owner of the beautiful Norland Park estate in Sussex. Mr. Dashwood had a son from his first marriage, John, and his second wife (Mrs. Dashwood will become one of the heroines of the novel) gave him three daughters: Eleanor and Marianne, already familiar to us, as well as the younger Margaret, who will not play a big role in the story. But, by the way, another owner of Norland Park, another Mr. Dashwood, to whom "our" Mr. Dashwood is the nephew, also remains outside the scope of the story. So, the aged Mr. Dashwood, dying, bequeathed the entire estate with the land adjacent to it, not to his nephew, but to his son from his first marriage, already an adult, already having a son of his own. A year after the death of his uncle, Henry Dashwood dies, leaving his wife and three daughters without a livelihood, entrusting them to the care of his son John. However, the last will expressed on the deathbed, not being fixed on paper, at all times was a thing quite doubtful and not at all obligatory for execution, calculated only on the nobility of those to whose ears it was intended. Mr. John Dashwood did not suffer from excessive nobility, and if he was destined for "good impulses", then he had a wife, Mrs. John Dashwood (Fanny), to extinguish these impulses in time. Fanny quickly managed to convince her husband that it would certainly be better if he did not provide any support to his sisters and stepmother at all. And as a result, Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters were forced to leave the house in which they lived happily for so many years - the benefit of a wealthy relative, a certain Sir John Middleton, who lived in Devonshire, offered her shelter. This shelter was a charming house on his estate in Barton Park, and soon the ladies departed for their new penates, taking with them all the tableware, including antique china and silver, the loss of which for a long time echoed with pain in the heart of the younger Mrs. Dashwood, who remained ' sovereign mistress of Norland Park: this time the last will of the late Mr. Dashwood was not in her favor. Between Edward Ferrars, brother of Mrs. John Dashwood, a rather weak-willed, but sweet, as they say, harmless man, and Eleanor there is a feeling, but their marriage is impossible for the same reason: Eleanor is a dowry. And the main, irreconcilable opponent of their marriage is Edward's mother, Mrs. Ferrars.

So, our heroines arrive at Barton Cottage, and before they have time to properly settle in their new home, a fateful meeting takes place, insanely romantic: on a walk in the forest, Marianne, stumbling over some snag, twists her leg - and then, out of nowhere take it, a young gentleman appears, he jumps off his horse and carries Marianne into the house. Passion flares up between him and Marianne from the first meeting. And I must say that before that, Marianne managed to turn her head ("reluctantly drove her crazy") to another quite worthy gentleman. His name is Colonel Brandon. A person who has a certain secret in the past (which, it turns out later: also fatal love), as a result of which he is constantly in melancholy, silent and sad. And besides, he is incredibly old: he is already thirty-five, and Marianne tells her sister with anger and contempt that "at his age" it is time to forget about love and marriage. In general, Marianne in a duet with Elinor is the personification of an unruly, unbridled feeling, and her sister is the personification of reason, the ability to "rule oneself."

So, Marianne and Willoughby spend together, without parting, for days on end, partly, probably, violating social decorum - but this is still a province, and conventions here, in the bosom of nature, are observed a little less strictly. However, everyone in the district considers them to be the bride and groom, and their marriage is a decided matter. Marianne herself has no doubts about this. However, one fine day (or rather, morning) Willoughby unexpectedly appears at their house with a farewell visit: he is leaving. His coldness and aloofness, and most importantly, complete uncertainty about his return - all this stuns the inhabitants of Barton Cottage. Marianne, on the other hand, simply goes crazy with grief, unable to hide her despair and a broken heart.

At some point, two more young ladies appear in Barton Park - the Steele sisters, one of whom, Lucy, shyly (or rather, shamelessly) downcast eyes, with feigned modesty, knowing, no doubt, about the feeling connecting Eleanor and Edward Ferrars , it is to her that Elinor confides her "terrible secret": it turns out that several years ago she and Edward secretly got engaged, and, of course, Edward's mother, the formidable Mrs. Ferrare, became an obstacle to their marriage, for the same reason. Eleanor stoically listens to the revelations that an unexpected rival throws at her, but mutual dislike immediately arises between the two girls, poorly hidden by equally mutual courtesies.

And another character appears in the novel: Mrs. Jennings, mother of Lady Middleton, "a lady of a very pleasant lively disposition <...> a good-natured, cheerful woman, already in years, very talkative <...> and rather vulgar." A sort of "Burton gossip", the meaning of life of which (and the only occupation) is the desire to marry everyone. And since she had already quite successfully married off both of her daughters, she is now busy arranging the happiness of the surrounding young ladies. Perhaps, as a result of this, seeing Marianne's broken heart, she invites her and her sister to stay in her London house. So the Dashwood sisters get to the capital. Their regular guest is Colonel Brandon, who bitterly observes the suffering of Marianne, who is so not indifferent to him. However, it soon turns out that Willoughby is also in London. Marianne sends him - secretly from her sister - several letters, receiving nothing in return. Then chance brings them to a ball, and Willoughby is again cold, courteous and distant: after saying a few meaningless words, he moves away from Marianne to his young companion. Marianne is again unable to hide her confusion and despair. The next day, a letter arrives from Willoughby, impossibly polite and therefore even more insulting. He returns Marianne her letters and even the lock of hair given to him. Colonel Brandon, who appeared, reveals Willoughby's "true face" to Eleanor: it turns out that it was he who seduced (and then, with a child in his arms, abandoned) the young pupil of the colonel, Eliza (the illegitimate daughter of the very "first love" of the colonel, whose story at that very moment he and says Elinor). As a result, Willoughby marries "by calculation" the wealthy heiress Miss Grey.

After this news, the events in Marianne's life pass into a purely "experiential" ("sensitive") plane, and in terms of the movement of the plot, the center of gravity is transferred to Elinor's fate.

And everything is connected with Edward Ferrars. After accidentally bumping into her brother John in a jewelry store, Eleanor and Marianne begin to visit his house on Harley Street, where Eleanor meets Lucy Steele again. But self-confidence at some point almost ruined this young lady: Fanny Dashwood and Mrs. Ferrare find out about her secret engagement to Edward, after which Lucy is expelled in disgrace from the house, where she and her sister had just received an invitation to stay, and Edward, in his turn, is deprived of his mother's inheritance. But, "as an honest man," now he is going to fulfill the once given oath, combined with the "unfortunate Lucy" legal marriage. Colonel Brandon (embodied nobility and disinterestedness: without further ado, to the greater bewilderment of those around him, he simply gives a helping hand to the afflicted) invites the destitute Edward to come to his estate in Delaford. And he asks Elinor to fulfill this delicate mission: to inform Edward (with whom the colonel is unfamiliar) about her proposal. The Colonel does not realize that Eleanor has long loved Edward, and therefore does not understand how much pain such a conversation will cause her. However, faithful to her duty, Elinor fulfills the assignment given to her and, confident that now her dreams of marriage with Edward have finally come to an end, leaves London with her sister. On the way home, to their mother, whom they had not seen for so long, they stop in Cleveland, at Mrs. Jennings. Suddenly, Marianne falls seriously ill, she is unconscious, her life is in danger. Elinor turns into a nurse, caring and devoted. On the day when Marianne is finally getting better, the crisis is over, Eleanor, tired, sitting alone in the living room, hears that a carriage has driven up to the house. Believing that this is Colonel Brandon, she goes out into the hallway, but sees ... Willoughby entering the house.

Insanely excited, he asks about Marianne's health from the doorway, and only after learning that her life is out of danger, he finally takes a breath. "I want to offer some explanations, some justifications for what happened; to open my heart to you and, having convinced you that, although I could never boast of prudence, I was not always a scoundrel, to achieve even a shadow of forgiveness from Ma ... from your sister." He reveals his secrets to Elinor - not too, frankly, interesting, he pours out his "suffering soul" to her and, romantic, disappointed, leaves, leaving Elinor "at the mercy of many thoughts, although contradictory, but equally sad <...> Willoughby , despite all his vices, aroused sympathy, for they doomed him to suffering, which now, when he was forever cut off from their family, forced her to think of him with tenderness, with regret, correlated<...> more with what he desired himself than with what he deserved."

A few days later, walking with Marianne around the neighborhood of Barton Park, where they once first met Willoughby, Eleanor finally decides to tell Marianne about his night visit and unexpected confession. Marianne's "clear mind and common sense" this time take precedence over "feeling and sensitivity", and Elinor's story only helps her to put an end to her sighs about unfulfilled happiness. Yes, however, there is no time for both of them to sigh, because the action of the novel is irresistibly striving for a denouement. Of course, happy. For Eleanor, this is marriage to Edward Ferrars: Lucy Steel, unexpectedly for both of them, freed him from his falsely understood "obligations of honor" by jumping out to marry Edward's younger brother Robert. Marianne, after some time after her sister's wedding, having humbled her pride, becomes the wife of Colonel Brandon. In the finale, everyone forgives everyone, everyone reconciles with everyone and remains "to live happily ever after."

Yu. G. Fridshtein

(Pride and Prejudice)

Roman (1813)

"Remember, if our sorrows come from Pride and Prejudice, then we also owe deliverance from them to Pride and Prejudice, for good and evil are so wonderfully balanced in the world."

These words really fully reveal the intention of Jane Austen's novel.

A provincial family, as they say, of a "middle hand": the father of the family, Mr. Bennet, is quite noble blood, phlegmatic, prone to a stoically doomed perception of both life around him and himself; he treats his own wife with particular irony: Mrs. Bennet really cannot boast of either origin, intelligence or upbringing. She is frankly stupid, blatantly tactless, extremely limited and, accordingly, has a very high opinion of her own person. The Bennets have five daughters: the eldest, Jane and Elizabeth, will become the central characters of the novel.

The action takes place in a typical English province. In the small town of Meryton, in the county of Hertfordshire, sensational news comes: one of the richest estates in the district of Netherfield Park will no longer be empty: it was rented by a wealthy young man, "capital thing" and aristocrat Mr. Bingley. To all the above-mentioned virtues, there was added one more, the most essential, truly priceless: Mr. Bingley was a bachelor. And the minds of the surrounding mothers were darkened and confused by this news for a long time; mind (more precisely, instinct!) Mrs. Bennet in particular. It's a joke to say - five daughters! However, Mr. Bingley does not arrive alone, he is accompanied by his sisters, as well as his inseparable friend Mr. Darcy. Bingley is simple-hearted, trusting, naive, open to communication, devoid of any snobbery and ready to love everyone and everyone. Darcy is the complete opposite of him: proud, arrogant, withdrawn, full of consciousness of his own exclusivity, belonging to a chosen circle.

The relationship that develops between Bingley - Jane and Darcy - Elizabeth is quite consistent with their characters. In the former, they are imbued with clarity and spontaneity, both are simple-hearted and trusting (which at first will become the soil on which mutual feelings will arise, then the cause of their separation, then bring them together again). With Elizabeth and Darcy, everything will turn out to be completely different: attraction-repulsion, mutual sympathy and equally obvious mutual hostility; in a word, those same "pride and prejudice" (both of them!) that will bring them a lot of suffering and mental anguish, through which they will painfully, while never "retreating from the face" (that is, from themselves), make their way to each other . Their first meeting will immediately indicate mutual interest, more precisely, mutual curiosity. Both are equally outstanding: just as Elizabeth sharply differs from the local young ladies in her sharpness of mind, independence of judgments and assessments, so Darcy - in her upbringing, manners, restrained arrogance, stands out among the crowd of officers of the regiment stationed in Meryton, the very ones that brought them together with their uniforms and epaulettes crazy little Miss Bennet, Lydia and Kitty. However, at first, it is Darcy's arrogance, his emphasized snobbery, when with all his behavior, in which cold courtesy for a sensitive ear can, not without reason, sound almost insulting, it is precisely these qualities that cause Elizabeth and hostility, and even indignation. For if the pride inherent in both of them immediately (inwardly) brings them together, then Darcy's prejudices, his class arrogance can only repel Elizabeth. Their dialogues - in rare and random meetings at balls and in drawing rooms - are always a verbal duel. A duel of equal opponents - invariably courteous, never going beyond the limits of decency and secular conventions.

Mr. Bingley's sisters, quickly seeing the mutual feeling that has arisen between their brother and Jane Bennet, do everything to alienate them from each other. When the danger begins to seem quite inevitable to them, they simply "take away" him to London. Subsequently, we learn that Darcy played a very significant role in this unexpected flight.

As it should be in a "classic" novel, the main storyline is overgrown with numerous branches. So, at some point, Mr. Bennet's cousin Mr. Collins appears in the house of Mr. Bennet, who, according to the English laws on majorate, after the death of Mr. Bennet, who has no male heirs, must come into possession of their Longbourn estate, as a result of which Mrs. Bennet and her daughters may end up without a roof over their heads. The letter received from Collins, and then his own appearance, testify to how limited, stupid and self-confident this gentleman is - precisely because of these virtues, as well as another very important one: the ability to flatter and please - who managed to get a parish on the estate of a noble Ladies Lady de Boer, Later it turns out that she is Darcy's own aunt - only in her arrogance, unlike her nephew, there will not be a glimpse of a living human feeling, not the slightest ability for spiritual impulse. Mr. Collins comes to Longbourn not by chance: having decided, as required by his dignity (and Lady de Boer too), to enter into a legal marriage, he opted for the family of his cousin Bennett, confident that he would not meet with refusal: after all, his marriage to one of Miss Bennet will automatically make the happy chosen one the rightful mistress of Longbourn. His choice falls, of course, on Elizabeth. Her refusal plunges him into the deepest amazement: after all, not to mention his personal virtues, with this marriage he was going to benefit the whole family. However, Mr. Collins consoled himself very soon: Elizabeth's closest friend, Charlotte Lucas, turns out to be more practical in all respects and, having judged all the advantages of this marriage, gives Mr. Collins her consent. Meanwhile, another man appears in Meryton, a young officer of the Wickham regiment stationed in the city. Appearing at one of the balls, he makes a rather strong impression on Elizabeth: charming, helpful, at the same time not stupid, able to please even such an outstanding young lady as Miss Bennet. Elizabeth develops a special trust in him after she realizes that he is familiar with Darcy - the arrogant, unbearable Darcy! - and not just a sign, but, according to the stories of Wickham himself, is a victim of his dishonesty. The halo of a martyr who suffered through the fault of a person who arouses such dislike in her makes Wickham even more attractive in her eyes.

Some time after the sudden departure of Mr. Bingley with his sisters and Darcy, the older Miss Bennet themselves end up in London - to stay at the house of their uncle Mr. Gardiner and his wife, a lady to whom both nieces have sincere emotional affection. And from London, Elizabeth, already without a sister, goes to her friend Charlotte, the very one that became the wife of Mr. Collins. At Lady de Boer's house, Elizabeth again encounters Darcy. Their conversations at the table, in public, again resemble a verbal duel - and again, Elizabeth turns out to be a worthy opponent. And given that the action still takes place at the turn of the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, then such impudence from the lips of a young lady - on the one hand a lady, on the other - a dowry may seem like real free-thinking: "You wanted to embarrass me, Mr. Darcy ... but I I am not at all afraid of you ... Stubbornness does not allow me to show cowardice when others want it. When I try to intimidate me, I become even more impudent. " But one fine day, when Elizabeth is sitting alone in the living room, Darcy suddenly appears on the threshold; "All my struggle was in vain! Nothing comes of it. I am unable to cope with my feeling. Know that I am endlessly fascinated by you and that I love you!" But Elizabeth rejects his love with the same determination with which she once rejected the claims of Mr. Collins. At the request of Darcy to explain both her refusal and the hostility towards him, so undisguised by her, Elizabeth speaks of Jane's happiness destroyed because of him, of Wickham insulted by him. Again - a duel, again - a scythe on a stone. For, even when proposing, Darcy cannot (and does not want to!) hide the fact that, while making it, he still always remembers that, having married Elizabeth, he thereby inevitably "will enter into kinship with those who are so below him on the social ladder." And it is precisely these words (although Elizabeth understands no less than him how limited her mother is, how ignorant her younger sisters are, and much more than he suffers from this) that hurt her unbearably painfully. In the scene of their explanation, equal temperaments, equal "pride and prejudice" clash. The next day, Darcy hands Elizabeth a voluminous letter - a letter in which he explains to her his behavior towards Bingley (desire to save a friend from the very misalliance that he is ready for now!), - explains, without looking for excuses, without hiding his an active role in this matter; but the second is the details of the "Wickham case", which put both of its participants (Darcy and Wickham) in a completely different light.

In Darcy's story, it is Wickham who turns out to be both a deceiver and a low, licentious, dishonorable person. Darcy's letter stuns Elizabeth - not only by the truth revealed in it, but, no less, by her awareness of her own blindness, experienced by shame for the involuntary insult that she inflicted on Darcy: "How shameful I have acted! .. I, who was so proud of my insight and relying so much on her own common sense!" With these thoughts, Elizabeth returns home to Longbourn. And from there, together with Aunt Gardiner and her husband, he goes on a short trip around Derbyshire. Among the sights that lie in their path is Pemberley; beautiful old estate owned by... Darcy. And although Elizabeth knows for sure that these days the house should be empty, just at the moment when the housekeeper Darcy proudly shows them the interior, Darcy reappears on the threshold. For several days that they constantly meet - either in Pemberley, or in the house where Elizabeth and her companions are staying - he invariably amazes everyone with his courtesy, and friendliness, and ease of handling. Is this the same proud Darcy? However, the attitude of Elizabeth herself towards him also changed, and where previously she was ready to see only flaws, now she is quite inclined to find many advantages. But then an event occurs: from a letter received from Jane, Elizabeth learns that their younger sister, the unlucky and frivolous Lydia, ran away with a young officer - none other than Wickham. Such - in tears, in confusion, in despair - finds her Darcy in the house, alone.

Beside herself with grief, Elizabeth talks about the misfortune that has befallen their family (dishonor is worse than death!), And only then, when, having bowed dryly, he suddenly abruptly leaves, she realizes what happened. Not with Lydia, with herself. After all, now she can never become the wife of Darcy - she, whose own sister has forever disgraced herself, thereby imposing an indelible stigma on the whole family. In particular - on their unmarried sisters. She hurriedly returns home, where she finds everyone in despair and confusion. Uncle Gardiner hastily leaves for London in search of the fugitives, where he unexpectedly quickly finds them. Then, even more unexpectedly, he persuades Wickham to marry Lydia. And only later, from a casual conversation, Elizabeth learns that it was Darcy who found Wickham, it was he who forced him (with the help of a considerable amount of money) into marriage with the girl he had seduced. After this opening, the action is rapidly approaching a happy denouement. Bingley and his sisters and Darcy return to Netherfield Park. Bingley proposes to Jane. Another explanation takes place between Darcy and Elizabeth, this time the last one. Having become the wife of Darcy, our heroine also becomes the full mistress of Pemberley - the very one where they first understood each other. And the young sister Darcy Georgiana, with whom Elizabeth "established the closeness that Darcy counted on <...> learned from her experience that a woman can afford to treat her husband in a way that a younger sister cannot treat her brother."

Yu. G. Fridshtein

(Melmoth the Wanderer)

Roman (1820)

One of the features of the composition of the novel is the so-called "frame narrative". The general plot outline serves as a frame for numerous inserted short stories. However, in Maturin's novel, an attentive reader will catch the absolute consistency of the general plot, in which the author does not lose the thread of a through story and a through plan for a second.

The action begins in the autumn of 1816 in Ireland, in County Wicklow, where John Melmoth, a student at Trinity College Dublin, arrives to visit his dying uncle, or, more simply, to take possession of his estate. The uncle dies, however, in the will, in addition to purely practical points, there are also two more, mystical properties: the first is to destroy the portrait hanging in the office with the signature "J. Melmoth, 1646"; the second is to find and burn the manuscript kept in one of the bureau's drawers. This is how John Melmoth first encounters his legendary ancestor, nicknamed Melmoth the Wanderer. Of course, here one can also read a paraphrase on the theme of Ahasuerus, the "eternal Jew", and the motif of the "Seville seducer" Don Juan, and Melmoth the wanderer could be called the "Irish tempter", for it is precisely the temptation that he will offer to people who meet him on the way, to people with whom his fate will bring him together, and all the plots of the novel are dedicated. Maturin, as it were, "combined" both Faust and Mephistopheles within the framework of one hero.

So, the young Melmoth finds and reads the manuscript, which, as it turns out, belongs to a certain Englishman, Stanton, the first of the heroes of the novel, who met on his way the strange and formidable demon Melmoth the Wanderer. And after reading Stanton's painful and passionate confession in the silence of his uncle's office, John tears off the portrait of his ancestor from the wall and, tearing it to pieces, throws it into the fire. But at night he comes to him with the words: "Well, you burned me, only such a fire is not able to destroy me. I am alive, I am here, near you." A terrible storm falls on the house of Melmoth, standing on the very shore over a cliff to the sea. In this storm, Melmoth again appears to his demonic ancestor. Melmoth drowning in the waves is saved by the Spaniard Monsada. The next morning, he tells him his story - this is the first inserted short story "The Spaniard's Tale". The story of his stay in the monastery, where they wanted to force him to take the veil as a monk. His resistance to this, his persecution by the monastic brethren. Here, many things are mixed and connected: mysterious wanderings through the monastery cellars in search of salvation; angry invectives directed against the hypocrisy and satanic cruelty of the Church and the Inquisition; a terrible image of a parricide monk who becomes a secret informer of the Inquisition; the boundless loneliness of the hero - the Spaniard Alonso Monsada, forced to fight one on one "with those snakes that ... are conceived by the loneliness of man ... and hourly are born in his heart"; the tale of immured lovers is Maturin's blood-curdling tribute to the "horror literature" tradition; and much more. But above all this - the appearance of the Tempter - first in the monastery, then already in the prison of the Inquisition. A person for whom there are no constipations or prohibitions. A person who talks about his meetings with historical figures who lived in the last century...

The hero, taking advantage of the fire that engulfed the prison, flees. He ends up in the house where the family of the baptized Jew Don Fernand de Nunez lives, then he runs away from there, ending up in a dungeon, where he is found by an old man, a Jew Adonia. After feeding and drinking the fugitive, after listening to his story, Adonijah invites him to become his scribe. Adonia, who has his own fatal secret in the past, who is also able to see both the past and the future, shows Alonso a manuscript containing "the history of those whose fates are now connected with yours - a wondrous, invisible and inseparable chain." This story is "the tale of the Indian islanders". The love story of Melmoth the wanderer, the only love in his whole life - to a girl from a distant island, naive, ingenuous and beautiful. If in the history of the Spaniard Alonso one can read a paraphrase of Diderot's story "The Nun", then in the image of Immali one can undoubtedly guess Voltaire's Huron, his "simple-hearted". On the island where she lives all alone, a man appears, whom the author calls "stranger". He tells Immaly about distant countries, about cities...

Tempter - and simple-minded. But he leaves her "on the waters". Again - a combination within one image: a blasphemer and a God-seeker, Faust and Mephistopheles, Christ and Satan. The combination, of course, from the point of view of all kinds of orthodoxy, is blasphemous, a manifestation of unprecedented free-thinking (it is noteworthy that Maturin was not only a writer, but also a clergyman. A curious paradox is a priest and a blasphemer in one person). In the manuscript, suddenly, in a flash, there is a mention of Stanton - thus, linking together all the plots, connecting into a "single chain" the stories of all the arts of Melmoth the Wanderer into a certain image of a single great Art, unnamed (never in the whole novel is not indicated by a word, it is always either spoken aloud or implied). As Monsada says, "we are all but grains of a rosary strung on the same thread." The skill of Melmoth returning to Immali is in his stories about the civilized world, in those pictures of the monstrous immorality that reigns in it. Savage Immali - fell in love with him! "You! It was you who taught me to think, feel, cry." Before meeting Melmoth, she knew nothing of this. Their betrothal takes place - no witnesses, only wildlife and moonlight. After that, Melmoth disappears. He never came to this island again.

Three years have passed, and we meet Immali in Spain, under the name of Isidora, the daughter of a wealthy merchant and merchant Don Francisco de Allaga. But one night, by the light of the moon, Melmoth appears to her again. "A sad demon, a spirit of exile," he says to his beloved: "I am instructed to trample under my feet and crush all the flowers that bloom both on earth and in the human soul ... everything that comes my way." Melmoth, thus, acquires the features of a doomed wanderer and eternal wandering, a tormentor and a martyr at the same time. Satan and savior rolled into one. Disillusioned and satiated, knowing the secret of life and death, the insignificance of the human race and the vanity of all that exists, and, as a result of this knowledge, exalted above the world. Maturin about Melmoth: "For him there could be no greater miracle in the world than his own life, and the ease with which he was transferred from one end of the earth to the other, mixing with the people who inhabited it and at the same time feeling his separation from them, like a viewer who is tired and indifferent to the performance, who wanders along the rows of a huge parterre, where he knows no one ... "The wedding of Isidora-Immali and Melmot takes place in an old monastery, at night, but the hand of the priest who performed the ceremony," was cold, like the hand of death " .

The next chapter finds us at the inn where Don Francisco, Isidora's father, spent the night on his way home. He meets a stranger there, who reads him a certain manuscript: "The Tale of the Guzman Family." The story of the tragedy of one family, its rise and fall, wealth and poverty. At the most terrible hour, the tempter, "The Enemy of the Human Race", appears before the father of the family, Wahlberg, and "his eyes emit such a brilliance that people cannot bear." But salvation comes unexpectedly from the other side, and the art of Wahlberg, even at the cost of starvation of his children, overcomes. The story is over. Don Francisco falls into a dream, and, waking up, finds a man in the room. The "Strange Guest" shows an unexpected knowledge of the fate of Wahlberg and his family, even though he was not in the room when the manuscript was read. And saying goodbye, he says: "We'll see you tonight." And so it happens. On the way, Don Francisco meets a mysterious stranger. Hiding in a secluded tavern from the weather, they remain alone, and the "strange guest" offers the merchant his story: "The Tale of Two Lovers." This time the action takes place in England. The era of the Stuart Restoration, the second half of the XVII century. An old Mortimer family from Shropshire. Legends of a glorious past, of serving the royal house. The love of the surviving descendants of Sir Roger Mortimer, cousins: John Sendel - a warrior, a hero, at the same time - an angelic youth, and the beautiful Elinor; the story of their tragedy, their failed wedding, their separation, and meeting again when John is already insane, and Elinor serves as his nurse. They are very poor. At this moment, the stranger who tells this story to Don Francisco suddenly appears in his own narration:

"It was at this time ... I happened to meet ... I wanted to say, it was at this time that a certain visitor, who settled near the village where Elinor lived, met them both several times ... " The art is again not expressed in words, only a priest, appeared a little later, "immediately realized how terrible their conversation had been." However, later the priest tells Elinor that in the man who was talking to her he recognized "an Irishman named Melmoth", whom he once knew, whom he stopped meeting, realizing "that this is a man who has given himself over to the devil's deceit, that he is in the power of the Enemy the human race"; some time ago, he himself witnessed his death, and before his death, he said to him: “I am guilty of a great angelic sin: I was proud and thought too much about the power of my mind! This was the first mortal sin - an unlimited desire for forbidden knowledge !" And now this man is alive...

But then the stranger begins to tell Don Francisco... his own story, warning: "... don't waste a minute, hurry to save your daughter!" But the merchant was in no hurry... The story of Isidora completes the story. No one knows that she became Melmoth's "secret wife". Nobody knows that she is expecting a baby. And then her father and fiancé arrive. During the ball, Melmoth makes an attempt to escape. In vain. Isidora's brother stands in their way. After killing him, Melmoth runs alone, cursing those who witness this scene. The fate of Isidora is terrible. She has a daughter, but "the wife of the sorcerer and their accursed offspring" is transferred "into the hands of the merciful and holy court of the Inquisition." Sentence - separation from the daughter. At night, in the cell, the girl dies. On her deathbed, Isidora tells the priest that Melmoth came to her at night. Again the temptation - again unpronounced.

This is where the Spaniard Monsada ends his story. And then the hero himself, the Wanderer, appears before him and John Melmoth: "Your ancestor has returned home ... his wanderings are over! .. I take the secret of my destiny with me ... I sowed fear on earth, but not evil. None of the people could be forced to share my fate, I needed his consent, - and not a single one agreed to this ... Not a single creature exchanged fate with Melmoth the wanderer. I went all over the world and did not find a single person who, in order to possess this world, agreed not Stenson in the insane asylum, nor you, Monsada, in the prison of the Inquisition, nor Wahlberg, in front of whom his children were dying of hunger, no one else ... "

Melmoth sees a prophetic dream about his death. The next day, only the handkerchief that he wore around his neck was found on the top of the cliff to which his footprints had led. "That was all that was left of him on earth!"

Yu. G. Fridshtein

(The Giaour. A fragment of the Turkish tale)

Poem (1813)

The poem opens with stanzas about beautiful nature, torn apart by storms of violence and arbitrariness of Greece, a country of a heroic past, bowed under the heel of the invaders: does it have a soul?" Frightening the peaceful population of flowering valleys, a gloomy figure of a demonic rider appears on the horizon - a stranger to both the enslaved and the enslavers, forever bearing the burden of a fatal curse ("Let the storm break out, ferocious and gloomy, - / Yet he is brighter than you, Gyaur!"). His name also appears symbolic, literally meaning in Arabic "does not believe in God" and with the light hand of Byron, it became a synonym for a robber, a pirate, a non-believer. Having peered into the idyllic picture of the Muslim holiday - the end of Ramadan - hung with weapons and tormented by incurable inner pain, he disappears.

An anonymous narrator melancholy states the desolation that reigned in the once noisy and lively house of the Turk Hassan, who perished at the hands of a Christian: "There are no guests, no slaves since he / The Christian saber cut his turban!"

A brief, mysterious episode invades the sad lamentation: a rich Turk with servants hires a boatman, ordering him to dump a heavy bag with an unidentified "cargo" into the sea. (This is the beautiful Circassian Leila, who cheated on her husband and master; but neither her name nor the essence of her "sin" is known to us yet.)

Unable to get rid of the memories of his beloved and heavily punished wife, Gassan lives only with a thirst for revenge on his enemy - Giaur. One day, having crossed a dangerous mountain pass with a caravan, he encounters an ambush set up by robbers in a grove, and, recognizing his offender in their leader, grapples with him in mortal combat. Gyaur kills him; but the spiritual anguish that torments the character, the grief for his beloved, remains unsatisfied, like his loneliness: "Yes, Leila is sleeping, taken by the wave; / Hassan lies in thick blood ... / Anger is quenched; the end of him; / And away I go - alone!"

Without a family, without a tribe, rejected by Christian civilization, a stranger in the camp of Muslims, he is tormented by longing for the lost and departed, and his soul, according to popular beliefs, is doomed to the fate of a vampire, from generation to generation bringing misfortune to descendants. Another thing is Gassan, who died the death of the brave (the news of his death is brought by the caravan assistant to the character's mother): "He who fell in battle with the giaour, / All are awarded in paradise!"

The final episodes of the poem take us to a Christian monastery, where a strange stranger has been living for the seventh year ("He is dressed like a monk, / But he rejected the holy vow / And he does not cut his hair."). Having brought generous gifts to the abbot, he is accepted by the inhabitants of the monastery as an equal, but the monks shun him, never finding him praying.

A whimsical tie of stories from different people gives way to Giaur's confused monologue, when he, powerless to get rid of the suffering that does not leave him, seeks to pour out his soul to a nameless listener: "I lived in the world. Life gave me / A lot of happiness, more - evil ... / Nothing was death to me , believe me, / Iv years of happiness, and now ?!"

Bearing the burden of sin, he reproaches himself not for the murder of Gassan, but for the fact that he failed, could not save his beloved from the painful execution. Love for her, even beyond the grave, became the only thread tying him to the ground; and only pride prevented him from judging himself. And yet - a dazzling vision of his beloved, who dreamed of him in a feverish delirium ...

Saying goodbye, Giaur asks the newcomer to give him to his old friend, who once predicted his tragic fate, a ring - in memory of himself - and bury him without an inscription, consigning him to oblivion in posterity.

The poem is crowned with the following lines: "He died... Who, where is he from - / The monk is dedicated to those secrets, / But he must hide them from us... / And only a fragmentary story / About the one who kept our memory, / Whom he loved and whom killed."

N. M. Fingers

Poem (1813, publ. 1814)

Filled with picturesque contrasts, the coloring of the "Giaur" also distinguishes the next work of Byron's "eastern" cycle - the more extensive poem "The Corsair", written in heroic couplets. In a short prose introduction to the poem, dedicated to the author's fellow writer and like-minded Thomas Moore, the author warns against the characteristic, in his opinion, vice of modern criticism - which has haunted him since the time of "Childe Harold" the illegal identification of the main characters - whether it is Giaur or anyone the other - with the creator of works. At the same time, the epigraph to the new poem - a line from Tasso's "Jerusalem Liberated" - emphasizes the hero's inner split as the most important emotional leitmotif of the narrative.

The action of "Corsair" takes place in the south of the Peloponnesian Peninsula, in the port of Koroni and the Pirate Island, lost in the expanses of the Mediterranean. The time of action is not exactly indicated, but it is easy to conclude that the reader is faced with the same era of the enslavement of Greece by the Ottoman Empire, which has entered a phase of crisis. The figurative and speech means that characterize the characters and what is happening are close to those familiar from "Gyaur", however, the new poem is more compact in composition, its plot is developed in more detail (especially with regard to the adventurous "background"), and the development of events and their sequence - more orderly.

The first canto opens with a passionate speech, depicting the romance of the pirate lot filled with risk and anxiety. The filibusters, soldered by a sense of camaraderie, idolize their fearless ataman Konrad. And now a fast brig under a pirate flag that terrifies the whole district brought encouraging news: the Greek gunner said that in the coming days a raid on the city and palace of the Turkish governor Seyid could be carried out. Accustomed to the strangeness of the character of the commander, the pirates become shy when they find him immersed in deep thought. Several stanzas follow with a detailed description of Conrad ("Mysterious and eternally lonely, / It seemed that he could not smile"), inspiring admiration for heroism and fear - for the unpredictable impulsiveness of the one who had gone into himself, disbelieved in illusions ("He is among people the most difficult of schools - / The Way disappointment - passed") - in a word, bearing the most typical features of a romantic rebel-individualist, whose heart is warmed by one indomitable passion - love for Medora.

Conrad's lover reciprocates; and one of the most heartfelt pages in the poem is Medora's love song and the scene of the farewell of the heroes before the campaign. Left alone, she finds no place for herself, as always worrying about his life, and he, on the deck of the brig, gives orders to the team, full of readiness to carry out a daring attack - and win.

The second song takes us to the banquet hall in Seyid's palace. The Turks, for their part, have long been planning to finally clear the sea from pirates and divide the rich booty in advance. Pasha's attention is attracted by a mysterious dervish in tatters, who appeared at the feast from nowhere. He tells that he was taken prisoner by the infidels and managed to escape from the kidnappers, but he flatly refuses to taste luxurious dishes, referring to a vow made to the prophet. Suspecting him as a scout, Seyid orders to seize him, and then the stranger is instantly transformed: under the humble guise of a wanderer, a warrior in armor and with a sword that smashes on the spot was hiding. The hall and approaches to it in the blink of an eye are overflowing with Conrad's associates; a furious battle boils up: "The palace is on fire, the minaret is on fire."

The merciless pirate who crushed the resistance of the Turks, however, shows genuine chivalry when the flames that engulfed the palace spread to the female half. He forbids his brothers-in-arms to resort to violence against the Pasha's slaves, and he himself carries the most beautiful of them, the black-eyed Gulnar, out of the fire. Meanwhile, Seid, who escaped from the pirate's blade in the confusion of the battle, organizes his numerous Guards in a counterattack, and Konrad has to entrust Gulnar and her friends, unfortunately, to the cares of a simple Turkish house, and himself to enter into an unequal confrontation. All around, one by one, his slain comrades fall; he, having cut down an uncountable multitude of enemies, is hardly alive captured.

Deciding to subject Konrad to torture and a terrible execution, the bloodthirsty Seid orders him to be placed in a cramped casemate. The hero is not afraid of the coming trials; in the face of death, only one thought worries him: "How will Medora's message, the evil news, be met?" He falls asleep on a stone bed, and when he wakes up, he finds in his dungeon the black-eyed Gulnar, who has secretly made her way into the prison, completely captivated by his courage and nobility. Promising to persuade the pasha to delay the impending execution, she offers to help the corsair escape. He hesitates: cowardly running away from the enemy is not in his habits. But Medora... After listening to his passionate confession, Gulnar sighs: "Alas! Love is only given to the free!"

Canto XNUMX opens with the author's poetic declaration of love for Greece ("Wonderful city of Athena! Whoever saw the sunset / Your wondrous one has seen it will come back..."), which is replaced by a picture of the Pirate Island, where Conrad waits in vain for Medora. A boat approaches the shore with the remnants of his detachment, bringing terrible news, their leader is wounded and captured, the filibusters unanimously decide to rescue Conrad from captivity at any cost.

Meanwhile, Gulnar's persuasion to postpone the painful execution of "Gyaur" produces an unexpected effect on Seid: he suspects that his beloved slave is not indifferent to the prisoner and is plotting treason. Showering the girl with threats, he kicks her out of the chambers.

Three days later, Gulnar once again enters the dungeon where Konrad is languishing. Insulted by the tyrant, she offers the prisoner freedom and revenge: he must stab the pasha in the silence of the night. The pirate recoils; the woman’s excited confession follows: “Don’t call revenge on the despot villainy! / Your despicable enemy must fall in blood! / Did you start? Yes, I want to become different: / Pushed away, insulted - I take revenge! / I am undeservedly accused: I was right!"

"A sword - but not a secret knife!" is Conrad's counterargument. Gulnar disappears to appear at dawn: she herself took revenge on the tyrant and bribed the guards; a boat and a boatman are waiting for them off the coast to take them to the coveted island.

The hero is confused: in his soul there is an irreconcilable conflict. By the will of circumstances, he owes his life to a woman in love with him, and he himself still loves Medora. Gulnar is also depressed: in the silence of Konrad, she reads the condemnation of the crime she committed. Only a fleeting hug and a friendly kiss from the prisoner she saved bring her to her senses.

On the island, the pirates joyfully greet the leader who has returned to them. But the price set by providence for the miraculous deliverance of the hero is incredible: only one window does not shine in the castle tower - the window of Medora. Tormented by a terrible premonition, he climbs the stairs... Medora is dead.

Conrad's grief is inescapable. In solitude, he mourns his girlfriend, and then disappears without a trace: "<...> A series of days passes, / Conrad is gone, he disappeared forever, / And did not announce a single hint, / Where he suffered, where he buried the flour! / He was mourned by a gang only his own; / His girlfriend was accepted by the mausoleum ... / He will live in the traditions of families / With one love, with a thousand evil deeds.

The finale of "Corsair", like "Gyaura", leaves the reader alone with the feeling of an unsolved riddle surrounding the entire existence of the protagonist.

N. M. Fingers

(Childe Harold's Pilgrimage)

Poem (1809-1817)

When, under the pen of A. S. Pushkin, a winged line was born that exhaustively determined the appearance and character of his favorite hero: "A Muscovite in Harold's cloak," its creator, it seems, did not at all seek to impress his compatriots with originality striking in the eyes. Its purpose, it is appropriate to assume, was not so ambitious, although no less responsible: to fit into one word the prevailing mood of the time, to give a capacious embodiment of the worldview position and, at the same time, the everyday, behavioral "pose" of a fairly wide range of noble youth (not only Russian, but and European), whose consciousness of their own alienation from the environment took the form of a romantic protest. Byron was the most striking exponent of this critical attitude, and the literary hero who most fully and completely embodied this ethical-emotional complex was the titular character of his vast lyrical poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, created over almost a decade, - a work to which Byron is indebted was a sensational international celebrity.

Combining a lot of various events of a stormy author's biography, this poem of travel impressions, written in a "Spencer stanza" (the name of this form goes back to the name of the English poet of the Elizabethan era Edmund Spenser, author of the sensational "The Faerie Queene"), was born from the experience of young Byron's travels. on the countries of Southern and South-Eastern Europe in 1809-1811. and the subsequent life of the poet in Switzerland and Italy (third and fourth songs), fully expressed the lyrical power and unprecedented ideological and thematic breadth of Byron's poetic genius. Its creator had every reason, in a letter to his friend John Hobhouse, the addressee of its dedication, to characterize "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" as "the largest, the richest in thought and the widest in scope of my writings." For decades to come, having become the standard of romantic poetics on a pan-European scale, it entered the history of literature as an exciting, penetrating testimony "about the time and about itself" that outlived its author.

Innovative against the background of Byron's contemporary English (and not only English) poetry was not only the view of reality captured in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage; fundamentally new was the typically romantic relationship between the protagonist and the narrator, in many respects similar, but, as Byron emphasized in the preface to the first two songs (1812) and in addition to the preface (1813), by no means identical to one another.

Anticipating many creators of a romantic and post-romantic orientation, in particular in Russia (say, the author of "A Hero of Our Time" M. Yu. Lermontov, not to mention Pushkin and his novel "Eugene Onegin"), Byron stated in the hero of his work the disease of the century : "<...> early corruption of the heart and neglect of morality lead to satiety with past pleasures and disappointment in new ones, and the beauties of nature, and the joy of travel, and in general all motives, with the exception of only ambition - the most powerful of all, are lost for the soul, so created , or rather, falsely directed. And yet, it is this largely imperfect character that turns out to be a receptacle for the innermost aspirations and thoughts of a poet who is unusually perceptive to the vices of his contemporaries and judges the present and the past from the maximalist humanistic positions of the poet, before whose name the bigots, hypocrites, zealots of official morality and the townsfolk of not only prim Albion trembled. , but also for the whole groaning under the burden of the "Holy Alliance" of the monarchs and reactionaries of Europe. In the final song of the poem, this fusion of the narrator and his hero reaches its apogee, embodied in a new artistic whole for the great poetic forms of the XNUMXth century. This whole can be defined as an unusually sensitive to the conflicts of the surrounding thinking consciousness, which is rightfully the main character of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.

This consciousness cannot be called otherwise than the subtlest seismograph of reality; and what in the eyes of an unprejudiced reader appears as the unconditional artistic merit of an agitated lyrical confession naturally becomes an almost insurmountable obstacle when one tries to "translate" Byron's fluttering stanzas into the register of an impartial chronicle.

The poem is essentially plotless; its entire narrative "beginning" comes down to a few, inadvertently dropped, lines about an English young man from a noble family, who by the age of nineteen had become fed up with his favorite set of secular pleasures, became disillusioned with the intellectual abilities of his compatriots and the charms of his compatriots, and - embarking on a journey. In the first song, Childe visits Portugal, Spain; in the second - Greece, Albania, the capital of the Ottoman Empire Istanbul; in the third, after returning and a short stay at home, - Belgium, Germany and a long stay in Switzerland; finally, the fourth is dedicated to the journey of Byron's lyrical hero through the cities of Italy that keep traces of the majestic past. And only by looking intently at what distinguishes in the surroundings, what snatches out of the kaleidoscopic variety of landscapes, architectural and ethnographic beauties, everyday signs, everyday situations the tenacious, piercing, in the full sense of the word thinking gaze of the narrator, we can make for ourselves the idea of what is this hero in civil, philosophical and purely human terms - this is Byron's poetic "I", which the language does not dare to call the "second".

And then you suddenly become convinced that the lengthy, five thousand verse lyrical narrative of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is, in a certain sense, nothing but an analogue of the current review of international events well known to our contemporaries. Even stronger and shorter: hot spots, if you don’t be afraid of a boring newspaper stamp. But the review is as alien as possible to any class, national, party, confessional bias. Europe, as now, at the turn of the third millennium, is engulfed in the flames of large and small military conflicts; its fields are littered with piles of weapons and the bodies of the fallen. And if Childe acts as a slightly distant contemplator of the dramas and tragedies unfolding before his eyes, then Byron standing behind him, on the contrary, never misses the opportunity to express his attitude to what is happening, to peer into its origins, to comprehend its lessons for the future.

So in Portugal, whose austere beauties of landscapes enchant the stranger (Ode 1). In the meat grinder of the Napoleonic Wars, this country became a bargaining chip in the conflict between the major European powers;

And Byron has no illusions about the true intentions of their ruling circles, including those that determine the foreign policy of his own island homeland. So it is in Spain, dazzling with the splendor of colors and fireworks of national temperament. He devotes many beautiful lines to the legendary beauty of Spanish women, capable of touching the heart of even Childe, who is satiated with everything in the world (“But there is no Amazon blood in Spanish women, / A maiden was created there for the spell of love”). But it is important that the narrator sees and paints the bearers of these charms in a situation of mass public upsurge, in an atmosphere of nationwide resistance to Napoleonic aggression: "The beloved is wounded - she does not shed tears, / The captain fell - she leads the squad, / They run her own - she shouts: forward! / And a new onslaught swept away the avalanche of enemies. / Who will ease the death of the slain? / Who will take revenge, since the best warrior has fallen? / Who will inspire a man with courage? / All, all of her! When did the arrogant Gaul / Before women so shamefully retreat?

So it is in Greece, groaning under the heel of the Ottoman despotism, whose heroic spirit the poet tries to revive, recalling the heroes of Thermopylae and Salamis. So it is in Albania, which stubbornly defends its national identity, even if at the cost of daily bloody revenge on the invaders, at the cost of the total transformation of the entire male population into fearless, merciless infidels, threatening the sleepy peace of the enslaving Turks.

Other intonations appear on the lips of Byron-Harold, who slowed down on the grandiose ashes of Europe - Waterloo: "He beat, your hour, - and where is Greatness, Strength? / Everything - Power and Strength - turned into smoke. / For the last time, yet invincible, / The eagle flew up - and fell from heaven, pierced ... "

Once again summing up the paradoxical lot of Napoleon, the poet is convinced that military confrontation, bringing innumerable sacrifices to the peoples, does not bring liberation ("The death is not tyranny - only a tyrant"). Sober, with all the obvious "heretics" for their time, and his reflections on Lake Leman - the refuge of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, like Voltaire, who invariably admired Byron (canto 3rd).

French philosophers, apostles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, awakened the people to an unprecedented revolt. But are the ways of retribution always righteous, and does not the revolution carry within itself the fatal seed of its own coming defeat? "And the trace of their fatal will is terrible. / They tore the veil from the Truth, / Destroying the system of false ideas, / And the secret appeared to the eyes. / They, having mixed the beginnings of Good and Evil, / Overthrown the whole past. For what? / So that posterity founded a new throne / To build prisons for him, / And the world again saw the triumph of violence.

"It shouldn't, it can't last long!" - exclaims the poet, who has not lost faith in the primordial idea of ​​historical justice.

The spirit is the only thing that Byron does not doubt; in the vanity and vicissitudes of the destinies of powers and civilizations, he is the only torch whose light can be trusted to the end: “So let’s think boldly! You are God's gift!"

The only guarantee of true freedom, it fills life with meaning; the pledge of human immortality, according to Byron, is inspired, spiritualized creativity. Therefore, it is hardly by chance that Italy (Ode 4) becomes the apotheosis of Harold's wanderings around the world - the cradle of human culture, a country where even the stones of the tombs of Dante, Petrarch, Tasso, the ruins of the Roman Forum, the Colosseum eloquently declare their greatness. The humiliated destiny of the Italians at the time of the "Holy Union" becomes for the narrator a source of unceasing mental pain and at the same time - a stimulus to action.

The well-known episodes of the "Italian period" of Byron's biography are a kind of off-screen commentary on the final song of the poem. The poem itself, including the unique image of its lyrical hero, is a symbol of faith of the author, who bequeathed to his contemporaries and descendants the unshakable principles of his life philosophy: / Whatever land he gets to, - / And between people, and where there is no housing. / But I was born on the island of Freedom / And Reason - there is my homeland ... "

N. M. Fingers

Dramatic poem (1816-1817)

Byron's debut as a playwright, the philosophical tragedy "Manfred", perhaps the most profound and significant (along with the mystery "Cain", 1821) of the poet's works in the dialogic genre, is not without reason considered the apotheosis of Byron's pessimism. The writer's painful discord with British society, which ultimately prompted him to voluntary exile, the inevitably deepening crisis in personal relationships, in which he himself was sometimes inclined to see something fatally predetermined - all this left an indelible imprint of "world sorrow" on the dramatic poem ( skeptical of the achievements of the contemporary English theater, Byron repeatedly emphasized that he wrote it for reading), in which the most vigilant of his contemporaries - not excluding the great German himself - saw a romantic analogue of Goethe's Faust.

Never before has the unpredictable author of "Childe Harold," "Gyaur" and "Jewish Melodies" been so darkly majestic, so "cosmic" in his contempt for the philistine lot of the majority, and at the same time so merciless to the few chosen ones, whose indomitable spirit and eternal searching doomed them to lifelong loneliness; Never before have his images so much resembled in their alienated scale the transcendental heights and inaccessible ridges of the Bernese Alps, against which Manfred was created and against which his action unfolds. More precisely, the ending of an unusually broadly sketched conflict, because in a dramatic poem, covering, in essence, the last days of the protagonist's existence (chronologically, it "hangs" somewhere between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries), more important than anywhere else in Byron, the role background and subtext. For the author - and, consequently, for his audience - the monumental figure of Manfred, his languishing spirit and inflexible theomachism, his desperate pride and equally incurable mental pain were the logical outcome of a whole gallery of the fates of romantic rebels, brought to life by the poet's ardent fantasy.

The poem opens, like Goethe's Faust, by summing up the preliminary - and disappointing - results of a long and stormy life, only not in the face of an impending death, but in the face of a hopelessly dull, not sanctified by a lofty goal and endlessly lonely existence. "Science, philosophy, all the secrets / of the Miraculous and all earthly wisdom - / I have known everything, and my mind has comprehended everything: / What is the use of that?" - thinks the anchorite-sorcerer, who has lost faith in the values ​​of the intellect, frightening servants and commoners with his unsociable way of life. The only thing that the proud feudal lord, tired of searching and being disappointed, and the hermit endowed with mysterious knowledge of the beyond, still longs for is the end, oblivion. Desperate to find it, he summons the spirits of various elements: ether, mountains, seas, earth's depths, winds and storms, darkness and night - and asks to give him oblivion. "Oblivion is unknown to the immortals," one of the spirits replies; they are powerless. Then Manfred asks one of them, incorporeal, to take that visible image, "which is more appropriate for him." And the seventh spirit - the spirit of Fate - appears to him in the form of a beautiful woman. Having recognized the dear features of his forever lost lover, Manfred falls unconscious.

Lonely wandering through the mountain cliffs in the vicinity of the highest Jungfrau mountain, with which many sinister beliefs are associated, he is met by a chamois hunter - he meets at the moment when Manfred, sentenced to eternal vegetation, tries in vain to commit suicide by throwing himself off a cliff. They enter into conversation; the hunter brings him to his hut. But the guest is gloomy and taciturn, and his interlocutor soon realizes that Manfred's illness, his thirst for death, is by no means a physical property. He does not deny: "Do you think that our life depends / On time? Rather, on ourselves, / Life for me is an immense desert, / A barren and wild coast, / Where only the waves groan ... ". When he leaves, he takes with him the source of the unquenchable torment that torments him. Only the fairy of the Alps - one of the host of "rulers of the invisible", whose dazzling image he manages to invoke with a spell, standing over a waterfall in an alpine valley, can he believe his sad confession ...

From his youth, alienated from people, he sought solace in nature, "in the struggle against the waves of noisy mountain rivers / Or against the furious surf of the ocean"; Drawn by the spirit of discovery, he penetrated the cherished secrets, "which was known only in antiquity." Armed with esoteric knowledge, he managed to penetrate the secrets of the invisible worlds and gained power over the spirits. But all these spiritual treasures are nothing without the only comrade-in-arms who shared his labors and sleepless vigils - Astarte, a friend, beloved by him and ruined by him. Dreaming at least for a moment to see his beloved again, he asks the fairy of the Alps for help.

"Fairy. I am powerless over the dead, but if / You swear obedience to me ..." But Manfred, who has never bowed his head to anyone, is not capable of this. The fairy disappears. And he, drawn by a daring plan, continues his wanderings through the mountain heights and transcendental chambers, where the rulers of the invisible dwell.

For a short time we lose sight of Manfred, but then we become witnesses of the meeting on the top of the Jungfrau mountain of three parks, preparing to appear before the king of all spirits, Ahriman. The three ancient deities who govern the lives of mortals, in Byron's pen, are strikingly reminiscent of the three witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth; and in the fact that they tell each other about their own craft, notes of sarcastic satire, not too typical for Byron's philosophical works, are heard. So, one of them "...married fools, / Restored the fallen thrones / And strengthened those close to the fall <…> / <…> turned / Into wise madmen, fools into sages, / Into oracles, so that people would bow / Before their power and so that none of the mortals / Do not dare to decide the fate of their masters / And talk arrogantly about freedom ... "Together with the appeared Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, they go to the chamber of Ahriman, where the supreme ruler of spirits sits on a throne - a fireball.

Praises to the lord of the invisible are interrupted by the unexpected appearance of Manfred. Spirits urge him to prostrate in the dust before the supreme ruler, but in vain: Manfred is rebellious.

Dissonance in general indignation is introduced by the first of the parks, declaring that this impudent mortal is not like any of his despicable tribe: "His suffering / Immortal, like ours; knowledge, will / And his power, since it is compatible / All this with the mortal dust, such, / That the dust marvels at him; he aspired / With his soul away from the world and comprehended / That which only we, the immortals, comprehended: / That there is no happiness in knowledge, that science - / The exchange of some ignorance for others. Manfred asks Nemesis to summon from oblivion "unburied in the earth - Astarte".

The ghost appears, but even the all-powerful Ahriman cannot make the vision speak. And only in response to the passionate, half-mad monologue-call of Manfred responds, pronouncing his name. And then he adds: "Tomorrow you will leave the earth." And dissolves in ether.

At the hour before sunset, the abbot of St. Maurice appears in the ancient castle, where the unsociable warlock count lives. Dismayed by the rumors creeping around about the strange and wicked occupations that the owner of the castle indulges in, he considers it his duty to call on him "to be cleansed from filth by repentance / And reconcile with the church and heaven." "It's too late," he hears the laconic reply. He, Manfred, has no place in a church parish, as well as among any crowd: "I could not curb myself; whoever wants / to command, he must be a slave; / whoever wants the nonentity to recognize / him as their ruler, he must / be able to before humble yourself with insignificance, / Penetrate everywhere and keep pace / And be a walking lie. I didn’t want to interfere with the herd / I didn’t want to interfere, at least I could / Be the leader. The lion is lonely - I am too. Breaking off the conversation, he hurries to retire in order to once again enjoy the majestic spectacle of the sunset - the last in his life.

Meanwhile, the servants, timid in front of a strange gentleman, recall other days: when Astarte was next to the fearless seeker of truths - "the only creature in the world, / Which he loved, which, of course, / was not explained by Kinship ..." Their conversation is interrupted by the abbot, demanding to be escorted to Manfred immediately.

Meanwhile, Manfred, alone, calmly awaits the fateful moment. The abbot who burst into the room feels the presence of a powerful evil spirit. He tries to conjure the spirits, but in vain. "D at x. <...> The time has come, mortal, / Humble yourself. Manfred. I knew and know what has come. / But not to you, slave, I will give my soul. / Away from me! I will die as I lived - alone" . The proud spirit of Manfred, who does not bow before the power of any authority, remains unbroken. And if the ending of Byron’s play really resembles the ending of Goethe’s Faust, then one cannot help but notice a significant difference between the two great works: angels and Mephistopheles are fighting for Faust’s soul, while Manfred himself defends the soul of Byron’s god-fighter from a host of invisible ones (“The immortal spirit himself he makes judgment for himself / For good and evil thoughts").

"Old man! Believe me, death is not at all terrible!" he says goodbye to the abbot.

N. M. Fingers

Mystery (1821)

The mystery, the action of which unfolds in "the area near paradise," opens with the scene of the offering of a prayer to Jehovah. All the few “mankind” participate in the prayer: Adam and Eve, who were expelled from Paradise in retribution for sin, their sons Cain and Abel, the daughters of Hell and Sella, and the children conceived by the daughters of Adam from his own sons. Against the unreasoning piety of the parents and brother, who dutifully accept the punishing hand of the Lord, Cain instinctively rises, embodying tireless questioning, doubt, an unquenchable desire in everything "to reach the very essence." He is quite sincere, confessing: "I could never agree / That I saw with what they tell me." He is not satisfied with the evasive answers of his parents, in everything referring to His all-good decrees: "They have all questions / One answer: "His holy will, / And he is good." Omnipotent, is he good?"

Adam, Eve and their children retire to the day's work. Meditating Cain is left alone. He feels the approach of some higher being, which is "more majestic than the angels" that Cain happened to see in the vicinity of paradise. This is Lupifer.

In the interpretation of the image of the eternal opponent, eternal, cast down from the heavenly heights and doomed to incessant wanderings in space, but unbroken in spirit, Byron's bold innovation, an artist and thinker, was most clearly manifested. Unlike most writers who have touched this subject in one way or another, the author of the mystery does not show the slightest prejudice; in his vision of Satan there is not even a shadow of canonical stereotyping. It is symptomatic that Byron's Lucifer does not so much give direct answers to the questions that Cain bombarded him with and Ada returned for some reason, as he inspires them with the idea of ​​the imperative need for eternal questioning, of the saving power of knowledge as the key to the immortality of the spirit. With all his behavior, he refutes the current idea of ​​himself as a low, selfish tempter. And Cain can't help but believe him when he unequivocally declares: "Nothing, / Other than the truth, I do not seduce."

Tormented by cursed questions about the mystery of his existence, about the law of death and the finiteness of all that exists, about the mystery of the unknown, Cain prays to the stranger to resolve his doubts. He invites him to travel through time and space, promising Ada that after an hour or two he will return home.

Byron's inexhaustible inventiveness finds expression in the second act of the mystery, which unfolds in "the abyss of space." Like Dante and Virgil in The Divine Comedy, only in a specific romantic rhythm and imagery, partly inspired by the majesty of Milton's baroque poetics, they bypass the past and future worlds, in comparison with which the Earth is less than a grain of sand, and the cherished Eden is less than a pinhead. Cain discovers the infinity of space and the infinity of time. Lucifer calmly comments: "There are many things that will never / Have an end ... / Only time and space are unchanging, / Although changes only dust / Bring death."

On the innumerable number of planets flying before their eyes, the stunned Cain recognizes that there are their own edens, and even people "or beings that are higher than them." But his curiosity is insatiable, and Lucifer shows him the gloomy realm of death. "How majestic are the shadows that hover / Around me!" - exclaims Cain, and Satan reveals to him that before Adam, the Earth was inhabited by higher beings, not like people, but by the power of reason far exceeded them. Jehovah did away with them "by mixing the elements that transformed / The face of the earth." Before them float the ghosts of leviathans and the shadows of creatures that have no name. Their spectacle is majestic and mournful, but, according to Lucifer, it is incomparable with the troubles and catastrophes that are yet to come, which are destined to fall on the lot of the Adamic family. Cain is saddened: he loves Ada, loves Abel and is unable to come to terms with the fact that all of them, all that exists, is subject to death. And he again asks Satan to reveal to him the secret of death. He replies that the son of Adam is not yet able to comprehend her; it is only necessary to understand that death is the gate. "Cain. But won't death open them? /Lucifer. Death - / The threshold. /Cain. So, then, death leads / To something reasonable! Now / I'm less afraid of it."

Cain realizes that his "guide" through innumerable worlds, lost in time and space, is not inferior in power to the all-powerful Jehovah. But isn't Lucifer himself an instrument of God?

And then Satan explodes. No, and again no: "He is my conqueror, but not my lord... /... The great merciless struggle will not stop, / Until Adonai perishes / Or his enemy!"

And in parting he gives him advice: "Only one good gift / The tree of knowledge gave you - your mind: / So let it not tremble with formidable words / A tyrant forcing you to believe / Against both feeling and reason. / Be patient and thoughts - create in yourself / The inner world, so as not to see the outside: / Break the earthly nature in yourself / And partake of the spiritual principle!

Only the immortality of the spirit is capable of hindering the omnipotence of the mortal lot allotted by Jehovah to people - such is the farewell lesson taught to the hero by Satan.

Returning to his loved ones, Cain finds them at work: they are preparing altars for sacrifice. But sacrifice is a sign of humility in front of a destiny prepared in advance and unjust; it is against him that the whole passionate, indomitable nature of Cain rises: "I said, / It's better to die than live in torment / And bequeath them to children!"

The meek, loving Ada, the mother of his child, recoils from him in horror; gently but persistently urges him to make a joint sacrifice to Abel.

And here for the first time the character of the mystery, who is not present on the stage, but who invariably reminds of himself, reminds of himself - God: he favorably accepts the slain by his younger brother, the cattle breeder Abel, the lamb and scatters the fruit far away on the ground - the sacrifice of the farmer Cain. Abel calmly advises his brother to bring new gifts to the Almighty on the altar. "Cain. So his consolation is / The children of altars, smoking with blood, / The suffering of bleating wombs, torments / Their offspring, dying under your / Pious Knife! Get out of the way!"

Abel stands his ground, repeating: "God is dearer to me than life." In a fit of uncontrollable anger, Cain strikes him in the temple with a brand grabbed from the altar.

Abel is dying. To the groans of the eldest son Adam, slowly realizing what he had done, his relatives come running. Adam is confused; Eve curses him. Ada timidly tries to protect her brother and husband. Adam commands him to leave these places forever.

Only Ada remains with Cain. But before you start dragging out a myriad of dull countless days, the fratricide will have to go through one more test. An angel of the Lord descends from heaven and places an indelible seal on his forehead.

They are going on a difficult journey. Their place is in the joyless desert, "to the east of paradise." Crushed by his crime, Cain not only fulfills the will of his father and Jehovah, but he himself measures the punishment for sin. But the spirit of protest, doubt, questioning does not fade in his soul: "Cain. Oh, Abel, Abel! / Hell. Peace be upon him! / Cain. And me?"

These words complete the play of Byron, who transformed the mystery of mortal sin into an exciting mystery of implacable theomachism.

N. M. Fingers

Poem (1818-1823; publ.: songs I-2nd - 1819; songs 3-5th - 1821;

songs 6-14th - 1823; songs 15-16th - 1824; song 17th - 1903)

"Epic Poem" - according to the author's opinion, but in fact - a novel in verse, "Don Juan" - the most important and largest work of the late stage of Byron's work, the subject of the poet's constant reflections and fierce polemics of criticism.

Like Eugene Onegin, Byron's late masterpiece ends mid-sentence. Judging by the correspondence and reviews of contemporaries, who worked on "Don Juan" over the last seven years of his life, the poet managed to carry out no more than two-thirds of his extensive plan (the epic was conceived in 24 songs, and the author intended to show the life of his hero in Germany, Spain, Italy, and end the story with the death of Juan in France during the French Revolution).

In the first song, with rich satirical strokes, the poet sketches the existence of a fairly ordinary noble family in Seville in the second half of the XNUMXth century, recreating the class and family environment in which the future indomitable conqueror of women's hearts could only be born. The experience of the creator of Childe Harold, who visited Spain, could not but do Byron a good turn: the images of the cheerful, optimistic Don Jose and his "high-browed" languid and prim wife Dona Ines seem to have been drawn by the brush of one of the Flemish masters of genre painting. The crafty author does not for a moment lose sight of the mores of the British aristocracy of his day, emphasizing, in particular, the feeling of hypocrisy and hypocrisy that prevails in the Seville rich house. The sixteen-year-old young hero goes through the first lessons of erotic education in the arms of his mother's best friend - the young (she is only seven years older than the young man) dona Julia, the wife of don Alfonso, who in the past was associated, the author hints, with the mother of Juan, the bonds of not quite platonic friendship. But then the irreparable happens: the jealous Don Alfonso discovers a teenager in his wife's bedroom, and Juan's parents, trying to avoid a high society scandal, send their offspring on a long sea voyage.

A ship sailing for Livorno is wrecked and most of the passengers perish in the waves during a violent storm. At the same time, Juan loses his servant and mentor, and he himself, exhausted, unconscious, is thrown by a wave onto the shore of an unknown island. Thus begins a new stage in his biography - love for the beautiful Greek woman Gaide.

A captivatingly beautiful girl, living with her pirate father in isolation from the outside world, finds a fabulously handsome young man on the coast and gives him her love. Gaide is not aware of calculation and duplicity: "Gaide - like a daughter of naive nature / And of genuine passion - was born / Under the hot sun of the south, where peoples / Live, obey the laws of love. / To a beautiful chosen one for years / She surrendered herself with her soul and heart, / Without thinking, not worrying, not shy: / He was with her - and happiness was with her!

However, like any utopia, this cloudless streak in the lives of the heroes is soon interrupted: Father Gaide, who was reputed to have died in one of his smuggling "expeditions", returns to the island and, not heeding his daughter's entreaties, ties Juan and sends him with other captives to the market slaves to Constantinople. And shocked by the experience, the girl falls into unconsciousness and dies after a while.

Juan, in turn, together with his comrade in misfortune - the British John Johnson, who served in the army of Suvorov and was taken prisoner by the Janissaries, is sold into the harem of the Turkish Sultan. Attracted by the beloved wife of the Sultan, the beautiful Gulbey, he is hidden in a woman's dress among charming odalisques and, unaware of the danger, "incurs" the favor of one of them - the beautiful Georgian Dudu. The jealous sultana is furious, but, obeying the considerations of sober calculation, is forced to help Juan and his friend Johnson, along with two unlucky concubines, escape from the harem.

The atmosphere of spicy erotic resignation changes dramatically when the fugitives find themselves at the location of Russian troops, under the command of Field Marshal Suvorov, who are storming the Turkish fortress of Izmail on the Danube (songs 7-8).

These pages of the novel are truly captivating - not only because Byron, who sought to give maximum historical and documentary authenticity to his narrative, characterizes the fearless Russian commander in great detail and colorfully (by the way, in these episodes there is a place for the future winner of Napoleon Kutuzov), but above all because they fully expressed Byron's passionate rejection of the inhuman practice of bloody and senseless wars, which constituted a significant - often leading - part of the foreign policy of all European powers. Byron, the anti-militarist, as usual, is far ahead of his own time: idolizing freedom and independence and paying tribute to Suvorov’s courage and talent, his simplicity and democracy (“I confess to you - I myself Suvorov / I call it a miracle without hesitation”), he says a resolute “no” to the monarchs - conquerors, for the sake of ephemeral glory, throwing thousands of human lives into the mouth of a monstrous massacre. "But, in essence, only wars for freedom / Worthy of a noble people."

The hero also matches the author: out of ignorance, Juan, who shows miracles of heroism during the siege of the fortress, does not hesitate for a second to save a five-year-old Turkish girl from the hands of the enraged Cossacks and subsequently refuses to part with her, although this hinders his secular "career".

Be that as it may, he is awarded the Russian order for courage and sent to St. Petersburg with Suvorov's dispatch to Empress Catherine about the capture of an impregnable Turkish stronghold.

The “Russian episode” in the life of the Spanish hero is not too long, however, Byron’s account of the customs and customs of the Russian court in sufficient detail and eloquently testifies to the enormous work done by the poet, who had never been to Russia, but sincerely and unbiasedly tried to understand the nature of the Russian autocracy. Interesting is the ambiguous characterization given by Byron to Catherine, and the poet's unambiguously hostile assessment of favoritism, which flourishes, however, not only at the imperial court.

The brilliant career of the favorite of the Russian empress, who "lit up" Juan, is soon interrupted: he falls ill, and the all-powerful Catherine, having provided the handsome young man with credentials as an envoy, sends him to England.

Having passed Poland, Prussia, Holland, this darling of fate finds himself in the fatherland of the poet, who bluntly expresses his very far from official attitude towards the role played by reputedly "freedom-loving" Britain in European politics ("she is the jailer of nations ...").

And again the genre tone of the story changes (from song 11 to song 17, on which the novel is interrupted). Actually, the "picaresque" element triumphs here only in a short episode of the attack on Juan by street robbers on a London street. The hero, however, easily gets out of the situation by sending one of the attackers to the next world. Further - closely anticipating Pushkin's "Onegin" pictures of the high society life of the capital and rural Albion, testifying both to the increasing depth of Byron's psychologism, and to the poet's incomparable mastery of the sarcastically satirical portrait.

It is difficult to get away from the idea that it was this part of the narrative that the author considered central to his grandiose plan. It is hardly accidental that at the beginning of this strip, in the existence of the character, the poet "lets slip": "I wrote twelve songs, but / All this is just a prelude for now."

By this time, Joao is twenty-one years old. Young, erudite, charming, it is not without reason that he attracts the attention of young and not so young women of the fair sex. However, early anxieties and disappointments planted in him a virus of fatigue and satiety. Byron's Don Juan, perhaps, differs so strikingly from folklore that there is nothing "superhuman" in it.

Having become the object of purely secular interest from the brilliant aristocrat Lady Adeline Amondeville, Juan is invited to stay in the luxurious country estate of Lord Amondeville - a handsome but superficial representative of his class, one hundred percent gentleman and a passionate hunter.

His wife, however, is also the flesh of the flesh of her environment with her mores and prejudices. Experiencing a sincere disposition towards Juan, she does not find anything better than ... to look for a suitable bride for her foreign peer. He, for his part, after a long break, seems to really fall in love with the young girl Aurora Rabi: "She reminded heroines with her innocent grace / Shakespeare."

But the latter is by no means included in the calculations of Lady Adeline, who managed to look after one of her high-society girlfriends for the young man. With her, in the night silence of an old rural mansion, the hero encounters on the last pages of the novel.

Alas, fate prevented the poet from continuing the story...

N. M. Fingers

Original title:

Laon and Cytna, or the Revolt of the Golden City. The Revolution of the Golden City: a Vision of the Nineteenth Century

Poem (1817)

Shelley devoted his romantic poem in twelve songs to "the cause of broad and liberating morality", the ideas of freedom and justice. The poem is written in the so-called Spencer stanza.

During a thunderstorm raging over the earth, the poet suddenly opens up among the clouds a gap of heavenly azure, and against this background, his eyes see the struggle of the Eagle and the Serpent over the deep sea; The eagle torments the Serpent, she strives to sting him in the chest, but in the end the Eagle releases the prey, and the Serpent falls into the water.

On the shore, the poet sees a beautiful woman; she picks up the Serpent, puts it on her marble chest and invites the poet to go on a dream shuttle with her. During the journey in a magical boat, the woman explained that Evil, which had once enveloped the earth, flew high, and the Spirit of Good began to crawl, and as a result, "no one distinguished good from evil." Thus, even the poet did not recognize in the Serpent the Spirit of Good, who fought Evil in the form of an Eagle.

The woman tells the poet her story. Before her death, the young poet revealed to her, an earthly woman, many secrets of life, with his speeches he kindled the light of love of freedom in her soul. Once she saw a beautiful young man in a dream and since then she has been looking for him everywhere.

The boat finally lands on the shore, the poet enters a light hazy labyrinth and suddenly finds himself in a temple where a beautiful stranger and the poet's wondrous companion are sitting on a crystal throne.

The stranger - his name is Laon - tells the poet his story. His bright childhood was overshadowed by the cruel tyranny that reigned in his native country: "Everyone languished in her chains: the tyrant and the slave, soul and body, victim and tormentor." In the soul of Laon, the desire for freedom grew and grew stronger. Then he recognized Cytna, and they fell in love with each other tenderly. Young Cytna fully shared the desire of her beloved to free the peoples from painful chains, although she understood that the fight against the forces of Evil would be cruel and unequal, that separation and even death could await her and her beloved.

Both are visited by terrible visionary visions. Laon dreams that he and Cytna are flying in space, but monsters grab hold of Cytna and take it away from him. Waking up, he discovers that he is surrounded by the servants of the Tyrant, and in the distance he hears a desperate female cry. Laon breaks through the crowd of enemies and sees Cytna bound on the ground. Blinded by anger, he rushes at her guards, but there are too many of them, and he, severely beaten, is chained in a tower on top of a rock. From grief and wounds, Laon almost loses his mind, he refuses to eat and drink and is ready to accept death, but in oblivion, the marvelous Elder suddenly appears to him. He breaks the shackles, wipes Laon's body with a damp cloth and, with words of consolation, takes him in a shuttle to his tower in the middle of the sea. There he has been caring for Laon for a long time - for seven years. When consciousness returns to Laon, the Elder says that even the glory of the freedom-loving Laon has reached even his secluded castle; so he went to Argolis, the country of Laon, where he rescued the freedom-loving brave man. The Elder also heard about the amazing girl who was sentenced to death, but the executioner, relenting at the sight of her beauty, let her go. Inflamed by the example and passionate speeches of Laon and Cytna, peoples everywhere rise up against their oppressors, but the Elder fears that blood may be shed, and Laon, he believes, is able to avoid bloodshed.

Laon returns to his hometown. But on the very first night, enemies creep up on the sleeping soldiers, kill many, but the cry “Laon!” raises troops to battle - the enemies are swept away. Not wanting unnecessary bloodshed that breeds hatred and enmity, Laon does not allow those around him to be killed; raising his hand, he even takes the blow of a spear aimed at the chest of a doomed enemy, and exhorting both those and others not to engage in fratricide, loses consciousness. When he comes to his senses, he discovers that his words have reached people's hearts, everyone is embraced by a thirst for goodness.

In the midst of general rejoicing, Laon goes in search of a beautiful maiden who calls herself Laon, and comes to the palace of the deserted Tyrant. The swarming crowd demands to put the despot to death. Having experienced fear and shame for the first time, the Tyrant loses consciousness. Laon, on the other hand, addresses his fellow citizens with words of mercy: "Understand you that the truth is in forgiveness, / In love, not in malice, and not in terrible revenge."

However, malice still smolders in the black soul of the Tyrant.

In the midst of popular rejoicing, a terrible news spreads: having gathered an army in other countries, the Tyrant goes to war against his own people. The ranks of the feasters are thinning under the blows of the mercenaries. Carrion-eating birds flock to the smell of blood and death from the surrounding mountains. The holiday of goodness and national liberation turns into a feast of vultures. Laon and his friends fight bravely, but the forces are unequal; now the Elder falls under the blows, now the last close friend of Laon has already been killed. Everyone dies, except for Laon, he is seriously wounded.

Suddenly, through the ranks of enemies, crushing them, a fearless horseman breaks through on a powerful horse. Enemies run in all directions. The rider turns out to be a beautiful girl - this is Cytna. She puts Laon on a horse with her and takes him away from the terrible battlefield.

Only now, far from human strife and atrocities, lovers can finally belong to each other completely and pour out their overflowing love.

Cytna tells Laon what happened to her during the separation. When she was captured by the Tyrant's henchmen and the Tyrant saw her beauty, he burned with passion for her, and in her, forced to endure hateful caresses, such a light of madness and a thirst for freedom lit up that the Tyrant retreated from her in horror. He ordered to send the rebellious maiden to a distant castle in the middle of the sea.

In a clouded mind, it seemed to Cytne that she had a daughter similar to Laon, but the servant of the Tyrant who had sailed away took her dearly beloved child from her. She lived alone on this island for many years. The madness was gone, only the thought of Laon, of her daughter, of freedom remained.

A sudden earthquake destroyed the castle, and from a lonely rock sticking out of the sea, Cytnu picked up a ship that was carrying new captives to Tirana. However, inflamed by Cytna's speeches about universal equality and freedom, the sailors released the captives.

Laon and Cytna decide to separate in order to fight separately for the freedom and happiness of all people. Lovers believe that sooner or later they will be reunited again.

Meanwhile, in the Golden City and neighboring countries, freedom is again trampled on by despotic power, famine and plague are rampant there, the rivers are poisoned, the people are experiencing innumerable disasters; The legend of Laon and the beautiful horsewoman, carrying the hope of liberation, is passed from mouth to mouth. Priests and lords offer prayers to God, each to his own. And here comes the insidious Iberian Priest, who planned to forge from Islam the mortal enemy of his, the Priest, enemies. He persuades the Tyrant and the priests to burn Laon and Laona on a huge fire - this will bring salvation to the kingdom and the autocratic power of the Tyrant.

Suddenly, a beautiful stranger appears before the Tyrant. He addresses the despot and his associates with passionate speech. The tyrant makes an attempt to stab him, but for some inexplicable reason, his hand does not obey. The stranger promises to deliver Laon to them that same evening, on the condition that they send Cytna unharmed to Liberty, America. The stranger throws off his cloak - this is Laon. Suddenly, a powerful horse with a beautiful rider bursts into the throne room. The tyrant and his companions flee in horror before her, but the Iberian Priest shames them, calls to seize Cytna and, in violation of the oath, to be executed together with Laon. Cytna herself ascends the fire to Laon.

Laon comes to his senses on the shore; he is caressed by the gentle hands of Cytna. An air boat is approaching them, in which sits a beautiful child with silver wings - their daughter. She tells her parents that their death deeply affected their fellow tribesmen and will surely "cast its reflection into the mute abyss of future centuries."

The air boat takes all three to the bright Temple of the Spirit.

I. S. Stam

Tragedy (1819)

The action takes place in Italy in the XNUMXth century, when Pope Clement VIII sits on the papal throne.

Count Chenci, a rich Roman nobleman, the head of a large family, became famous for his debauchery and vile atrocities, which he does not even consider it necessary to hide. He is confident in his impunity, because even the pope, condemning his sins, is ready to forgive their count for generous offerings. In response to exhortations and at the bark of those around, Chenci, without a shadow of embarrassment, declares: "The look of agony and the feeling are sweet to me, / That someone there will die, but I live. / I have neither repentance nor fear, / Which so torment others" .

Even for his own wife and children, Count Chenci feels nothing but anger, contempt and hatred. Not embarrassed by the presence of the papal cardinal Camillo, he sends curses to his sons, whom he himself sent out of Rome. A little later, he arranges a magnificent feast, at which, completely happy, he praises God for the reward of his sons. The daughter of Cenci, the beautiful Beatrice, sitting next to him, begins to suspect that a misfortune has happened to the brothers - otherwise why would the father rejoice so much. Indeed, Chenci announces to her and her stepmother Lucrezia that his two sons are dead: one was crushed by a collapsed church vault, the other was mistakenly stabbed to death by a jealous husband. Beatrice knows that the elder brother Giacomo is ruined by his father and drags out a miserable existence with his family. The girl feels that she can become the next victim, her father has long been throwing lustful glances at her. In desperation, Beatrice turns to distinguished guests, seeking protection and protection from them. But the guests, knowing the hot-tempered and vindictive nature of the host, embarrassedly disperse.

Beatrice, from her youth in love with Orsino, who became a priest, still hoped that Orsino's petition to the pope would be accepted, that the pope would remove the dignity from her beloved, they would be able to get married, and then she would be able to escape from the power of the murderer-father; however, news comes that Orsino's petition has returned unopened, the pope did not want to delve into this request. Close to the pope, Cardinal Camillo makes it clear that the pope, confident that the children offend the old father, supports the side of the count, although he declares that he intends to remain neutral. Beatrice feels that she cannot get out of her father's spider web.

In Act III, Beatrice appears at her loving stepmother Lucrezia in complete despair, it seems to her that she has an open wound in her head: her mind cannot comprehend the enormity of what happened. Violence has happened, Beatrice is dishonored by her own father. The girl rejects the idea of ​​suicide, because in the eyes of the church this is a great sin, but where can she seek protection? The crafty Orsino advises to sue, but Beatrice does not believe in the fairness of the court, since even the Pope does not consider it necessary to interfere in the villainous deeds of her father, and heaven seems to even help Chenci.

Not hoping to find understanding and support anywhere, Beatrice, together with her previously meek and God-fearing stepmother Lucrezia, begins to make plans to kill the tyrant. As performers, Orsino proposes to use two vagabonds who "do not care whether it is a worm or a man." According to Beatrice's plan, the assassins should attack Chenci on the bridge over the abyss on the way to the castle, where the count intends to send his daughter and wife to mock them without interference. Crushed by the cruelty and treachery of Father Giacomo, he joins the conspirators.

All of them hopefully await news of Chenci's death, but it turns out that the tyrant was lucky again: he passed the bridge an hour ahead of schedule.

In a mountain castle, in front of his wife, Chenchi gives vent to his low feelings and thoughts. He is not afraid to die without repentance, he is not afraid of God's judgment, believing that his black soul is "the scourge of God." He longs to enjoy the humiliation of the proud Beatrice, dreams of depriving his heirs of everything except the dishonored name.

Hearing that the daughter is disobedient and does not appear on the orders of her father, Chenchi brings down numerous monstrous curses on her. His soul knows neither love nor repentance.

Clearly aware that there is simply no other way to avoid new torments and humiliations for her and her family, Beatrice finally decides on parricide. Together with her brother and stepmother, she is waiting for assassins, hoping that Chenci is already dead, but they come and confess that they did not dare to kill the sleeping old man. In desperation, Beatrice snatches the dagger from them, ready to execute the tyrant herself. ashamed, the murderers leave and after a short time they announce that Chenci is dead.

But before Beatrice, her younger brother Bernardo, Lucrezia and Orsino feel relieved at this news, the legate Savella appears and demands Count Cenci - he will have to answer a number of serious accusations. The legate is informed that the count is sleeping, but Savella's mission is urgent, he insists, he is taken to the bedroom, it is empty, but soon under the bedroom window, in the branches of a tree, the dead body of Chenci is found.

Enraged, Savella demands that everyone go with him to Rome to investigate the count's murder. Panic seizes the conspirators, Beatrice alone does not lose courage. She angrily accuses the servants of the law and the papal throne of inaction and indulgence in the crimes of her father, and when the retribution is done, then those who previously asked, but did not receive protection from the oppression of the tyrant, are now readily condemned as criminals.

However, their judgment is inevitable, they are all sent to Rome. The captured hitman under torture confesses to his deed and confirms the accusations torn from him on the rack. Then Beatrice turns to the court with a passionate speech about the dubious value of the confessions thus obtained. Her speech shocks the killer so much that, ashamed of his own cowardice at the sight of the courage of this beautiful girl, he renounces his testimony and dies on the rack. However, Beatrice's brother and stepmother lacks courage, and under torture they also confess to plotting to kill Cenci. Beatrice reproaches them for their weakness, but she does not direct the main reproaches to them. She condemns "miserable earthly justice, heavenly ruthlessness" for allowing villainy. At the sight of such firmness of spirit, her relatives repent of their own weakness, and Beatrice has the strength to console them.

The Pope, whom the youngest son of Chenci, not involved in the murder of his father, asked to have mercy on his relatives, remains deaf to his pleas. The hardness of the pope struck even Cardinal Camillo, who knew him well. The pope's verdict is unchanged: the conspirators must be executed.

The news of imminent death first brings confusion to Beatrice's soul: she, so young and beautiful, is sorry to part with her life; in addition, she is frightened by the thought: what if behind the tombstone "there is no Heaven, no God, no earth - but only darkness, and emptiness, and the abyss ..." Suddenly, and there she will meet with a hated father. But then she takes control of herself and unexpectedly calmly says goodbye to her family. She fixes Lucretia's hair, asks her to tie her hair in a simple knot herself. She is ready to face death with courage and dignity.

I.S. Stam

(Prometheus Unbound)

Lyric drama (1818-1819)

Shelley's romantic utopian drama is written in white iambic pentameter.

The action begins in the Caucasus Mountains, where the titan Prometheus languishes in chains in a gorge among ice-covered rocks. At his feet, the oceanides Panthea and Iona listen sympathetically to his reproaches addressed to the supreme god, Jupiter. Prometheus reminds the autocrat that he once helped him take power over the gods, for which Jupiter repaid him with black ingratitude. He chained the titan to a rock, doomed him to torment: his body is tormented by the will of Jupiter by a bloodthirsty eagle. But this seemed to him not enough. He also hated the people to whom Prometheus gave fire and the torch of knowledge, and now he sends misfortunes to all mankind. However, Prometheus refuses to submit to the tyrant. He believes that "love, freedom, truth" will triumph, he remembers his terrible curse on the tyrant and has no doubt that the despot will fall and retribution - the endless torment of eternal loneliness - will befall him. Prometheus is not afraid of either physical torment or the furies that torment his mind and soul. He firmly believes in his mission: "to be a support, a savior of a suffering person." The only consolation for the titan is his memories of his beloved, the beautiful oceanid of Asia. Panthea informs him that Asia, who loves him, is invariably waiting for him in India.

Appearing to Asia, Panthea speaks of Prometheus' love for her. Asia indulges in memories of past loves and dreams of reunion with her beloved.

Together with Panthea, Asia goes to a cave where Demogorgon sits - "powerful darkness" that has "neither clear features, nor image, nor members." Asia asks Demogorgon about who created the world, thought, feelings, crime, hatred and everything inherent in earthly life, and Demogorgon answers all questions in the same way: autocratic God. But who then is Lord Jupiter, asks Asia, and Demogorgon says:

"All spirits - if they serve evil - are slaves. / Such or not Jupiter - you can see."

Feeling the hope of liberation from the tyrannical power of Jupiter, Asia asks when the shackles of Prometheus will fall. However, Demogorgon again answers vaguely, foggy visions sweep before Asia.

Meanwhile, on the heavenly throne, Jupiter enjoys his power. The only thing that irritates him is the disobedience of a person who undermines his autocratic power.

On the chariot of the Hour, the gloomy Demogorgon appears to him. "Who are you?" - Asks Jupiter and hears in response: "Eternity." Demogorgon invites Jupiter to follow him into eternal darkness. Outraged Jupiter showers him with curses, but the Hour has come - he is overthrown from the throne, the elements to which he calls are no longer subject to him, and he falls down into darkness.

Joy fills the gods at the news of the fall of the tyrant. On the chariot of the Spirit of the Hour, Asia and Panthea descend into the Caucasus Mountains. Hercules frees Prometheus from chains, Prometheus is unspeakably happy to see the beautiful beloved Asia, makes plans for a new joyful life for himself and the people he saved. The earth tells him and Asia about her torments, when the spirit of enmity ruled everywhere on it.

To everyone's joy, the Spirit of the Hour announces that after the fall of the autocratic tyrant, great changes took place among people: "contempt, and horror, and hatred, and self-humiliation in the eyes of people went out", "jealousy, envy, treachery disappeared" ...

Having descended to earth, Prometheus and Asia hear the Spirits of the Human Mind sing the triumph of freedom and love. Wonderful visions pass before them, and among them is the beautiful Spirit of the Earth, the child of Asia. The Earth describes the incredible transformation of the world: "... The swamp of thought that has been dormant from time immemorial / is perturbed by the fire of love... /... From many souls a single spirit arose."

And finally, Demogorgon, the embodiment of eternal darkness, who appeared before them, announces that thanks to the Son of the Earth, the kingdom of Patience, Wisdom, Tenderness, Kindness has come. And Beauty will rule in this kingdom.

I. S. Stam

(Vanity fair. A novel without a hero)

(1847-1848)

England, early XNUMXth century Europe is at war with Napoleon, but this does not prevent many people, obsessed with ambition, from continuing the pursuit of worldly goods - wealth, titles, ranks. The Vanity Fair, the Bazaar of the Bustle of Life rages day and night...

Two young girls leave Miss Pinkerton's boarding house. Emilia Sedley, the daughter of a wealthy esquire, is a model of purely English, somewhat insipid prettiness and virtue. She "possesses a kind, gentle and generous heart", and, in truth, does not shine with her mind. Rebecca Sharpe is different. The daughter of a dissolute artist and ballet dancer, a Frenchwoman, is "small, fragile and pale," but one glance of her green eyes is already capable of killing any man on the spot. Raised in merry poverty, Becky is smart, sharp-tongued, sees through people and is determined to win a place in the sun at any cost, even through hypocrisy and deceit. What to do, because the poor thing has no loving parents, no fortune, no title - all that nourishes the virtue of happier peers.

Emilia, sincerely attached to Becky, invites her to stay, and she enjoys the hospitality in the best possible way. The little cheat knows how to please everyone, but the main thing is that she tries her charms with the greatest success on Joseph Sedley, Amelia's brother. Flattery, pretense, and this "lazy, grumpy and bon vivant" is ready for the last decisive step. Unfortunately, chance intervenes and Mr. George Osborne, Emilia's fiancé, as a result of which the hopes of the young intriguer collapse, and Joseph flees. A new page opens in Miss Sharp's life: she takes up the duties of a governess at King's Crawley, the ancestral estate of Sir Pitt Crawley, "an incredibly vulgar and incredibly dirty old man", a drunkard, stingy and quarrelsome. Ingenuity, the ability to pretend and hypocrisy help Becky win the favor of all the inhabitants of the estate, starting with her pupils and ending with Mr. Pitt Crawley, the eldest son of a baronet, a true "well-bred gentleman", whom even a violent father is afraid of. As for the latter, Becky finds "many ways to be useful to him." Less than a year later, she becomes completely indispensable, almost the mistress of the house.

Royal Crowley is blessed with an annual visit by Sir Pitt's unmarried half-sister, who has a hefty sum in her bank account. This old lady "knows the atheists and the French," loves to live merrily and shamelessly tyrannizes her companion, servants, and at the same time numerous relatives who hope to receive an inheritance. She hates neither Sir Pitt nor his eldest son, but she adores the youngest - Rawdon Crowley - a dim-witted officer of the guard, a varmint, a player and a duelist. Miss Crawley finds Rebecca so charming and witty that, when she falls ill, she takes her to her London home, where the romance between a beggar governess and the youngest son of a baronet ends. It ends in a secret marriage, because, despite the aunt's passion for Freedom and Equality, she can get very angry. Everything opens after the death of Sir Pitt's wife, when he, not too saddened by this untimely death, tries to return Rebecca to King's Crawley. Sir Pitt falls to his knees, offering her to become Lady Crowley, and at that moment the intrepid Becky, for the first time in her life, loses her presence of mind and bursts into "the most genuine tears." Why was she in a hurry? What a missed opportunity!

Everyone curses the young couple. No matter how hard Rodon, led by smart Rebecca, tries to regain his aunt's favor, he fails. A champion of democracy and a lover of romantic marriages, until the end of her days, she will never forgive her nephew for a misalliance. There is nothing to say about Sir Pitt: the old man literally "loses his mind from hatred and unfulfilled desires", sinks more and more, and only his death saves the family nest from final devastation and abuse. Spouses have to rely only on the modest salary of the captain of the guard. However, the resilient Becky is fluent in an art that will come in handy more than once in her life, the art of living more or less happily without a penny of cash. She does not lose hope of taking a more brilliant place in society and agrees to be patient, and Rodon, passionately and blindly in love with his wife, turns into a happy and submissive spouse.

Meanwhile, clouds are gathering over Emilia's head, and surprisingly, Napoleon, or Boni, as the English call him, is to blame. The flight of Bonaparte from Elba and the landing of his army at Cannes change the state of affairs on the stock exchange and entail the complete ruin of John Sedley, father of Emilia. And who turns out to be "the most intractable and stubborn of creditors"? His friend and neighbor John Osborne, whom he helped to reach the people. Sedley's property goes under the hammer, the family moves to a miserable rented apartment, but Emilia does not suffer because of this. The trouble is that this simple-hearted girl does not love her fiancé the way one should love at Vanity Fair, but with all her heart and for life. She sincerely considers empty, narcissistic and foppish George Osborne the most beautiful and intelligent man in the world. Unlike Rebecca, whose actions are dictated by "self-interest, selfishness and need", Emilia lives only by love. And George ... George graciously allows himself to be loved, without giving up purely bachelor amusements and without pampering his bride with special attention.

After the collapse of John Sedley, his father forbids George from marrying Emilia. Moreover, her own father also does not want to hear about marriage with the "son of a scoundrel." Poor Emilia is in despair. But here Captain Dobbin intervenes, a faithful friend of George, an honest and generous man who has long been passionately in love with Emilia, not daring to admit it even to himself. He persuades George, not alien to noble impulses, to marry Emilia against the will of his father. Needless to say, his father abandons George and disinherits him.

Both disgraced couples meet in Brussels, where the regiment of George and Dobbin is marching and General of the Guards Tafto arrives with Adjutant Rawdon Crowley. The regiment enthusiastically accepts Emilia, but her friend moves in a much more brilliant society. Wherever Rebecca appears, she is always surrounded by a crowd of noble admirers. George Osborne is one of them. Becky's coquetry and his own vanity drive him so far that at the ball he hands her a bouquet with a letter begging her to run away with him. (Of course, she never intended to do anything like that. She knows the price of George.) But on the same day, Napoleon's troops cross the Sambre, and George, full of unspoken remorse, says goodbye to his wife. He says goodbye, only to die in the Battle of Waterloo a few days later.

And Becky and Rodon spend three years in Paris after Waterloo. Rebecca is wildly successful, she is admitted to the highest society, the French are not as picky as the English. However, she is not going to stay in France for the rest of her life. The whole family (a son is born in Paris to Becky and Rawdon) returns to London, where the Crowleys live, as always, on credit, making promises to everyone and paying no one. Aunt Rawdon finally departs to another world, leaving almost all her fortune to her eldest nephew, married to the daughter of Lord Southdown Lady Jane, an honest and worthy woman. Sir Pitt soon dies, and the new baronet, feeling guilty towards his brother (after all, he would have got his aunt's money if he had not married a governess), considers it his duty to unite the family. And now Rebecca reappears in King's Crawley and again manages to charm everyone. What does she not have to do for this! Even feign love for her son, to whom she really does not have the slightest affection.

The subtle flattery of Rebecca captivates the newly-made baronet so much that he visits her house almost every day. Just as often there is the almighty Lord Stein, Becky's noble patron, the old cynic, with the help of which the former governess "scrambles and pushes forward." By what means she achieves this, no one can say anything definite, but Lord Stein gives her diamonds and puts his cellars at her disposal. Finally, an event occurs that puts Becky on a par with respectable ladies, she is presented to the court. She enters the highest circles of London light and is convinced that the powers that be are no different from the "Smiths and Joneses." When the first enthusiasm passes, Becky becomes bored. And her husband every day feels more and more alone among " intrigues, aristocratic gatherings and brilliant characters" and becomes more and more attached to his son.

Becky's glittering walk through Vanity Fair ends in disaster. Rawdon convicts her, if not of treason, then of betrayal, tries to challenge Lord Stein to a duel and eventually leaves England to take the post of governor of Coventry Island (procured for him by the same Lord Stein). Rebecca disappears, and Rawdon Crowley Jr. remains in the care of his uncle and his wife, who replaces his mother.

And what about Emilia? The death of her husband almost cost her her life, she was saved only by the birth of her son, whom she idolizes, as she idolized her husband. For a long time she lives with her parents, endures poverty and deprivation, and finds comfort in little Georgie. But old John Osborne, struck by the resemblance of his grandson to his dead son, offers to take the boy and raise him as a gentleman. Poor Emilia parted with her son for his good, and after the death of her mother finds consolation in brightening up the last days of her old father. But just at the time when Rebecca suffers a crushing collapse, fortune turns to face Emilia. Major Dobbin returns from India with her brother Joseph, who swears that from now on his family will not know the need. How the Major's devoted heart stops when he approaches the house where Mrs. Osborne lives, what happiness seizes him when he learns that she is not married. In fact, he doesn't really have much to hope for. Emilia still does not seem to notice Dobbin's selfless, devoted love, still does not see his outstanding virtues. She remains faithful to her husband's memory, leaving Dobbin to "look and languish" with all the cruelty of virtue. Soon John Sedley dies, followed by John Osborne. He leaves little Georgie half of the fortune and restores the widow of his "beloved son" in guardianship. Emilia learns that she owes this to Dobbin, learns that he was the unknown benefactor who supported her in her years of need. But "for this incomparable devotion, she can only pay with gratitude" ...

On the banks of the Rhine, in a small duchy, two "girlfriends" meet again. Emilia travels abroad with her son, brother, and Dobbin, and Rebecca has long been fluttering around Europe, squandering in card games and dubious adventures the content assigned to her by her husband, and everywhere her compatriots from decent society shy away from her as from the plague. But then she sees Joseph Sedley, and hope awakens in her soul. The poor, slandered sufferer, who was deprived of her honest name and beloved child, as in former times, easily fools the fat dandy and Emilia around her finger, who, apparently, have not wised up in the least and have not learned anything. Dobbin, always disgusted with Becky, quarrels with Emilia over her, and for the first time in his life reproaches her for not appreciating "an affection which a more exalted soul would proudly share." He decides to part with Emilia forever. And then Becky, filled with admiration for Dobbin and "contemptuous pity" for Emilia, performs the only selfless act in her life. She shows Emilia George's letter proving his infidelity. The idol is defeated. Emilia is free and can respond to Dobbin's feelings.

The story is coming to an end. Dobbin connects with Emilia, they lead a quiet life in a comfortable home of their own and are friends with the inhabitants of King's Crawley. Joseph drags out the miserable life of Rebecca's slave until the end of his days. He dies under "unclarified circumstances". Dies of yellow fever and Rawdon Crawley Sr. His son, after the death of his uncle, inherits the title and estate. He does not want to see his mother, but assigns her a generous allowance, although she is already sufficiently well off. Rebecca has many friends who consider her unfairly offended. She lives in a big way and diligently does charity work. That's all. Is Rebecca happy? Are Amelia and Dobbin happy? And who among us is happy in this world?

I. A. Moskvina-Tarkhanova

History of Henry Esmond, Esq., Colonel in HM Queen Anne's Service, written by himself.

(The History of Henry Esmond, esq. colonel in the service of Her Majesty queen Anne, written by himself)

Roman (1852)

The events take place in England at the very beginning of the XNUMXth century, during the reign of Queen Anne, the last of the Stuart dynasty. Anna has no children, and therefore, after her death, the throne should pass to representatives of another dynasty - the Hanoverian. However, the court party and military circles want to see the queen's brother, Charles Stuart, who is in exile in France, on the throne. Against this background, the life of the protagonist of the novel, Henry Esmond, a supporter of Stuart and a participant in the struggle for his accession to the throne, flows. The novel is written in the form of his memoirs.

Henry Esmond is the son (thought to be illegitimate) of the third Viscount Castlewood, he does not know his mother. After his father's death, he is raised by the fourth Viscount Castlewood, in whose castle he lives. The boy has a deep attachment to the owner and especially to the mistress, Lady Castlewood, who has two children - son Frank and daughter Beatrice. Infected with smallpox, Henry becomes the cause of the disease and Lady Castlewood, after which she loses her former beauty, but does not deprive Esmond of her favor. With her money, he goes to study at the university, then to devote himself to a spiritual career. Arriving at the estate for a vacation before taking the clergy, Henry meets Lord Mohan there, to whom Lord Castlewood lost a large sum of money at cards. Mohan feels like the master of the house and tries to seduce Lady Castlewood. Having repaid the debt, Lord Castlewood challenges Mohan to a duel, of which Henry Esmond becomes a witness and accomplice. The mortally wounded Lord Castlewood reveals to him a secret: Esmond is the legal heir to his father and all his titles, for he was legally married to his mother, whom he then abandoned. She, having given the child to be raised by relatives, went to the monastery. It happened in Brussels, from where the boy was later transported to England, where he met his father. However, Henry Esmond decides to waive his rights in favor of Lady Castlewood and her children. Unaware of this, Lady Castlewood, having learned that Henry participated in a duel and did not save her husband from death, drives him out of the house.

Esmond joins the army and takes part in the War of the Spanish Succession. The general course of history interferes with the private life of the hero, who is drawn into the maelstrom of events of the broadest social scale. A brave and disinterested young man, capable of noble deeds, he sees not only the front side of the war, described on the pages of the court chronicle and official historiography, where only the deeds and exploits of kings and generals are praised. He sees the other side: burning estates, devastated fields, weeping over the corpses of fathers and sons of women, "a drunken revelry of soldiers among tears, violence and death." “I was ashamed of my craft when I saw these atrocities,” Henry Esmond later tells about the war to Joseph Addison, a writer, poet and journalist, a prominent representative of the literature of the early English Enlightenment, who appears in the novel and tries to sing the victories of English weapons. His fellow writer Richard Style becomes a close friend of Esmond.

The novel debunks the "great" commander, the commander-in-chief of the English army, the Duke of Marlborough, depicted as a soulless and prudent careerist, thirsting for wealth and glory at any cost. For him, war is "a game no more exciting than billiards" and he sends whole squadrons to their deaths, as if putting a ball in a pocket. For the sake of profit, he even conspires with the enemy - the French, and his fame was bought with the blood of thousands of soldiers and officers whom he despises, cheats in salaries and insults. Showered with titles and honors, he skimps on the praise of his comrades in arms. "Aren't we fighting so that he can drown in wealth?" - they talk about him in the army. The "wrong side" of his fame is corruption and venality. In the history of Thackeray, the reverse side of great events was interesting, because behind the external brilliance the novelist wanted to see what it brings to its thousands of unknown participants, like Henry Esmond.

Finding himself in Brussels during the war, the hero finds the grave of his mother, who ended her days in a monastery. Returning to London, he reconciles with Lady Castlewood, who now knows his secret. Her daughter Beatrice has become a beauty during this time, she shines at the court of the queen and many times she could already make a brilliant party. But she, unlike her mother, is too picky and conceited, she needs a titled hero, like Marlborough, the commander-in-chief, and not a colonel, which is Esmond. He falls in love with Beatrice, but realizes that he has no chance. Finally, when they began to look at Beatrice as an old maid, she chooses a very titled fiancé - the Duke of Hamilton, who was awarded the highest Scottish award - the Order of the Thistle and the highest English - the Order of the Garter. However, fate cruelly laughed at Beatrice. Just before the wedding, Duke Hamilton dies in a duel at the hands of Lord Mohan, her father's murderer. History intervenes in private life again: Hamilton was a supporter of the House of Stuart and desired the return of the exiled king. The party of supporters of the Hanoverian dynasty was interested in his death. King Charles, who lives in France under the name Chevalier de Saint-Georges, constantly weaves intrigues in order to return to his homeland and seize power. His addiction to alcoholic beverages and a dissolute lifestyle are well known, so that not everyone in England believes that he will be a great asset for his homeland. However, it is to him that Esmond turns with his cunning plan in the last hope in this way to win the heart of Beatrice, who dreams of restoring the power of the Stuarts. Trying to change the course of history, the hero seeks to find happiness in private life.

Esmond's plan is based on the outward resemblance of the young king to Lady Castlewood's son Frank, who lives in Brussels and is going to visit his mother in England. The king must use the passport of the young Viscount Castlewood and reach England under his name, and then be in the house of Lady Castlewood in the guise of her son until a certain moment when his appearance should stun friend and foe alike, so that the latter do not have time to rally to fight back. And so it happens. However, when she sees the king up close, in her house, Lady Castlewood realizes that the hero, whom she reveres, is "just a man, and not the best." He begins to drag after Beatrice and behaves extremely carelessly. Beatrice is sent to the village, and he rushes after her, forgetting everything, and misses his chance in history. The queen dies, a new Lord Treasurer is appointed who is sympathetic to Charles, the troops are ready to swear allegiance to him, and the color of the British nobility is ready to accompany him to the palace, but the pretender is not in London. He sighs under the window of Beatrice, who in a letter herself hinted to him where to find her, not realizing that with her frivolity she is destroying the plans of the conspirators. Carried away by a skirt, Charles loses his crown - George, a representative of the Hanoverian dynasty, ascends the throne.

Disillusioned with the king and the entire Stuart family, for whose sake Esmond's ancestors were ruined and shed blood, Henry also refuses Beatrice, realizing all her emptiness and vanity. He no longer wants to live in England and leaves for America with Lady Castlewood, in marriage with whom he finds solace in his declining years.

A. I. Shishkin

Newcombs. Lives of a Very Respectable Family, by Arthur Pendennis, Esq.

(The Newcomes. Memoirsofa Most Respectable Family)

Roman (1855)

In the "Overture", which is a prologue to the story, representatives of English society are compared with the heroes of fables, who are as old as the world - cowards and braggarts, offenders and their victims, rogues and dupes. Good and evil are mixed, and the poor man is not necessarily honest, and the rich man is cruel, the rogue deceives, but an honest person "does not remain at a loss." It's always been that way, and it's been that way in the 30s. XNUMXth century in London, where the action of the novel takes place.

The story is told on behalf of the writer Arthur Pendennis, a senior fellow at the London school of the Gray Monks of the protagonist Clive Newcome. Pendennis is going to offer the reader a story where ravens come out in peacock feathers and are ridiculed by peacocks for it. After years apart, Pendennis and Clive meet by chance at the Musical Cave. With Clive is his father, Colonel Newcome, who lived for a long time in India. Clive was born there, but his mother died, and the boy, who could hardly endure the harsh climate, was sent to England under the care of relatives. The reader gets acquainted with them throughout many pages of the novel. Among them there are all sorts of people: good and bad, rich and poor. However, the narrator urges readers not to be angry with the half-brothers of Colonel Brian and Hobson Newcombe for the fact that they previously neglected their Indian relative and did not respect him very much. Aish when he was widowed, when his exploits on the battlefield were written in the newspapers and he became rich, then the banker brothers will finally recognize him. Little Clive is invited to visit and is given money and sweets. So the Newcomes, the narrator notes, follow the generally accepted law of singing the praises of the successful and, like an infection, shunning the loser.

The relatives of the late wife of the colonel are depicted in a different light: they are modest, not rich, cordial people. Such is Aunt Honeyman, who lives in the resort town of Brighton and rents out rooms to guests. Such is old Miss Mason, the Colonel's nanny and relative, now living in retirement in her hometown of Newcomb. Known in London is Mr. Honeyman, rector of Lady Whittlesey's chapel. From his sermons, not only the parishioners of the chapel, who send him embroidered slippers and fruits, are crazy. At the foot of his pulpit sit members of parliament and even ministers. But Honeyman is not so simple and "knocks out" a thousand pounds a year from his chapel, not counting the money from renting church cellars for cellars - it's nice to know that "under you are not coffins, but barrels of wine."

By the time his father returns from India, Clive is already a handsome young man. He is shown to be able to draw, and Colonel Newcomb takes him out of the Gray Monks School and sends him to study painting. Later, Clive will remember this time as the happiest in his life. True, relatives believe that the son of the colonel should choose a more solid occupation. However, the colonel himself, an honest, direct and independent man, believes that any occupation is appropriate for a gentleman, if it is not dishonorable. Colonel Newcomb dreams that his son will marry the daughter of banker Brian Newcome Ethel and then his life will be arranged. Clive himself paints portraits of Ethel and praises her beauty. However, her maternal grandmother, Lady Q, a sinister old woman who influences all the affairs of the Newcome family, does not favor Clive and the colonel. Cousin Clive Barnes spreads rumors that he drinks, plays dice. And although the rest of the relatives agree that Clive is a modest, courageous and sweet young man, Ethel begins to believe these rumors and prays to God to guide Clive on the right path. He also leads a normal life for his age - he receives friends, talks with them about literature, carried away by historical painting, goes to Paris and in a letter to Pendennis admires the paintings of the Louvre.

Together with the colonel in his house in London lives his old friend from India, Mr. Binnie. When he broke his leg, his sister Mrs Mackenzie and her daughter Rosie came from Scotland to look after him. Surprisingly pleasant and beautiful ladies bring animation to the colonel's house, although Clive has to move because of them to his studio on the other street.

The calm and unhurried narrative takes a dramatic turn. First, fortune betrays Mr. Honeyman - he has rivals and "leads the lambs into their sheepfolds", beats off the flock. The preacher gets into debt and ends up in a prison house, from where he is rescued by Colonel Newcome, who is also not doing well. He sells his horses and is going back to India to finish his term in the army and then, having received a good pension, return to England forever. The colonel is a noble and simple-hearted gentleman who in life is guided primarily by feelings of duty and honor. Love, duty, family, religion - all these problems are very interesting for the narrator. However, the understanding of, for example, debt is different for the characters in the novel. Old Lady Q believes that it is her duty to her loved ones to help them advance in the world. The colonel believes that relatives should be helped in every possible way, surrounded by care, instructed with a kind word.

Clive is heading to Italy. Along the way, in Germany, he meets Brian Newcomb's family - Aunt Anna, Ethel, children who have come here for the summer. He goes with them to Baden-Baden, where he gets acquainted with the life of the great world, which is insidious and cruel. All the Newcomes gather here - "our Congress of Baden," as Ethel says. She is still beautiful and charming and knows that young girls are sold as Turkish women, "they are waiting for a buyer to come for them." Ethel is engaged to the young Lord Q - Clive winces at the news. Q is no longer the rake he used to be. Now he is a highly moral decent person. He helps to settle scandals at the resort, but he himself becomes a victim of such a scandal. Ethel, wanting to prove her resolute and firm character, behaves at a ball in Baden-Baden like a "desperate and reckless coquette", entices gentlemen of the socialite Duchess D'Ivry. The same does not miss the moment to take revenge. As a result, one of the Duchess' suitors challenges Lord Q to a duel and seriously injures him. Ethel's engagement to Q falls apart. Clive is heading to Italy to paint. Art is truth, the narrator notes, and truth is a sacred thing and any service to it is like a daily feat in the name of faith.

Ethel, encouraged by her grandmother, flutters from ball to ball, from reception to reception, leaving Clive no hope of reciprocity. She is chasing through Scotland and Europe for a profitable groom, Lord Farintosh. But, when he still manages to be caught in the net, the engagement is again upset due to a scandal in the Barnes Newcome family. His wife runs away from him, over whom he mocked and even beat.

An aged Colonel Thomas Vyukom returns from India. He became rich, became a shareholder and one of the directors of the Bundelkund Indian Bank and is trying to arrange the happiness of his son Clive with the help of Barnes Newcomb. He mercilessly deceives him, only giving hope for success. The Colonel is smitten with Barnes's meanness, their feud erupts into an open fight during parliamentary elections in their hometown of Newcomb. Barnes, booed and almost beaten by a crowd of voters who knew about the sins of his youth, suffers a decisive defeat. But the colonel fails to enjoy the fruits of his victory. The Bundelkund Indian Bank fails, not without the help of the Newcombe banking house. "An outrageous and artful swindle," one of the many fraudulent enterprises that flourish at the expense of simpletons, the narrator writes about it.

Clive, heeding his father's persuasion, marries Rosie Mackenzie, but this does not bring him happiness. In addition, the life of the whole family is poisoned by the vicious and greedy Mrs. Mackenzie, who, by the grace of the colonel, lost a lot of money during the collapse of the bank. Now Clive is poor and forced to sell his work to small booksellers. He is depressed and gloomy, although his artist friends try to help him. Rosie dies after giving birth, and the Colonel finds his last refuge in the almshouse at the Gray Monks' school. He once studied here, and his son passed science here. The story reaches its climax in the last pages of the novel, when already on his deathbed "this man with an infant soul heard the call and appeared before his Creator." Among the relatives around him is Ethel. In the papers of her paternal grandmother, she finds a letter in which she refused the colonel six thousand pounds. This saves Clive and his young son from complete poverty. Ethel herself is reborn under the influence of all the troubles that have fallen on her family (her father and grandmother are dying). She is greatly influenced by Pendennis's wife Laura, a model of family virtue, a strong, independent and highly moral woman. Ethel takes care of the Barnes children abandoned by her mother and does charity work.

At the end of the novel, the author appears on the stage and talks about the fate of the characters: Ethel, perhaps, will unite with Clive, and they will raise his son together; Barnes Newcomb marries again and falls into bondage to his new wife, Mrs. Mackenzie does not have the audacity to take money from Clive, and she will leave them to little Tommy ...

The author is against the division of characters into "clean" and "impure", villains and saints. Everyone has both, and the author gradually reveals that Clive, deprived of vile practicality and the spirit of profit, is a spineless and faceless hero, and Ethel is not only a proud and suffering beauty, but also a weak, conceited creature, a voluntary victim of prejudice. The noble colonel, conquering with generosity, moral purity and disinterestedness, turns out to be a Don Quixote with the naivety of a child, whose blindness and self-confidence (it is enough to recall his fate in banking affairs) are “redeemed” only by a tragic ending, returning this image to its original loftiness and touching. “It’s hard to even imagine,” writes Thackeray, “how many different reasons each of our actions or passions determines; how often, analyzing my motives, I took one for another and, having thought up many glorious, worthy and lofty reasons for my action, began to be proud of myself. ... So throw off your peacock plumage! Walk the way Nature created you, and thank Heaven that your feathers are not too black. "

A. I. Shishkin

(The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club)

Roman (1837)

On May 12, 1827, at a meeting of the Pickwick Club, on a report by Samuel Pickwick, Esq., entitled "Reflections on the Origins of Hampstead Ponds, with the Addition of Some Observations on the Theory of the Stickleback", a new department was established called the Corresponding Society of the Pickwick Club, consisting of: Samuel Pickwick, Tracey Tupman, Augustus Snodgrass and Nathaniel Winkle. The purpose of the creation of the society is to push the boundaries of Mr. Pickwick's travels, thereby expanding the scope of his observations, which will inevitably lead to the progress of science; members of the society are required to submit to the Pickwick Club reliable accounts of their research, observations of people and customs, paying their own travel expenses and postage.

Mr. Pickwick worked tirelessly all his life, increasing his fortune, and retired, devoted himself to the Pickwick Club. He was the guardian of Mr. Snodgrass, a young man with a poetic bent. Mr. Winkle, also a young man from Birmingham, sent to London by his father for a year of experience, had a reputation as an athlete; and Mr. Tupman, a gentleman of respectable age and size, retained, despite his years, youthful ardor and predilection for the fair sex.

The next morning, the Correspondent Society sets out on its first journey, and the adventure begins immediately, back in London. Conscientiously entering his observations in a notebook, Mr. Pickwick was mistaken for a spy, and the coachman decided to beat him and his friends who had joined him. The coachman has already begun to carry out his intention - the Pickwickians are saved by a not too well-dressed, but very self-confident and talkative gentleman, who turned out to be their companion.

Together they drive to Rochester, and as a sign of gratitude, friends invite him to dinner. The dinner was accompanied by such copious libations that for the three Pickwickians it gradually and imperceptibly flowed into a dream, and Mr. Tupman and the guest went to the ball taking place here in the hotel, and the guest borrowed the coat of Mr. Winkle, who had fallen asleep. At the ball they were so successful that they aroused the jealousy of the regimental doctor, who had serious plans for a certain widow, who very willingly danced with them; as a result, the regimental doctor considered himself offended, and the next morning Mr. Winkle was woken up by his second (the guest did not tell the doctor or the Pickwickians his name, so the jealous man was looking for the owner of the tailcoat). Winkle, unable to remember the events of last night, accepts the challenge. He is horrified, because, despite the reputation of an athlete, he does not know how to shoot at all. Fortunately, at the fatal line, it turns out that the doctor is not thirsting for his blood at all, and the matter ends with the decision to drink a glass of wine together. In the evening at the hotel, the duelists find those they need: Tupman and a guest of the Pickwickists, who turns out to be the itinerant actor Alfred Jingle. Having not received satisfaction, they leave - a duel with an actor is impossible!

There are military maneuvers in Rochester, an event that Pickwickians cannot miss. In the course of the maneuvers, the wind has blown off Mr. Pickwick's hat, and, catching up with it, he collides with Mr. Wardle's carriage. While in London, Mr. Wardle attended several meetings of the Pickwick Club and remembered his friends; he cordially invites them to the carriage, and then to his estate Menor Farm - to stay.

Mr Wardle's family consists of his mother, his unmarried sister Miss Rachel, and his two young daughters Emily and Isabella. The house is full of numerous guests and household members. This hospitable family carries the spirit of good old England. The guests are entertained by shooting at crows, and Mr. Winkle, who had previously shown unfamiliarity with equestrian sports, confirmed his complete inability to shoot, wounding Mr. Tupman. Miss Rachel tends to the wounded; love flares up. But at a cricket match at Muggleton, which Mr. Wardle and the Pickwickians decide to attend, they meet Jingle again. After the match and copious libations, he accompanies them home, charms the entire female half of Menor Farm, seeks an invitation to visit and, eavesdropping and peeping, begins to weave an intrigue with the goal of either marrying Miss Ray-chel and taking possession of her fortune, or getting a compensation. Having borrowed money from Tupman, he persuades the old maid to flee to London; her brother and the Pickwickians give chase and catch up with the fugitives at the last minute: the marriage license has already been obtained. For a hundred and twenty pounds, Jingle easily refuses Miss Rachel and thus becomes Mr. Pickwick's personal enemy.

Returning to London, Mr. Pickwick wants to hire a servant: he liked the wit and quick wit of the bellboy from the hotel where they found Miss Rachel. When he spoke of this to his landlady, Mrs. Bardle, she for some reason thought that Mr. Pickwick was proposing to her, and, answering her consent, immediately embraced him. This scene was caught by the Pickwickians who arrived in time, and Mrs. Bardle's little son, who immediately roared and rushed to butt and pinch the gentleman. Mr. Pickwick hires a servant that same evening, but at the same time is the defendant in a case of violation of a marriage promise, the damage from which Mrs. Bardle estimated at fifteen hundred pounds.

Unaware of the clouds gathering over his head, he and his friends go to Etonsville to observe the election campaign and the mayoral elections, and there, being invited to a fancy-dress breakfast by Mrs. Leo Hunter, the creator of Ode to a Breathing Frog, meets Jingle. He, seeing the Pickwickists, hides, and Mr. Pickwick and his servant Sam Weller are looking for him to expose him. Sam meets Jingle's servant (or friend acting as a servant) Job Trotter and learns from him that Jingle is preparing to kidnap a certain young lady from the boarding house and secretly marry her. You can expose him only by finding him at the scene of the crime - and Mr. Pickwick spends the night in the garden of the boarding house in the pouring rain, fruitlessly waiting for the crooks to come for the lady. Of course, he did not expect anything but rheumatism and an extremely embarrassing situation that arose when he knocked on the door of the boarding house in the middle of the night. Jingle laughed at him again! It’s good that Mr. Wardle, who came to these parts to hunt, with his future son-in-law, Mr. Trundle, certifies his identity and explains the misunderstanding to the hostess of the boarding house!

The Pickwickians also receive an invitation to hunt, and then to the wedding of Trundle and Wardle's daughter Isabella, which will take place at Christmas time at Menor Farm. The hunt ended for Mr. Pickwick by waking up in the cattle-shed of the landowner next door. All day long Sam drove him, suffering from rheumatism, in a wheelbarrow, and after a picnic, he, having paid tribute to the cold punch, was left to sleep right in the wheelbarrow under a picturesque oak that grew on the neighbor’s territory, and slept so sweetly that he did not notice how he moved.

From Sam's father, a coachman, Mr. Pickwick learns that he was taking Jingle and Trotter to Ipswich, and they cheerfully recalled "how they treated the old firecracker" - that's what they called Mr. Pickwick, of course. Hungry for revenge, Mr. Pickwick and Sam travel to Ipswich. The hotel where they stayed is vast and neglected, its corridors are intricate, and the rooms are like two drops of water similar to each other - and, having lost his way, Mr. Pickwick finds himself in the room of a lady in yellow hairpins in the middle of the night. This circumstance almost played a fatal role for him, for the gentleman who proposed to her the next morning was jealous, and the lady, fearing a duel, rushed to the judge with a request to preventively arrest Mr. Pickwick - but, fortunately, the situation is saved by Sam, who is just as passionately wants to take revenge on Trotter, like his master - Jingle. Sam managed to find out that Jingle, under the name of Captain Fitz-Marshall, was "processing" the judge's family; Mr. Pickwick warns the Judge where they can meet the traveling actor face to face in the evening. Sam is in the kitchen waiting for Trotter, who, just as his master seduces the judge's daughter, is busy with the cook who has accumulated some money. It is here that Sam meets the maid Mary and finds great perfection in her. In the evening, Jingle and Trotter are exposed, Mr. Pickwick angrily throws the words "scoundrel" and "swindler" in their faces.

In the meantime Christmas time had come, and the friends went to Mr. Wardle's. The feast was so successful that Mr. Pickwick exchanged his invariable spats for silk stockings, and took part in dancing, and also in riding on an icy path, which ended for him in a bath in an ice-hole; Mr. Winkle found his love - Miss Arabella Ellen was a bridesmaid; and the whole society made the acquaintance of two medical students, one of whom was Miss Ellen's brother.

The day came for Mr. Pickwick's trial for breach of marriage. Mrs. Bardle was defended by Dodson and Fogg, Mr. Pickwick by Perkins. Although it was clear that everything was sewn with white thread, and these threads stick out, Mr. Pickwick disastrously loses the process: Dodson and Fogg know their business. They are so sure of themselves that they offered Mrs. Bardle to take the case at her own risk and not demand payment of legal costs if they could not get anything out of Mr. Pickwick, as Mr. Pickwick's servant Sam allegedly told the hall, called by a witness. The case was decided in favor of the plaintiff. However, not wishing to condone injustice, Mr. Pickwick bluntly refused to pay legal costs, preferring debtors' prison. And before you get into it, he invites his friends to make a trip to Bath, to the waters.

In Bath, Mr. Winkle becomes the victim of a ridiculous misunderstanding, as a result of which, fearing a duel, he flees to Bristol and there he accidentally discovers former medical students, now practicing doctors, one of whom is the brother of his beloved, and the other is his rival. From them he learns that his Arabella lives with her aunt in the same city. Mr. Pickwick wants to bring Winkle back to Bath with Sam's help, but instead travels to Bristol himself and helps winkle and Arabella's rendezvous. And Sam in the next house finds his Mary.

On his return to London, Mr. Pickwick is escorted to the debtor's prison. What scope for observing people and customs! And Mr. Pickwick listens and records numerous court and prison histories, as he used to collect and record the stories of the itinerant actor, the priest of Dingley Dell, the merchant, the coachman, his servant Sam; legends about Prince Bladed and about how underground spirits kidnapped the sexton ... However, the conclusion he comes to is disappointing: "My head hurts from these scenes, and my heart also hurts."

In prison, Mr. Pickwick meets Jingle and Trotter, ragged, emaciated and hungry. Shaking them with generosity, he gives them money. But Mr. Pickwick himself was shocked by the generosity of his servant, who went to prison so as not to part with him.

Meanwhile, without extracting anything from Mr. Pickwick, the cunning Dodson and Fogg forced Mrs. Bardle to make an "empty formality": to sign a promissory note for the amount of the costs of the lawsuit. So Mrs. Bardle ended up in Fleet too. Sam and Pickwick's solicitor Perker took affidavits from her to the effect that from the very beginning the case had been concocted, exaggerated, and carried out by Dodson and Fogg, and that she deeply regretted the trouble and slander that had been caused to Mr. Pickwick. All that remained was to persuade Mr. Pickwick to make the generous gesture of paying his own and Mrs. Bardle's legal fees, and the prison could be left. The newlyweds, Mr. Winkle and Arabella, help to persuade him, who beg him to be their ambassador to both Arabella's brother and Winkle's father in order to announce their marriage and receive a belated blessing.

Mr. Picnic also makes a deposit for Jingle and Trotter, who, with his help, go to America and start a new life there.

After all these adventures, Mr. Pickwick closes the Pickwick Club and retires, renting a house in a quiet and picturesque suburb of London, where he settles with a faithful servant Sam, a maid Mary (two years later Sam and Mary got married), and the ceremony “consecrated” this house the wedding of Mr. Snodgrass and Emilia, daughter of Mr. Wardle.

G. Yu. Shulga

(The Adventures of Oliver Twist)

Roman (1838)

Oliver Twist was born in the workhouse. His mother had only one glance at him and died; until the age of nine, the boy did not manage to find out who his parents were.

Not a single kind word, not a single kind look once illuminated his dull infancy, he knew only hunger, beatings, bullying and deprivation. From the workhouse, Oliver is apprenticed to an undertaker; there he runs into Noah's orphanage boy Claypole, who, being older and stronger, constantly humiliates Oliver. He resignedly demolishes everything, until one day Noe spoke badly about his mother - Oliver could not bear this and beat off a stronger and stronger, but cowardly offender. He is severely punished and runs from the undertaker.

Seeing the road sign "London", Oliver heads there. He spends the night in haystacks, suffers from hunger, cold and fatigue. On the seventh day after the escape in the town of Barnet, Oliver meets a ragamuffin of his age, who introduced himself as Jack Dawkins, nicknamed the Artful Dodger, fed him and promised him an overnight stay and patronage in London. The dexterous Dodger led Oliver to a buyer of stolen goods, the godfather of London thieves and swindlers, the Jew Fagin - it was his patronage that was meant. Fagin promises to teach Oliver the trade and give him a job, but for now the boy spends many days ripping marks from handkerchiefs that young thieves bring to Fagin. When he first goes "to work" and sees with his own eyes how his mentors the Artful Dodger and Charlie Bates pull a handkerchief out of a gentleman's pocket, he runs in horror, they grab him like a thief and drag him to the judge. Fortunately, the gentleman drops the suit and, full of sympathy for the hunted child, takes him to his place. Oliver has been ill for a long time, Mr. Brownlow and his housekeeper, Mrs. Bedwin, nurse him, marveling at his resemblance to the portrait of a beautiful young woman that hangs in the living room. Mr. Brownlow wants to adopt Oliver.

However, Fagin, fearful that Oliver will lead the law on his trail, tracks down and kidnaps him. He strives at all costs to make a thief out of Oliver and to achieve the complete submission of the boy. In order to rob the house looked after by Fagin, where he is very attracted to silverware, the performer of this action, Bill Sykes, who recently returned from prison, needs a "lean boy" who, being thrust through the window, would open the door to the robbers. The choice falls on Oliver.

Oliver is determined to raise the alarm in the house as soon as he is there, so as not to participate in the crime. But he did not have time: the house was guarded, and the boy, half pushed through the window, was immediately wounded in the arm. Saike pulls him out, bleeding, and carries him away, but, hearing the chase, throws him into a ditch, not knowing for sure whether he is alive or dead. Waking up, Oliver wanders to the porch of the house; its occupants Mrs. Maylie and her niece Roz put him to bed and call a doctor, abandoning the idea of ​​handing over the poor child to the police.

Meanwhile, in the workhouse where Oliver was born, a poor old woman dies, who at one time looked after his mother, and when she died, robbed her. Old Sally calls the warden Mrs. Corney and repents of having stolen the golden thing that the young woman asked her to keep, because this thing, perhaps, will make people treat her child better. Without finishing, old Sally died, giving Mrs. Corney a mortgage receipt.

Fagin is very concerned about Sikes' absence and about Oliver's fate. Having lost control of himself, he inadvertently shouts in the presence of Nancy, Sikes' girlfriend, that Oliver is worth hundreds of pounds, and mentions some kind of will. Nancy, pretending to be drunk, lulls his vigilance, sneaks after him and eavesdrops on his conversation with the mysterious stranger Monks. It turns out that Fagin stubbornly turns Oliver into a thief by order of a stranger, and he is very afraid that Oliver will be killed and the thread will lead to him - he needs the boy to become a thief without fail. Fagin promises to find Oliver and deliver to Monks - dead or alive.

Oliver slowly recovers at the home of Mrs. Maylie and Rose, surrounded by the sympathy and care of these ladies and their family doctor, Dr. Losbern. He honestly tells them his story. alas, it is not confirmed by anything! When, at the request of the boy, the doctor goes with him to pay a visit to Dr. Brownlow, it turns out that he, having rented the house, went to the West Indies; when Oliver recognizes the house by the road, where Sikes took him before the robbery, Dr. Losbern discovers that the description of the rooms and the owner do not match ... But this does not make Oliver worse. With the arrival of spring, both ladies move to rest in the village and take the boy with them. There, he once encounters a hideous-looking stranger who curses him and rolls on the ground in a fit. Oliver does not attach importance to this meeting, considering him crazy. But after a while the stranger's face next to Fagin's face seems to him in the window. At the cry of the boy, the household fled, but the search did not yield any results.

Monks, meanwhile, is wasting no time. In the town where Oliver was born, he finds the owner of the secret of old Sally, Mrs. Creakle - by this time she had managed to get married and become Mrs. Bumble. For twenty-five pounds, Monks buys from her a small purse which old Sally took from the body of Oliver's mother. In the purse lay a gold medallion, and in it were two curls and a wedding ring; the inside of the locket was engraved with the name "Agnes", leaving room for the surname and the date, about a year before Oliver's birth. Monks tosses this purse with all its contents into the stream, where it can no longer be found. When he returns, he tells Fagin about this, and Nancy overhears them again. Shocked by what she had heard, and tormented by her conscience at having helped bring Oliver back to Fagin by tricking him away from Mr. Brownlow, she, after sedating Sikes with opium, goes to where Lady Maylie was staying, and tells Rose everything she overheard: what if Oliver is captured again , then Fagin will receive a certain amount, which will increase many times over if Fagin makes a thief out of him, that the only evidence that establishes the identity of the boy lies at the bottom of the river, that although Monks got Oliver's money, it would have been better to get it in another way - drag the boy through all the city prisons and hang him on the gallows; while Monks called Oliver his brother and was glad that he was at the Lady Maylie's, for they would give many hundreds of pounds to find out Oliver's origins. Nancy asks not to extradite her, refuses to accept money or any help, and returns to Sikes, promising to walk along London Bridge every Sunday at eleven.

Roz is looking for someone to ask for advice. A lucky chance helps: Oliver saw Mr. Brownlow on the street and found out his address. They immediately go to Mr. Brownlow. After listening to Rose, he decides to dedicate to the essence of the matter also Dr. Losbern, and then his friend Mr. Grimwig and the son of Mrs. Mailey Harry (Rose and Harry have long been in love with each other, but Rose does not say yes to him, fearing to damage his reputation and career with his dubious origin - she is the adopted niece of Mrs Maylie). After discussing the situation, the council decides to wait until Sunday to ask Nancy to show them Monks, or at least describe his appearance in detail.

They waited for Nancy only the next Sunday: for the first time, Sikes did not let her out of the house. At the same time, Fagin, seeing the girl’s insistent desire to leave, suspected something was wrong and ordered Noe Claypole to follow her, who by this time, having robbed his master, the undertaker, fled to London and fell into the clutches of Fagin. Fagin, hearing Noah's report, went berserk: he thought Nancy had just got herself a new boyfriend, but the matter turned out to be much more serious. Deciding to punish the girl with someone else's hands, he tells Sikes that Nancy betrayed everyone, of course, without specifying that she only spoke about Monks and gave up money and hope for an honest life in order to return to Sikes. He calculated correctly: Saike was furious. But he underestimated the power of this rage: Bill Sikes brutally killed Nancy.

Meanwhile, Mr. Brownlow does not waste time: he conducts his own investigation. After receiving a description of Monks from Nancy, he reconstructs the full picture of a drama that began many years ago. The father of Edwin Lyford (Monks real name) and Oliver was an old friend of Mr. Brownlow. He was unhappy in marriage, his son showed vicious inclinations from an early age - and he broke up with his first family. He fell in love with young Agnes Fleming, with whom he was happy, but business called him abroad. In Rome he fell ill and died. His wife and son, fearing to lose their inheritance, also came to Rome. Among the papers they found an envelope addressed to Mr. Brownlow, containing a letter for Agnes and a will. In the letter, he begged to forgive him and to wear a medallion and a ring as a sign of this. In his will he allotted eight hundred pounds each to his wife and eldest son, and left the rest of the property to Agnes Fleming and the child, if he was born alive and reached the age of majority, and the girl inherited the money unconditionally, and the boy only on condition that he did not stain his name with any dishonorable act. Monks' mother burned this will, but kept the letter in order to disgrace Agnes's family. After her visit, under the yoke of shame, the girl's father changed his surname and fled with both daughters (the second was just a baby) to the most remote corner of Wales. Soon he was found dead in bed - Agnes had left the house, he could not find her, he thought that she had committed suicide, and his heart broke. The younger sister Agnes was first taken up by the peasants, and then she became the adoptive niece of Mrs. Maylie - it was Roz.

At the age of eighteen, Monks ran away from his mother by robbing her, and there was no such sin that he would not indulge in. But before her death, she found him and told this secret. Monks drew up and began to carry out his diabolical plan, which Nancy prevented at the cost of her life.

Presenting irrefutable evidence, Mr. Brownlow forces Monks to carry out the will of his father and leave England.

So Oliver found an aunt, Rose resolved her doubts about her origins and finally said yes to Harry, who preferred the life of a country priest to a brilliant career, and the Mayley family and Dr. Losbern became close friends with Mr. Grimwig and Mr. Brownlow, who adopted Oliver.

Bill Sykes died, tormented by a bad conscience, he did not have time to arrest; and Fagin was arrested and executed.

G. Yu. Shulga

(Dealing with the Firm of Dombey and Son)

Roman (1848)

The action takes place in the middle of the XNUMXth century. On one of the ordinary London evenings in the life of Mr. Dombey, the greatest event occurs - his son is born. From now on, his company (one of the largest in the City!), in the management of which he sees the meaning of his life, will again be not only in name, but in fact "Dombey and Son." After all, Mr. Dombey had no offspring before that, except for the six-year-old daughter Florence. Mr Dombey is happy. He accepts congratulations from his sister, Mrs. Chick, and her friend, Miss Tox. But along with joy, grief also came to the house - Mrs. Dombey could not bear childbirth and died, hugging Florence. On the recommendation of Miss Tox, the nurse Paulie Toodle is taken into the house. She sincerely sympathizes with Florence forgotten by her father and, in order to spend more time with the girl, makes friends with her governess Susan Nipper, and also convinces Mr. Dombey that it is useful for the baby to spend more time with his sister.

Meanwhile, the old ship's toolmaker Solomon Giles and his friend Captain Cuttle are celebrating the start of work for Giles' nephew Walter Gay at Dombey and Son. They joke that someday he will marry the owner's daughter.

After the baptism of Dombey-son (he was given the name Paul), the father, in gratitude to Paulie Toodle, announces his decision to give her eldest son Rob an education. This news causes a fit of homesickness in Paulie and, despite the prohibition of Mr. Dombey, Paulie and Susan, during another walk with the children, go to the slums where Toodles live. On the way back, in the hustle and bustle of the street, Florence fell behind and got lost. The old woman, calling herself Mrs. Brown, lures her to her, takes her clothes and lets her go, somehow covering her with rags. Florence, looking for her way home, meets Walter Gay, who takes her to his uncle's house and informs Mr. Dombey that his daughter has been found. Florence has returned home, but Paulie Toodle is fired by Mr. Dombey for taking his son to the wrong place for him.

Paul grows frail and sickly. To improve his health, he, along with Florence (for he loves her and cannot live without her), is sent to the sea, to Brighton, to Mrs. Pipchin's children's boarding school. His father, as well as Mrs. Chick and Miss Tox, visit him once a week. These trips of Miss Tox are not left unnoticed by Major Bagstock, who has certain views on her, and, noticing that Mr. Dombey clearly outshone him, the Major finds a way to make Mr. Dombey acquaintance. They hit it off remarkably well and bonded quickly.

When Paul is six years old, he is placed in the school of Dr. Blimber there, in Brighton. Florence is left with Mrs. Pipchin so that her brother can see her on Sundays. Because Dr. Blimber has a habit of overburdening his students, Paul, despite Florence's help, becomes increasingly sickly and eccentric. He is friends with only one student, Toots, who is ten years older than him; as a result of intensive training with Dr. Blimber, Toute became somewhat weak in mind.

A junior agent in the firm's Barbados sales agency dies, and Mr. Dombey sends Walter to the vacant position. This news coincides with another for Walter: he finally finds out why, while James Carker occupies a high official position, his older brother John, handsome to Walter, is forced to occupy the lowest - it turns out that in his youth John Carker robbed a firm and since then atones for his guilt.

Shortly before the holidays, Paul becomes so ill that he is released from work; he wanders around the house alone, dreaming that everyone would love him. At the end-of-half party, Paul is very weak but happy to see how well everyone treats him and Florence. He is taken home, where he withers day by day and dies, wrapping his arms around his sister.

Florence takes his death hard. The girl grieves alone - she has not a single close soul left, except for Susan and Toots, who sometimes visits her. She passionately wants to achieve the love of her father, who since the day of Paul's funeral has closed in on himself and does not communicate with anyone. One day, plucking up courage, she comes to him, but his face expresses only indifference.

Meanwhile, Walter leaves. Florence comes to say goodbye to him. Young people express their friendly feelings and agree to call each other brother and sister.

Captain Cuttle comes to James Carker to find out what the young man's prospects are. From the captain, Carker learns about the mutual inclination of Walter and Florence and is so interested that he places his spy (this is Rob Toodle who has gone astray) in the house of Mr. Giles.

Mr. Giles (as well as Captain Cuttle and Florence) is very worried that there is no news of Walter's ship. Finally, the toolmaker leaves in an unknown direction, leaving the keys to his shop to Captain Cuttle with the order to "keep the fire in the hearth for Walter."

To unwind, Mr. Dombey undertakes a trip to Demington in the company of Major Bagstock. The major meets his old acquaintance Mrs. Skewton and her daughter Edith Granger there, and introduces them to Mr. Dombey.

James Carker goes to Demington to see his patron. Mr. Dombey introduces Carker to new acquaintances. Soon Mr. Dombey proposes to Edith, and she indifferently accepts; this engagement strongly resembles a deal. However, the bride's indifference disappears when she meets Florence. A warm, trusting relationship is established between Florence and Edith.

When Mrs. Cheek informs Miss Tox about her brother's upcoming wedding, the latter faints. Guessing about her friend's unfulfilled matrimonial plans, Mrs. Chick indignantly breaks off relations with her. And since Major Bagstock had long since turned Mr. Dombey against Miss Tox, she is now forever excommunicated from Dombey's house.

So Edith Granger becomes Mrs. Dombey.

One day, after another visit from Toots, Susan asks him to go to the toolmaker's shop and ask Mr. Giles' opinion about the newspaper article that she hid from Florence all day. This article says that the ship on which Walter was sailing sank. In the shop, Tuté finds only Captain Cuttle, who does not question the article and mourns Walter.

Mourns for Walter and John Carker. He is very poor, but his sister Heriet prefers to share the shame with him of living in the sumptuous home of James Carker. Once Kheriet helped a woman in rags walking past her house. This is Alice Marwood, a fallen woman who has served time in hard labor, and James Carker is to blame for her fall. Learning that the woman who took pity on her is James's sister, she curses Heriet.

Mr and Mrs Dombey return home from their honeymoon. Edith is cold and arrogant with everyone except Florence. Mr. Dombey notices this and is very displeased. Meanwhile, James Carker seeks meetings with Edith, threatening that he will tell Mr. Dombey about Florence's friendship with Walter and his uncle, and Mr. Dombey will further distance himself from his daughter. So he gains some power over her. Mr. Dombey tries to bend Edith to his will; she is ready to reconcile with him, but he, in his pride, does not consider it necessary to take even a step towards her. To further humiliate his wife, he refuses to deal with her except through an intermediary - Mr. Carker.

Helen's mother, Mrs. Skewton, falls seriously ill, and she, accompanied by Edith and Florence, is sent to Brighton, where she soon dies. Toute, who came to Brighton after Florence, having plucked up courage, confesses his love to her, but Florence, alas, sees in him only a friend. Her second friend, Susan, unable to see his master's disdain for his daughter, tries to "open his eyes", and for this insolence, Mr. Dombey fires her.

The gulf between Dombey and his wife grows (Carker takes advantage of this to increase his power over Edith). She proposes a divorce, Mr. Dombey does not agree, and then Edith runs away from her husband with Carker. Florence rushes to console her father, but Mr. Dombey, suspecting her of complicity with Edith, hits her daughter, and she runs away in tears from the house to the toolmaker's shop to captain Cuttle.

And soon Walter arrives there too! He did not drown, he was lucky to escape and return home. Young people become the bride and groom. Solomon Giles, who has wandered the world in search of his nephew, returns just in time to attend a modest wedding with Captain Cuttle, Susan, and Toots, who is upset but comforted by the thought that Florence will be happy. After the wedding, Walter and Florence again go to sea.

Meanwhile, Alice Marwood, wanting to take revenge on Carker, blackmails Rob Toodle out of his servant, where Carker and Mrs. Dombey will go, and then transfers this information to Mr. Dombey. Then her conscience torments her, she begs Heriet Karker to warn the criminal brother and save him. But it's too late. At the moment when Edith leaves Carker, that only out of hatred for her husband she decided to run away with him, but she hates him even more, the voice of Mr. Dombey is heard outside the door. Edith leaves through the back door, locking it behind her and leaving Carker to Mr. Dombey. Carker manages to escape. He wants to go as far as possible, but on the boardwalk of the remote village where he was hiding, he suddenly sees Mr. Dombey again, bounces off him and gets hit by a train.

Despite Heriet's concerns, Alice soon dies (before she dies, she confesses that she was Edith Dombey's cousin). Herriet cares not only about her: after the death of James Carker, he and his brother got a large inheritance, and with the help of Mr. Morfin, who is in love with her, she arranges an annuity for Mr. Dombey - he is ruined due to the revealed abuses of James Carker.

Mr Dombey is crushed. Having lost his position in society and his beloved business at once, abandoned by everyone except the faithful Miss Tox and Paulie Toodle, he locks himself alone in an empty house - and only now remembers that all these years he had a daughter by his side who loved her and whom he rejected; and he repents bitterly. But just as he is about to commit suicide, Florence appears before him!

Mr. Dombey's old age is warmed by the love of his daughter and her family. In their friendly family circle, Captain Cuttle, Miss Tox, and married Toots and Susan often appear. Cured of ambitious dreams, Mr. Dombey found happiness in giving his love to his grandchildren - Paul and little Florence.

G. Yu. Shulga

The life of David Copperfield as told by himself.

(The Personal History of David Copperfield)

Roman (1850)

David Copperfield was born half an orphan - six months after the death of his father. It so happened that his father's aunt, Miss Betsy Trotwood, was present at his birth; her marriage was so unfortunate that she became a man-hater, reverted to her maiden name, and settled in the wilderness. Before her nephew's marriage, she loved him very much, but she came to terms with his choice and came to meet his wife only six months after his death. Miss Betsy expressed her desire to become the godmother of a newborn girl (she wanted a girl to be born without fail), asked her to be called Betsy Trotwood Copperfield and set out to "educate her properly", protecting her from all possible mistakes. When she learned that a boy had been born, she was so disappointed that, without saying goodbye, she left her nephew's house forever.

As a child, David is surrounded by the cares and love of his mother and nanny Peggotty. But his mother is getting married a second time.

During their honeymoon, David and his nanny are sent to Yarmouth to stay with Brother Peggotty. So for the first time he finds himself in a hospitable house-boat and gets acquainted with its inhabitants: Mr. Peggotty, his nephew Ham, his niece Emley (David falls in love with her like a child) and the widow of his companion, Mrs. Gummidge.

Returning home, David finds there a "new dad" - Mr. Mardston and a completely changed mother: now she is afraid to caress him and obey her husband in everything. When Mr. Mardstone's sister also moves in with them, the boy's life becomes completely unbearable. The Mardstones take great pride in their firmness, meaning by it "the tyrannical, gloomy, arrogant, diabolical disposition inherent in both of them." The boy is taught at home; under the ferocious gazes of his stepfather and his sister, he grows dumb with fear and cannot answer the lesson. The only joy of his life is his father's books, which, fortunately, ended up in his room. For poor studies, they deprive him of lunch, give him cuffs on the back of the head; finally, Mr. Mardstone decides to resort to flogging. As soon as the first blow fell on David, he bit his stepfather's hand. For this, he is sent to Salem House School - right in the middle of the holidays. His mother bade him a cold farewell under the watchful eye of Miss Mardstone, and only when the wagon had driven away from the house did the faithful Peggotty surreptitiously jump into it and, showering "her Davy" with kisses, provided him with a basket of goodies and a purse, in which, besides other money, were two half-crowns from his mother, wrapped in a piece of paper with the inscription: "For Davy. With love." At school, his back was immediately adorned with a poster: "Beware! It bites!" The holidays are over, the inhabitants are returning to the school, and David meets new friends - the recognized leader among the students, James Steerford, six years older than him, and Tommy Traddles - "the funniest and most miserable", the School is run by Mr. Creakle, whose teaching method is intimidation and spanking; not only the students, but also the family are mortally afraid of him. Steerford, before whom Mr. Creekle fawns, takes Copperfield under his protection - because he, like Scheherazade, retells to him the contents of books from his father's library at night.

Christmas holidays come, and David goes home, not yet knowing that this meeting with his mother is destined to be the last: soon she dies, and David's newborn brother dies. After the death of his mother, David no longer returns to school: Mr. Mardston explains to him that education costs money and such as David Copperfield will not need it, because it's time for them to earn a living. The boy keenly feels his abandonment: the Mardstones have calculated Peggotty, and the kind nanny is the only person in the world who loves him. Peggotty returns to Yarmouth and marries Barkis the carter; but before parting, she begged the Mardstons to let David go to stay in Yarmouth, and he again finds himself in a boat house on the seashore, where everyone sympathizes with him and everyone is kind to him - the last sip of love before severe trials.

Mardston sends David to London to work at Mardston and Greenby. So at the age of ten, David enters an independent life - that is, he becomes a slave of the company. Together with other boys, forever hungry, he washes bottles all day, feeling how he gradually forgets school wisdom and is horrified at the thought that someone from his former life might see him. His suffering is strong and deep, but he does not complain.

David is very attached to the family of the owner of his apartment, Mr. Micawber, a frivolous loser, constantly besieged by creditors and living in the eternal hope that someday "fortune will smile at us." Mrs. Micawber, easily hysterical and just as easily consoled, now and then asks David to pawn either a silver spoon or sugar tongs. But the Micawbers also have to part: they end up in a debtor's prison, and after their release they go to seek their fortune in Plymouth. David, who does not have a single loved one in this city, firmly decides to run to his grandmother Trotwood. In a letter, he asks Peggotty where his grandmother lives, and asks him to send him half a guinea on credit. Having received the money and the rather vague reply that Miss Trotwood lives "somewhere near Dover," David collects his belongings in a chest and sets off for the mail-coach station; on the way he is robbed, and, already without a chest and without money, he sets off on foot. He sleeps in the open and sells his coat and waistcoat to buy bread, he is exposed to many dangers - and on the sixth day, hungry and dirty, with broken legs, comes to Dover. Happily finding his grandmother's house, weeping, he tells his story and asks for protection. Grandma writes to the Mardstons and promises to give a final answer after talking to them, but in the meantime David is washed, fed and put into a real clean bed.

After talking with the Mardstones and realizing the extent of their gloom, rudeness and greed (taking advantage of the fact that David's mother, whom they brought to the grave, did not stipulate David's share in the will, they took possession of all "her property without allocating him a penny), the grandmother decides become David's official guardian.

Finally David returns to normal. Although his grandmother is eccentric, she is very, very kind, and not only to her great-nephew. In her house lives a quiet, crazy Mr. Dick, whom she saved from Bedlam. David starts at Dr. Strong's school in Canterbury; since there are no more places in the boarding school at the school, the grandmother gratefully accepts the offer of her lawyer, Mr. Wickfield, to put the boy with him. After the death of his wife, Mr. Wickfield, flooding his grief, began to have an immoderate addiction to port wine; the only light of his life is his daughter Agnes, who is the same age as David. For David, she also became a kind angel. In Mr. Wickfield's law office, Uriah Heep is a disgusting type, red-haired, writhing all over, with red eyes that do not close, without eyelashes, with perpetually cold and damp hands, obsequiously adding to each of his phrases: "we are small, humble people."

Dr. Strong's school turns out to be the complete opposite of Mr. Creekle's. David is a successful student, and happy school years, warmed by the love of his grandmother, Mr. Dick, the kind angel Agnes, fly by instantly.

After leaving school, Grandmother suggests that David go to London, visit Peggotty and, after resting, choose a business to his liking; David goes on a trip. In London, he meets Steerford, with whom he studied at Salem House. Steerford invites him to stay with his mother, and David accepts the invitation. In turn, David invites Steerford to come with him to Yarmouth.

They come to the house-boat at the moment of the engagement of Emli and Ham, Emli has grown and flourished, the women of the whole district hate her for her beauty and ability to dress with taste; she works as a seamstress. David lives in his nanny's house, Steerford in an inn; David spends all day wandering around the cemetery around his native graves, Steerford goes to sea, organizes feasts for sailors and enchants the entire population of the coast, "prompted by an unconscious desire to rule, an unconscious need to conquer, conquer even that which has no price for him." How sorry David would be for bringing him here!

Steerford seduces Emley, and on the eve of the wedding, she runs away with him "to return lady or not return at all." Ham's heart is broken, he longs to forget himself in his work, Mr. Peggotty goes to look for Em'ly around the world, and only Mrs Gummidge remains in the boat house - so that the light is always on in the window, in case Em'ly returns. For many years there is no news about her, finally David finds out that in Italy Em'ly fled from Steerford when he, bored with her, offered her to marry his servant.

Grandmother offers David to choose a career as a lawyer - a proctor in Dr. Commons. David agrees, his grandmother contributes a thousand pounds for his education, arranges his life and returns to Dover.

David's independent life begins in London. He is happy to meet again Tommy Traddles, his friend from Salem House, who also works in the legal field, but, being poor, earns his living and education on his own. Traddles is engaged and heatedly tells David about his Sophie. David is also in love - with Dora, the daughter of Mr. Spenlow, the owner of the company where he studies. Friends have a lot to talk about. Despite the fact that life does not spoil him, Traddles is surprisingly good-natured. It turns out that the owners of his apartment are the Micawbers; they are, as usual, entangled in debt. David is glad to renew the acquaintance; Traddles and the Micawbers form his circle of friends until the Micawbers go to Canterbury - under the pressure of circumstances and inspired by the hope that "fortune smiled at them": Mr. Micawber got a job in the office of Wickfield and Heep.

Uriah Heep, skillfully playing on Mr. Wickfield's weaknesses, became his companion and gradually takes over the office. He deliberately confuses accounts and shamelessly robs the firm and its clients, drugging Mr. Wickfield and instilling in him the conviction that the cause of the disastrous state of affairs is his drunkenness. He moves into Mr. Wickfield's house and harasses Agnes. And Micawber, completely dependent on him, is hired to help him in his dirty business.

One of Uriah Hip's victims is David's grandmother. She is ruined; with Mr. Dick and all her belongings, she comes to London, renting out her house in Dover to feed herself. David is not at all discouraged by this news; he goes to work as a secretary to Dr. Strong, who retired and settled in London (he was recommended this place by the good angel Agnes); in addition, studies shorthand. Grandmother manages their household in such a way that it seems to David that he has become not poorer, but richer; Mr. Dick earns by correspondence of papers. Having mastered the same shorthand, David begins to make very good money as a parliamentary reporter.

Having learned about the change in David's financial situation, Mr. Spenlow, Dora's father, refuses him from the house. Dora is also afraid of poverty. David is inconsolable; but when Mr. Spenlow died suddenly, it turned out that his affairs were in complete disarray - Dora, who now lives with her aunts, is no richer than David. David is allowed to visit her; Dora's aunts got on very well with David's grandmother. David is a little embarrassed that everyone treats Dora like a toy; but she doesn't mind. Having reached the age of majority, David marries. This marriage turned out to be short-lived: two years later, Dora dies, not having had time to grow up.

Mr Peggotty finds Em'ly; after much ordeal, she reached London, where Martha Endell, a fallen girl from Yarmouth whom Emly once helped, in turn saves her and brings her to her uncle's apartment. (It was David's idea to involve Martha in the search for Emly.) Mr. Peggotty now intends to emigrate to Australia, where no one will be interested in Emly's past.

Meanwhile, Mr. Micawber, unable to participate in Uriah Heep's swindles, exposes him with Traddles' help. Mr. Wickfield's good name has been saved, fortunes have been returned to Grandma and other clients. Full of gratitude, Miss Trotwood and David pay Micawber's bills and lend money to this glorious family: the Micawbers have also decided to go to Australia. Mr. Wickfield liquidates the firm and retires; Agnes opens a school for girls.

On the eve of the steamer's departure for Australia, a terrible storm occurred on the Yarmouth coast - it claimed the lives of Ham and Steerford.

After the death of Dora, David, who has become a famous writer (he moved from journalism to fiction), goes to the continent to work through his grief. Returning three years later, he marries Agnes, who, as it turns out, has loved him all her life. Grandma finally became godmother to Betsy Trotwood Copperfield (that's the name of one of her great granddaughters); Peggotty babysits David's children; Traddles is also married and happy. Emigrants have settled down remarkably in Australia. Uriah Heep is being held in a prison run by Mr. Creakle.

Thus, life put everything in its place.

G. Yu. Shulga

Roman (1853)

Esther Summerston spent her childhood in Windsor, at the home of her godmother, Miss Barbary. The girl feels lonely and often says, referring to her best friend, a ruddy doll: "You know very well, doll, that I'm a fool, so be kind, don't be angry with me." Esther seeks to find out the secret of her origin and begs her godmother to tell at least something about her mother. One day, Miss Barbery breaks down and says sternly: "Your mother covered herself with shame, and you brought shame on her. Forget about her ..." Once, returning from school, Esther finds an unfamiliar important gentleman in the house. Looking around the girl, he says something like "Ah!", Then "Yes!" and leaves...

Esther is fourteen years old when her godmother suddenly dies. What could be worse than being orphaned twice! After the funeral, the same gentleman by the name of Kenge appears and, on behalf of a certain Mr. Jarndyce, who is aware of the sad situation of the young lady, proposes to place her in a first-class educational institution, where she will not need anything and will be prepared for "duty in the public field." The girl gratefully accepts the offer and a week later, abundantly supplied with everything necessary, leaves for the city of Reading, to Miss Donny's boarding house. Only twelve girls study in it, and the future teacher Esther, with her kind character and desire to help, wins their affection and love. Thus passes the six happiest years of her life.

Upon graduation, John Jarndis (guardian, as Esther calls him) determines the girl as a companion to his cousin Ada Claire. Together with Ada's young relative Mr. Richard Carston, they travel to the guardian's estate known as Bleak House. The house had once belonged to Mr. Jarndyce's great-uncle, the unfortunate Sir Tom, and was called the Spiers. Perhaps the most famous case of the so-called Court of Chancery "Jarndyce v. Jarndyce" was connected with this house. The Court of Chancery was created in the era of Richard II, who ruled from 1377-1399, to control the Court of Common Law and correct its errors. But the hopes of the British for the appearance of the "Court of Justice" were not destined to come true: red tape and abuse of officials led to the fact that the processes last for decades, the plaintiffs, witnesses, lawyers die, thousands of papers accumulate, and the end of litigation is not foreseen. Such was the dispute over the inheritance of the Jarndis - a long-term trial, during which the owner of the Bleak House, mired in court cases, forgets about everything, and his dwelling decays under the influence of wind and rain. "It seemed that the house had put a bullet in the forehead, like its desperate owner." Now, thanks to the efforts of John Jarndis, the house looks transformed, and with the advent of young people comes to life even more. smart and judicious Esther is given the keys to the rooms and closets. She copes admirably with difficult household chores - it's not for nothing that Sir John affectionately calls her the Troublemaker! Life in the house flows measuredly, visits alternate with trips to London theaters and shops, reception of guests is replaced by long walks ...

Their neighbors turn out to be Sir Lester Dedlock and his wife, a good two decades younger than him. As connoisseurs wit, Milady has "an impeccable exterior of the most well-groomed mare in the entire stable." The gossip chronicles her every step, every event in her life. Sir Leicester is not so popular, but does not suffer from this, for he is proud of his aristocratic family and cares only about the purity of his honest name. Neighbors sometimes meet in church, on walks, and Esther cannot for a long time forget the emotional excitement that seized her at the first glance at Lady Dedlock.

William Guppy, a young employee of Kenge's office, experiences the same excitement: when he sees Esther, Ada and Richard in London on the way to Sir John's estate, he falls in love with the pretty gentle Esther at first sight. Being in those parts on company business, Guppy visits the Dedlocks' estate and, amazed, stops at one of the family portraits. The face of Lady Dedlock, seen for the first time, seems oddly familiar to the clerk. Guppy soon arrives at the Bleak House and confesses his love for Esther, but is strongly rebuffed. Then he alludes to the amazing resemblance between Esther and Milady. “Dignify me with your pen,” William persuades the girl, “and what I can’t think of to protect your interests and make you happy! What can I not find out about you!” He kept his word. Letters from an unknown gentleman who died from an excessive dose of opium in a dirty, shabby closet and were buried in a common grave in a cemetery for the poor fall into his hands. From these letters, Guppy learns about the connection between Captain Houdon (that was the name of this gentleman) and Lady Dedlock, about the birth of their daughter. William immediately shares his discovery with Lady Dedlock, which leaves her extremely embarrassed. But, not succumbing to panic, she aristocratically coldly rejects the arguments of the clerk and only after she leaves exclaims: "Oh, my child, my daughter! It means that she did not die in the very first hours of her life!"

Esther becomes seriously ill with smallpox. This happened after the orphaned daughter of the court official Charlie appears on their estate, which becomes for Esther both a grateful pupil and a devoted maid. Esther nurses a sick girl and becomes infected herself. Households hide mirrors for a long time, so as not to upset the Troublemaker with the appearance of her ugly face. Lady Dedlock, waiting for Esther to recover, secretly meets with her in the park and confesses that she is her unfortunate mother. In those days of old, when Captain Howdon abandoned her, she was convinced that she had given birth to a stillborn child. Could she have imagined that the girl would come to life in the arms of her older sister and be brought up in complete secrecy from her mother ... Aedi Dedlock sincerely repents and begs for forgiveness, but most of all - for silence in order to preserve the usual life of a rich and noble person and the peace of her husband. Esther, shocked by the discovery, agrees to any terms.

No one knows what happened - not only Sir John burdened with worries, but also the young doctor Allen Woodcourt, who is in love with Esther. smart and reserved, he makes a favorable impression on the girl. He lost his father early, and his mother invested all her meager means in his education. But, not having enough connections and money in London, Allen cannot earn them by treating the poor. It is not surprising that on the first occasion, Dr. Woodcourt accepts the position of a ship's doctor and goes to India and China for a long time. Before leaving, he visits the Bleak House and excitedly says goodbye to its inhabitants.

Richard is also trying to change his life: he chooses the legal field. Having started working in Kenge's office, he, to the displeasure of Guppy, boasts that he figured out the Jarndis case. Despite Esther's advice not to enter into a tedious litigation with the Chancellor's Court, Richard files an appeal in the hope of sueing Sir John's inheritance for himself and his cousin Ada, to whom he is engaged. He "puts at stake everything he can scrape together", spends his beloved's small savings on duties and taxes, but legal red tape takes away his health. Secretly married to Ada, Richard falls ill and dies in the arms of his young wife, never seeing his future son.

And clouds are gathering around Lady Dedlock. A few careless words lead lawyer Tulkinghorn, a regular in their house, onto the trail of her secret. This solid gentleman, whose services are generously paid in high society, masterfully masters the art of living and makes it his duty to do without any convictions. Tulkinghorn suspects that Lady Dedlock, disguised as a French maid, visited the house and grave of her lover, Captain Houdon. He steals letters from Guppy - this is how he becomes aware of the details of the love story. In the presence of the Dedlocks and their guests, Tulkinghorn relates this story, which supposedly happened to some unknown person. Milady understands that the time has come to find out what he is trying to achieve. In response to her words that she wants to disappear from her house forever, the lawyer convinces her to continue to keep the secret in the name of the peace of Sir Leicester, who "even the fall of the moon from the sky will not be so stunned" as the exposure of his wife.

Esther decides to reveal her secret to her guardian. He meets her inconsistent story with such understanding and tenderness that the girl is overwhelmed with "ardent gratitude" and a desire to work diligently and selflessly. It is not difficult to guess that when Sir John proposes to her to become the real mistress of the Bleak House, Esther agrees.

A terrible event distracts her from the upcoming pleasant troubles and pulls her out of the Bleak House for a long time. It so happened that Tulkinghorn broke off his agreement with Lady Dedlock and threatened to tell Sir Leicester the shameful truth in a short time. After a difficult conversation with milady, the lawyer goes home, and the next morning he is found dead. Suspicion falls on Lady Dedlock. Police Inspector Bucket conducts an investigation and informs Sir Leicester of the results: all the evidence collected is against the French maid. She is under arrest.

Sir Leicester cannot bear the thought that his wife has been "thrown down from the heights which she adorned," and he himself falls, smitten with a blow. Milady, feeling hunted, runs out of the house without taking any jewels or money. She left a farewell letter - that she was innocent and wanted to disappear. Inspector Bucket undertakes to find this troubled soul and turns to Esther for help. They travel a long way in the footsteps of Lady Dedlock. The paralyzed husband, ignoring the threat to the honor of the family, forgives the fugitive and looks forward to her return. Dr. Allen Woodcourt, who recently returned from China, joins the search. During the separation, he fell in love with Esther even more, but alas ... At the lattice of the memorial cemetery for the poor, he discovers the lifeless body of her mother.

Esther long, painfully experiences what happened, but gradually life takes its toll. Her guardian, having learned about Allen's deep feelings, nobly makes way for him. Bleak House Emptying: John Jarndyce, a.k.a. guardian, has arranged for Esther and Allen an equally glorious, smaller estate in Yorkshire, where Allen gets a job as a doctor for the poor. He also called this estate "Cold House". There was a place in it for Ada with her son, named after his father, Richard. With the very first free money, they build a room for the guardian ("bruzzalny") and invite him to stay. Sir John becomes a loving guardian to now Ada and her little Richard. They return to the "older" Cold House, and the Woodcourts often come to visit: for Esther and her husband, Sir John has always remained the best friend. So seven happy years pass, and the words of the wise guardian come true: "Both houses are dear to you, but the older Cold House claims to be the first."

G. Yu. Shulga.

(Hard Times)

Roman (1854)

Two close friends live in the city of Coxtown - if one can speak of friendship between people equally devoid of warm human feelings. Both of them are at the top of the social ladder: and Josiah Bounderby, "a famous rich man, banker, merchant, manufacturer"; and Thomas Gradgrind, "a man of sober mind, obvious facts and accurate calculations", who becomes the MP for Cockestown.

Mr. Gradgrind, who worshiped only facts, brought up his children (there were five of them) in the same spirit. They never had toys - only teaching aids; they were forbidden to read fairy tales, poems and novels, and in general to touch what is not connected with immediate benefit, but can awaken the imagination and is related to the sphere of feelings. Wishing to spread his method as widely as possible, he organized a school on these principles.

Perhaps the worst student in this school was Sessy Jupe, the daughter of a circus performer - a juggler, a magician and a clown. She believed that flowers could be depicted on carpets, and not just geometric figures, and she openly said that she was from the circus, which was considered an obscene word in this school. They even wanted to expel her, but when Mr. Gradgrind came to the circus to announce this, the flight of Sessy's father with his dog was vigorously discussed there. Sessy's father grew old and did not work as well in the arena as in his youth; less and less he heard applause, more and more often he made mistakes. Colleagues have not yet thrown bitter reproaches to him, but in order not to live to see this, he fled. Sissy was left alone. And instead of throwing Sissy out of school, Thomas Gradgrind took her into his house.

Sessie was very friendly with Louise, Gradgrind's eldest daughter, until she agreed to marry Josiah Bounderby. He is only thirty years older than her (he is fifty, she is twenty), "fat, loud; his eyes are heavy, his laughter is metallic." Louise was persuaded to this marriage by brother Tom, to whom the marriage of his sister promised many benefits - a very tireless job at the Bounderby bank, which would allow him to leave his hated home, which bore the expressive name "Stone Orphanage", a good salary, freedom. Tom perfectly learned the lessons of his father's school: the benefits, the benefits, the absence of feelings. Louise, from these lessons, apparently lost interest in life. She agreed to the marriage with the words: "Does it matter?"

In the same city lives the weaver Stephen Blackpool, a simple worker, an honest man. He is unhappy in marriage - his wife is a drunkard, a completely fallen woman; but in England divorce is not for the poor, as Bounderby, his master, to whom he came for advice, explains to him. So Stephen is destined to carry his cross further, and he will never be able to marry Rachel, whom he has loved for a long time. Stephen curses such a world order - but Rachel begs not to say such words and not to participate in any turmoil leading to its change. He promises. Therefore, when all the workers join the "Joint Tribunal", only Stephen does not do this, for which the leader of the "Tribunal" Slackbridge calls him a traitor, a coward and an apostate and offers to ostracize him. Upon learning of this, Stephen is summoned by the owner, arguing that it would be nice to turn a rejected and offended worker into an informer. Stephen's flat refusal leads to Bounderby firing him with a wolf ticket. Stephen announces that he is forced to leave the city. The conversation with the owner takes place in the presence of his household: his wife Louise and her brother Tom. Louise, imbued with sympathy for the unjustly offended worker, secretly goes to his house to give him money, and asks her brother to accompany her. At Stephen's they find Rachel and an unfamiliar old woman who introduces herself as Mrs. Pegler. Stephen meets her for the second time in his life at the same place: at the Bounderby house; a year ago she asked him if his master was healthy, if his master looked good, now she is interested in his wife. The old woman is very tired, kind Rachel wants to give her tea; so she ends up with Stephen. Steven refuses to take Louise's money, but thanks her for her good intentions. Before leaving, Tom takes Stephen to the stairs and promises him a job in private, for which you need to wait at the bank in the evenings: the messenger will give him a note. For three days, Stephen regularly waits, and, without waiting for anything, leaves the city.

Meanwhile, Tom, having escaped from the Stone Orphanage, leads a wild life and gets entangled in debt. At first, Louise paid his debts by selling her jewelry, but everything comes to an end: she has no more money.

Tom, and especially Louise, is closely watched by Mrs. Sparsit, Bounderby's former housekeeper, who, after the owner's marriage, takes up the position of bank caretaker. Mr. Bounderby, who likes to say that he was born in a ditch, that his mother abandoned him, that he was brought up by the street and that he achieved everything by his own mind, is terribly flattered by the supposedly aristocratic origin of Mrs. Sparsit, who lives exclusively by his favors. Mrs. Sparsit hates Louise, apparently because she wants to take her place - or at least she is very afraid of losing hers. With the appearance in town of James Harthouse, a bored gentleman from London who intends to run for Parliament for the constituency of Coxtown to strengthen the Hard Figures Party, she raises her vigilance. Indeed, the London dandy, according to all the rules of art, besieges Louise, having felt her Achilles heel - love for her brother. She is ready to talk about Tom for hours, and during these conversations, young people gradually draw closer. After a private date with Harthouse, Louise becomes frightened of herself and returns to her father's house, announcing that she will never return to her husband. Sessy, whose warmth now warms the entire Stone Shelter, takes care of her. Moreover, Sessy, on her own initiative, goes to Harthouse to convince him to leave the city and not pursue Louise anymore, and she succeeds.

When the news of the bank robbery spreads, Louise faints: she is sure that Tom did it. But suspicion falls on Stephen Blackpool: after all, it was he who was on duty at the bank in the evenings for three days, after which he disappeared from the city. Enraged by Louise's escape and the fact that Stephen has never been found, Bounderby puts up an announcement all over the city with Stephen's signs and the promise of a reward to whoever turns up the thief. Rachel, unable to bear the slander against Stephen, goes first to Bounderby, and then, together with him and Tom, to Louise and tells about Stephen's last evening in Cocktown, about the arrival of Louise and Tom, and about the mysterious old woman. Louise confirms this. In addition, Rachel reveals that she sent Stephen a letter and he is about to return to the city to justify himself.

But days go by, and Stephen doesn't come. Rachel is very worried, Sessy, with whom she became friends, supports her as best she can. On Sunday they drive out of town from smoky, stinking industrial Cockstown for a walk and accidentally find Stephen's hat at a huge, terrible pit - at the Devil's Mine. They raise the alarm, organize rescue work - and the dying Stephen is pulled out of the mine. After receiving Rachel's letter, he hastened to Coxtown; saving time, went straight ahead. The workers in the crowd curse the mines that took their lives and limbs when they were in operation, and continue to take them when they are abandoned. Steven explains that he was on duty at the bank at Tom's request and dies without letting go of Rachel's hand. Tom manages to escape.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Sparsit, wanting to show her diligence, finds a mysterious old woman. It turns out that this is the mother of Josiah Bounderby, who by no means abandoned him in infancy; she kept a hardware store, gave her son an education and was very proud of his success, meekly accepting his command not to appear next to him. She also proudly announced that her son took care of her and sent thirty pounds annually. The self-made myth of Josiah Bounderby of Cockstown, who rose from the mud, collapsed. The immorality of the manufacturer became evident. The culprit of this Mrs. Sparsit lost the warm and satisfying place for which she fought so hard.

In the Stone Shelter, they experience the shame of the family and wonder where Tom could hide. When Mr. Gradgrind decides to send his son away abroad, Sessie reveals where he is: she suggested that Tom hide in the circus where her father once worked. Indeed, Tom is hidden securely: it is impossible to recognize him in the make-up and costume of the black man, although he is constantly in the arena. The owner of the circus Mr. Sleary helps Tom get rid of the chase. To Mr. Gradgrind's gratitude, Mr. Slery replies that he once did him a favor by taking Sessie in, and now it's his turn.

Tom makes it safely to South America and sends remorseful letters from there.

Immediately after Tom's departure, Mr. Gradgrind puts up posters naming the true culprit of the theft and washing away the stain of slander from the name of the late Stephen Blackpool. A week old, he becomes convinced of the failure of his system of education based on exact facts, and turns to humanistic values, trying to make numbers and facts serve faith, hope and love.

G. Yu. Shulga

Roman (1861)

In the vicinity of Rochester, an old town southeast of London, lived a seven-year-old boy named Pip. He was left without parents, and he was raised "with his own hands" by his older sister, who "possessed a rare ability to turn purity into something more uncomfortable and unpleasant than any dirt." She treated Pip as if he had been "taken under the supervision of a police obstetrician and handed over to her with the suggestion to act to the fullest extent of the law." Her husband was the blacksmith Joe Gargery - a fair-haired giant, docile and rustic, only he, as best he could, protected Pip.

This amazing story, told by Pip himself, began on the day when he ran into a runaway convict in a cemetery. He, on pain of death, demanded to bring "grub and files" in order to free himself from the shackles. How much effort it took for the boy to secretly collect and hand over the bundle! It seemed that every floorboard shouted after: "Stop the thief!" But it was even more difficult not to give himself away.

They had hardly stopped talking about the prisoners, when in a tavern some stranger imperceptibly showed him a file and gave him two pound tickets (it is clear from whom and for what).

Time passed. Pip began to visit a strange house in which life stopped on the day of the failed wedding of the hostess, Miss Havisham. She grew old, not seeing the light, sitting in a decayed wedding dress. The boy was supposed to entertain the lady, play cards with her and her young pupil, the beautiful Estella. Miss Havisham chose Estella as an instrument of revenge on all men for the one who deceived her and did not appear at the wedding. "Break their hearts, my pride and hope," she repeated, "break them without pity!" Estella's first victim was Pip. Before meeting her, he loved the craft of a blacksmith and believed that "the forge is a sparkling path to independent living." Having received twenty-five guineas from Miss Havisham, he gave them for the right to become an apprentice to Joe and was happy, and a year later he shuddered at the thought that Estella would find him black from rough work and despise him. How many times had he imagined her fluttering curls and haughty eyes outside the window of the forge! But Pip was a blacksmith's apprentice, and Estella was a young lady who was to be educated abroad. Upon learning of Estella's departure, he went to the shopkeeper Pumblechook to listen to the heartbreaking tragedy "George Barnwell". Could he have imagined that a real tragedy awaits him on the threshold of his home!

People crowded around the house and in the yard; Pip saw his sister, struck down by a terrible blow to the back of the head, and next to him lay shackles with a sawn-off ring. The constables tried unsuccessfully to find out whose hand had struck. Pip suspected Orlik, the worker who helped in the smithy, and the stranger who showed him the files.

Mrs. Jo was having difficulty recovering and needed care. Therefore, Biddy, a pretty girl with kind eyes, appeared in the house. She kept house and kept up with Pip, taking every opportunity to learn something. They often talked heart to heart, and Peep confessed to her that he dreams of changing his life. "You want to be a gentleman to annoy that beautiful woman who lived with Miss Havisham, or to woo her," Biddy guessed. Indeed, memories of those days "like an armor-piercing shell" shattered good intentions to share with Joe, marry Biddy and lead an honest working life.

One day, a tall gentleman with a contemptuous expression appeared in the tavern at the Three Merry Sailors. Pip recognized him as one of Miss Havisham's guests. It was Jagger, a lawyer from London. He announced that he had an important assignment for Cousin Joe Gargery: Pip was to inherit a considerable fortune on the condition that he immediately leave this place, leave his former occupations and become a young man of great promise. In addition, he must keep the name Pip and not try to find out who his benefactor is. Pip's heart began to beat faster, he could barely stammer out words of agreement. He thought that Miss Havisham had decided to make him a rich man and pair him with Estella. Jagger said that Pip received an amount that would be enough for education and life in the capital. As a future guardian, he suggested that Mr. Matthew Pocket be consulted. Pip also heard this name from Miss Havisham.

Having become rich, Pip ordered a fashionable suit, hat, gloves and completely changed. In his new form, he paid a visit to his good fairy, who had (he thought) accomplished this miraculous transformation. She gladly accepted the grateful words of the boy.

The day of parting has come. Leaving the village, Pip burst into tears at the road post: “Farewell, my good friend!”, And in the stagecoach he thought how nice it would be to return to his native roof ... But - too late. The time of first hopes is over...

In London, Pip settled in surprisingly easily. He rented an apartment with Herbert Pocket, the son of his mentor, and took lessons from him. When he joined the Finches in the Grove club, he recklessly littered with money, imitating new friends in trying to spend as much as possible. His favorite pastime was making a list of debts "from Cobbs, Lobs or Knobs." That's when Pip feels like a first-class financier! Herbert trusts his business qualities; he himself is only "looking around", hoping to catch his luck in the City. Spinning in the maelstrom of London life, Pip is overtaken by the news of his sister's death.

Finally Pip came of age. Now he will have to manage his property himself, part with the guardian, in whose sharp mind and enormous authority he has repeatedly been convinced; even in the streets they sang: "Oh Jaggers, Jaggers, Jaggers, the most necessary human!" On the day of his birth, Pip received five hundred pounds and the promise of the same amount annually for expenses "as a pledge of hope." The first thing Pip wants to do is to contribute half of his annual allowance so that Herbert gets the opportunity to work in a small company, and then become its co-owner. For Pip himself, hopes for future accomplishments fully justify inaction.

One day, when Pip was alone in his dwelling - Herbert had gone to Marseilles - suddenly steps were heard on the stairs. A mighty gray-haired man entered, he did not need to get files or other evidence from his pocket - Pip instantly recognized that same runaway convict! The old man began to warmly thank Pip for an act committed sixteen years ago. During the conversation, it turned out that the source of Pip's prosperity was the money of the fugitive: "Yes, Pip, my dear boy, it was I who made the gentleman out of you!" As if a bright flash lit up everything around - so many disappointments, humiliations, dangers suddenly surrounded Pip. So Miss Havisham's intentions to raise him up to Estella are just a figment of his imagination! So, Joe the blacksmith was abandoned for the whim of this man, who risks being hanged for illegally returning to England from an eternal settlement ... All hopes collapsed in an instant!

After the appearance of Abel Magwitch (that was the name of his benefactor), Pip, filled with anxiety, began to prepare for his departure abroad. The disgust and horror experienced at the first moment were replaced in Pip's soul by a growing appreciation for this man. Magwitch was hidden in the house of Clara, Herbert's fiancée. From there, it was possible to swim unnoticed along the Thames to the mouth and board a foreign steamer. From Magwitch's stories, it was revealed that Compeson, the second convict caught in the swamps, was the same dirty deceiver, Miss Havisham's fiancé, and he still pursues Magwitch. In addition, by various hints, Pip guessed that Magwitch was Estella's father, and her mother was Jagger's housekeeper, who was suspected of murder, but acquitted by the efforts of a lawyer, and then Jagger took the baby to the rich lonely Miss Havisham. Needless to say, Pip swore to keep this secret for the benefit of his beloved Estella, despite the fact that by this time she was already married to the rogue Druml. Thinking about all this, Pip went to Miss Havisham to get a large sum of money for Herbert. leaving, he looked back - her wedding dress flared up like a torch! Pip, in despair, burning his hands, put out the fire. Miss Havisham survived, but, alas, not for long ...

On the eve of the upcoming flight, Pip received a strange letter inviting him to a house in a swamp. He could not imagine that Orlik, holding a grudge, became Compeson's henchman and lured Pip in order to take revenge on him - to kill and burn him in a huge furnace. It seemed that death was inevitable, but faithful friend Herbert arrived in time to cry. Now on the road!

At first everything went well, only a chase appeared at the steamer itself, and Magwitch was captured and convicted. He died of his wounds in the prison hospital before his execution, and his last moments were warmed by Pip's gratitude and the story of the fate of his daughter, who became a noble lady.

Eleven years have passed. Pip works in the eastern branch of the company with Herbert, having found peace and care in a friend's family. And here he is again in his native village, where he is met by Joe and Biddy, their son, named Pip, and the baby daughter. But Pip hoped to see the one he never stopped dreaming about. There were rumors that she had buried her husband... An unknown force draws Pip to an abandoned house. A woman's figure appeared in the mist. It's Estella! "Isn't it strange that this house has united us again," Pip said, took her by the hand, and they walked away from the gloomy ruins. The fog cleared. "Wide expanses spread before them, not overshadowed by the shadow of a new parting,"

G. Yu. Shulga

Roman (1847)

Jane Eyre had lost her parents at an early age and was now living with her aunt, Mrs. Reed. Her life was not sugar. The fact is that Mrs. Reid was not her own aunt, but only the widow of her mother's brother. She had the lowest opinion of the girl's parents, and how could it be otherwise, because Jane's mother, coming from a good family, married a priest who did not have a penny to his soul. On her father's side, Jane was told, she had no relatives left, and if she did, they weren't gentlemen, they were poor and ill-bred people, so it wasn't worth talking about them.

The family—Mrs. Reed herself, her children John, Eliza, and Georgiana, and even the servants—every hour made it clear to the orphan that she was not like everyone else who kept her here only out of great mercy. Unanimously, everyone considered Jane an evil, deceitful, spoiled girl, which was pure lies. On the contrary, the young Reeds were evil and deceitful, who (especially John) loved to harass Jane, start quarrels with her, and then make her feel guilty about everything.

Once, after one of these quarrels, which ended in a brawl with John, Jane was locked up in punishment in the Red Room, the most mysterious and terrible in Gateshead Hall - Mr. Reed breathed his last breath in it. From the fear of seeing his ghost, the poor girl lost consciousness, and after that she became feverish, from which she could not recover for a long time.

Not wanting to bother with a sickly and such a bad girl, Mrs. Reed decided that the time had come to send Jane to school.

The school, which for many years became Jane's home, was called Lowood and was an unpleasant place, and on closer inspection turned out to be an orphanage. But Jane did not have a warm home in the past, and therefore she did not worry too much, finding herself in this gloomy and cold place. The girls here went around in the same dresses and with the same hairstyles, everything was done on call, the food was nasty and meager, the teachers were rude and soulless, the pupils were downtrodden, dull and embittered.

Among the teachers, the headmistress Miss Temple was an exception: she had enough warmth in her soul to give it to destitute girls. Among the pupils, too, there was one unlike the others, and Jane became close friends with her. The girl's name was Helen Berne. During the months of friendship with Helen, Jane learned and understood a lot, and most importantly, that God is not a formidable overseer of bad children, but a loving Heavenly Father.

Jane Eyre spent eight years at Lowood: six as a pupil, two as a teacher.

One fine day, eighteen-year-old Jane suddenly realized with all her being that she could no longer remain in Lowood. She saw the only way to get out of school - to find a place as a governess, Jane advertised in the newspaper and some time later received an attractive invitation to the Thornfield estate.

In Thornfield, she was met by a disposing-looking elderly lady - the housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax, who explained to Jane that Miss Adele, the ward of the owner of the estate, Mr. Adele). Mr. Rochester himself came to Thornfield only on rare occasional visits, spending most of his time somewhere on the Continent.

Thornfield's atmosphere was nothing compared to Jane's for the previous eight years. Everything here promised her a pleasant, trouble-free life, despite the fact that some secret was obviously hidden in the house: sometimes strange things happened at night, inhuman laughter was heard ... Still, at times the girl was overcome by a feeling of melancholy and loneliness.

Finally, unexpectedly as always, Mr. Rochester showed up at Thornfield. Strongly built, broad-shouldered, swarthy, with severe, irregular features, he was by no means handsome, which fact pleased Jane in the depths of her soul, confident that no handsome man would ever honor her, a gray mouse, with a bit of attention. Between Jane and Rochester, a deep mutual sympathy arose almost immediately, which both of them carefully concealed. she - for a cool respectfulness, he - for a rudely good-natured mocking tone.

Jane had to experience the pangs of jealousy, although she herself did not admit it to herself, when Rochester, of all the ladies of society visiting Thornfield, began to give an emphasized preference for a certain Miss Blanche, a beauty, unnatural, in Jane's opinion, to the marrow of her bones. There was even talk of an imminent wedding.

Jane was focused on sad thoughts about where to go when Rochester brought home a young wife and Adele was sent to school. But then, out of the blue, Edward Rochester revealed his feelings and proposed not to Blanche, but to her, Jane. Jane joyfully agreed, thanking God, for she had long since loved Edward with all her heart. The wedding was decided to play in a month.

For pleasant chores, this month flew by like one day. And here is Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester standing before the altar. The priest was just about to declare them husband and wife, when suddenly a man stepped into the middle of the church and declared that the marriage could not be concluded, since Rochester already had a wife. Killed on the spot, he did not argue. Everyone left the church in confusion.

In self-justification, Edward revealed to the failed Mrs. Rochester the secret of his life, so carefully guarded.

In his youth, he found himself in a very difficult financial situation because his father, in order to avoid fragmentation of his possessions, bequeathed everything to his older brother. Not wanting, however, to leave his youngest son a beggar, he betrothed Edward, then still a beardless inexperienced youth, to a rich bride from the West Indies. At the same time, they hid from Edward that Bertha had insane and drunkards in his family. After the wedding, bad heredity was not slow to affect her; very soon she completely lost her human appearance, turning into a soulless vicious animal. He had no choice but to hide Bertha under reliable supervision in his family nest - and Edward's father and brother had died by this time - and live the life of a young wealthy bachelor himself. It was his wife's laughter that resounded at night in Thornfield, it was she, breaking out of the shutter, somehow almost burned the sleeping inhabitants of the house, and on the night before the wedding of Jane and Edward, a terrible ghost appeared in the bride's bedroom and tore the veil.

Although Jane could not be his wife, Rochester begged her to stay with him, because they loved each other ... Jane was adamant: she should leave Thornfield as soon as possible, so as not to succumb to temptation.

Early in the morning, almost completely without money and luggage, she got into a stagecoach heading north and drove off, she did not know where. Two days later the coachman dropped Jane off at a crossroads in the vast wastelands, for she had no money to go on.

The poor thing miraculously did not die of hunger and cold, wandering through unfamiliar wild places. She held on to the last of her strength, but when they left her, she fell unconscious at the door of the house, into which a cautious maid did not let her in.

Jane was picked up by the local priest, St. John Rivers, who lived in the house with his two sisters, Diana and Mary. They were kind, beautiful, educated people. They immediately liked Jane, and she liked them, however, out of caution, the girl called herself not her real, but a fictitious surname and did not talk about her past.

St. John's appearance was the complete opposite of Rochester: he was a tall blond with the figure and face of Apollo; his eyes shone with extraordinary enthusiasm and determination. Rosamund, the beautiful daughter of the richest man in the area, was in love with Saint John. He also had a strong feeling for her, which, however, he drove away from himself in every possible way, considering it low and unworthy of his high mission - to bring the light of the Gospel to the pagans vegetating in darkness. Saint John was going to go as a missionary to India, but first he needed to acquire a companion and helper in his life's feat. Jane, in his opinion, was the best suited for this role, and St. John asked her to become his wife. Love, as Jane knew and understood it, was out of the question, and therefore she decisively refused the young priest, expressing at the same time her readiness to follow him as a sister and helper. This option was unacceptable for a clergyman.

Jane devoted herself with great pleasure to teaching at the country school, opened with the help of St. John, with the money of local wealthy people. One fine day, the priest came to her after school and began to tell the story of ... her own life! Jane's bewilderment was great, but the story that followed further put everything in its unexpected places. Accidentally learning the real name of Jane, St. John suspected something: still, because it coincided with the name of his deceased parent. He made inquiries and became convinced that Jane's father was the brother of his mother, Mary and Diana, who also had a second brother, John Eyre, who had made a fortune in Madeira and several years ago had unsuccessfully tried to find his niece, Jane Eyre. When he died, it was to her that he bequeathed his entire fortune - as much as twenty thousand pounds. So, overnight, Jane became rich and acquired two lovely cousins ​​and a cousin. In her generosity, she violated the will of the late uncle and insisted that the fabulous inheritance be divided equally between her nephews.

No matter how well she lived with her newfound relatives, no matter how much she loved her school, one person owned her thoughts, and therefore, before entering a new season of life, Jane could not help visiting Thornfield. How amazed she was when instead of a stately home, charred ruins appeared before her eyes. Jane turned to the village innkeeper with questions, and he said that the culprit of the fire was the insane wife of Rochester, who died in the flames. Rochester tried to save her, but he himself was crushed by the collapsed roof; as a result, he lost his right hand and became completely blind. Now the owner of Thornfield lived on another of his estates nearby. There, wasting no time, and hurried Jane.

Physically, Edward hadn't given up in the year since Jane's disappearance, but his face bore a deep imprint of the suffering he'd endured. Jane gladly became the eyes and hands of the person dearest to her, with whom she was inseparable from now on.

A little time passed, and tender friends decided to become husband and wife. Two years after his marriage, Edward Rochester's sight began to return; it only added happiness to an already happy couple. Diana and Mary also happily married, and only St. John was destined to perform the feat of spiritual enlightenment of the pagans in severe loneliness.

D. A. Karelsky

Roman (1853)

Lucy Snow lost her parents early, but she was lucky with loved ones who did not leave the girl to her fate. So, often Lucy lived in the house of her godmother, Mrs. Bretton, a middle-aged widow and the sweetest woman. Mrs. Bretton had a son, John, who, however, did not pay any attention to Lucy's age. One day, another inhabitant appeared in the Bretton house - a six-year-old, precocious girl, Polly Home; her father went to the Continent to dispel grief after his wife's death. Despite the large age difference, Polly and John developed a tender, devoted friendship.

Eight years have passed. Lucy entered the place of either a maid or a companion to an elderly lady; by this time she had lost sight of the Bretton family. When her mistress died, Lucy remembered the words she once heard that young and poor English women could settle well on the Continent, and decided to set off, for her life in her homeland promised most likely to be monotonous and bleak. Lucy Snow did not stay long in London, where she got for the first time in her life, and a few days later she boarded the ship bound for Europe.

On the ship, her companion was another young Englishwoman, Miss Ginevra Fanshawe. This lively, French-lingering person had spent several years in European boarding schools and was now going to continue her education at the boarding school of Madame Beck in Villette; Ginevra's parents were by no means wealthy people, and her uncle and godfather Monsieur de Bassompier paid for her teaching.

Lucy didn't know anyone or anything in Willette; prompted by a young Englishman, she went to look for an inn, but she lost her way and ended up at the door of a house with a signboard "Madame Beck's Boarding House". The time was late, and the girl decided to knock on the door in order to get an overnight stay here, and if she was lucky, a job. The hostess, who was crazy about everything English, with the exception of the Protestant faith, immediately took Lucy Bonnoy to her children. Madame Beck was benevolence itself, but when Lucy went to bed, she unceremoniously examined her things and made a mold from the keys to the girl's working box. As time has shown, Madame Beck was a real Ignatius of Loyola in a skirt: kind to everyone so that in no case would she set anyone against her, she compensated for her outward softness with relentless secret supervision; life in her boarding school was organized according to the Jesuit principle of strengthening the body and weakening the soul of the students, so that the latter became an easy and uncomplaining prey for the Catholic clergy.

Soon, Madame Beck relieved Lucy of her duties as a bonnet and appointed her an English teacher. She liked the new position, and she coped with it perfectly. The other teachers were nothing particularly remarkable; Lucy did not strike up a friendship with any of them. However, among the teachers of the boarding school there was one exception - the boss's cousin, a teacher of literature, Monsieur Paul Emanuel. He was a short, Corsican-looking man of about forty, quick-tempered, eccentric, sometimes annoyingly demanding, but at the same time extremely educated, kind and noble at heart. For a long time he was the only representative of the stronger sex admitted to the pupils of the boarding school, but over time a second appeared - a young English doctor, Mr. John. With his nobility of appearance and pleasant manner, the doctor touched the heart of Lucy Snow, his company began to give her sincere pleasure; and the hostess of the boarding house, although she was not the first youth, seemed to harbor some hopes in his account. Dr. John himself, as it gradually became clear, was deeply indifferent to one of Madame's wards - the same Ginevra Fanshaw, whom Lucy met on the way from England.

Ginevra was a very pleasant person and knew exactly what she wanted; but she wanted to marry a wealthy and, even better, titled man. She responded to the courtship of the "bourgeois" Dr. John with cold mockery - of course, because she was fascinated by a man of the highest degree secular (a secular dandy and a rake, according to Lucy), Colonel de Amal. No matter how much Lucy tried to explain to Ginevra the difference between the polished emptiness of a colonel and the high nobility of a doctor, she did not want to listen to her. Ironically, Lucy had to somehow play the role of Colonel de Amal - on the day of the name day of Madame Beck, a holiday was held at the boarding house, the highlight of which was a performance staged by the students under the guidance of Monsieur Paul. Monsieur Paul almost forced Lucy to play a secular gentleman, a happy rival of a noble bumpkin; the role was Lucy deeply disgusting, but she coped with it superbly.

Shortly after the holiday, it was vacation time. All the inhabitants of the boarding house parted, and Lucy was left to her own devices. In long reflections, the feeling of complete loneliness in the world grew stronger in her; this feeling grew into mental anguish, and Lucy fell ill with a fever. As soon as she had the strength to get out of bed, she left the boarding house and went half-delirious and aimlessly wandering the streets of Willett. Entering the church, she suddenly felt an irresistible need to confess, as Catholics do in a difficult moment. The priest listened attentively to her, a Protestant, but, struck by the rare sincerity of the words and the depth of the experience of the confessor, did not find words of consolation. Lucy does not remember how she left the church and what happened to her next.

She woke up in bed in a cozy unfamiliar house. But only at first glance the house was completely unfamiliar - soon Lucy began to distinguish between individual objects that she had already seen somewhere; it took her a moment to realize that she had seen them as a child at Mrs. Bretton's house. Indeed, it was the house called "The Terrace" where Mrs. Bretton and her son John lived, a doctor we know, in which Lucy did not recognize a childhood friend. It was he who picked her up, lying unconscious on the steps of the church. Great was the joy of recognition. Lucy spent the next weeks at the Terrace in friendly conversation with the dearest Mrs. Bretton and her son. With John, Lucy, among other things, talked about Ginevra, in every possible way trying to open his eyes to the unworthy subject of his love, but for the time being, John remained deaf to her exhortations. He was convinced that Lucy was right only when, in a concert, he saw Ginevra and her friends lorn his mother and clearly mock her. It's time for Lucy to go back to the boarding house. John promised to write to her and kept his promise. In his letters the flame of feelings did not shine, but their even warmth warmed them.

A few weeks later, Lucy and Mrs. Bretton and John went to the concert again. Suddenly, in the middle of the performance, there were shouts of "Fire!" and the panic began. From the stampede, John rescued a young lady who was pushed aside by the crowd from the man accompanying her. Both turned out to be English, and not just English, but old, but not immediately recognizable, acquaintances of our heroes - Polly Home, now Countess de Bassompier, and her father, who inherited the earl's title and this name, along with a solid fortune from his French relative. This unexpected meeting, in fact, put an end to the tender friendship between John and Lucy. The longstanding affection between John and Polly flared up again; Some time passed and they got married. These were people whose whole life is a series of bright moments, not overshadowed by too much severe suffering. Lucy Snow was not one of those people.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Lucy and Monsieur Paul changed greatly. They became warmer, calmer; Lucy realized that the captiousness of the teacher of literature, which often irritated her, did not stem from the absurdity of his character, but from the fact that he was not indifferent to her. In a word, they became close friends. This friendship, which threatened in the end to end in marriage, caused serious concern to Madame Beck, who, in fact, was not averse to becoming Madame Emanuelle herself, and their entire family clique. A real conspiracy was formed to prevent the possible disastrous marriage of the good Catholic Monsieur Paul to a heretic. The conspirators, being Catholics, acted in a very strange way from the point of view of a normal person. The priest Father Silas, the same Jesuit to whom Lucy had once confessed, told her the story of Paul Emanuel. In his youth, Monsieur Paul was in love with Justine-Marie, the daughter of a prosperous banker. But since by that time his own father had gone bankrupt on some dark deals, the parents of his beloved rebelled against the marriage and forced the girl to leave for the monastery, where she soon died. Keeping, in spite of everything, fidelity to his love, Monsieur Paul Emanuel took a vow of celibacy, and when Justine-Marie's father also went bankrupt, he began to spend all his earnings on the maintenance of people who broke his happiness. He himself lived modestly, did not even keep servants. This story of selfless nobility could, of course, turn someone away from the desire to connect fate with Monsieur Paul, but not Lucy Snow.

Seeing that the plan failed, the family clique this time resorted to what seemed to be the right way to upset the unwanted marriage. Using the selfless nobility of Monsieur Paul, they planned to send him for three years to the West Indies, where, after the ruin, his bride’s relatives had some land left that could bring income, provided that they were taken care of by a faithful manager. Monsieur Paul agreed, especially since his confessor Father Silas, one of the inspirers of the clique, insisted on this. On the eve of parting, Lucy and Monsieur Paul made an oath to each other in three years to unite their destinies.

In parting, Lucy received a royal gift from the noble groom - with the help of rich friends, he rented a house for her and adapted it for a school; now she could leave Madame Vec and start her own business.

The separation dragged on for a long time. Paul often wrote to Lucy, but she did not waste time, worked tirelessly, and soon her boarding school became quite prosperous. And now three years have passed, this autumn Paul must return from exile. But, apparently, it is not Lucy's destiny to find happiness and peace. For seven long days the storm raged over the Atlantic until it smashed to pieces all the ships that fell into its power.

L A. Karelsky

(Wuthering Heights)

Roman (1847)

Feeling an urgent need to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the London world and fashionable resorts, Mr. Lockwood decided to settle for a while in the countryside. He chose the old manor house, Starling Grange, in the rolling moorlands and marshes of northern England, as the place of his self-imposed retreat. Having settled in his new place, Mr. Lockwood thought it fit to pay a visit to the owner of the Starlings and his only neighbor, Squire Heathcliff, who lived about four miles away, at the estate called Wuthering Heights. The host and his dwelling made a somewhat strange impression on the guest: a gentleman in dress and manners, Heathcliff's appearance was a pure gypsy; his house looked more like the harsh dwelling of a simple farmer than the estate of a landowner. In addition to the master, the grumpy old servant Joseph lived on Wuthering Heights; young, charming, but somehow excessively harsh and full of undisguised contempt for everyone, Katherine Heathcliff, daughter-in-law of the owner; and Hareton Earnshaw (this name Lockwood saw engraved next to the date "1500" above the entrance to the estate) - a rustic-looking fellow, a little older than Catherine, looking at whom one could say with certainty only that he was neither a servant nor a master here son.

Intrigued, Mr. Lockwood asked the housekeeper, Mrs. Dean, to satisfy his curiosity and tell the story of the strange people who lived on Wuthering Heights. The request was made to the right address, for Mrs. Dean was not only an excellent storyteller, but also a direct witness to the dramatic events that made up the history of the Earnshaw and Linton families and their evil genius, Heathcliff.

The Earnshaws, said Mrs. Dean, had lived in Wuthering Heights of old, and the Lintons in Starling Grange. Old Mr Earnshaw had two children, a son Hindley, the eldest, and a daughter Katherine. One day, returning from the city, Mr. Earnshaw picked up a ragged gypsy kid on the road, dying of hunger, and brought him into the house. The boy went out and was christened Heathcliff (subsequently, no one could say for sure whether it was a first name, a surname, or both at once), and it soon became obvious to everyone that Mr. Earnshaw was much more attached to the foundling than to his own son. Heathcliff, whose character was by no means dominated by the most noble features, shamelessly used this, childishly tyrannizing Hindley in every possible way. With Catherine, Heathcliff, oddly enough, struck up a strong friendship.

When old Earnshaw died, Hindley, who had by then lived in the city for several years, came to the funeral not alone, but with his wife. Together they quickly set up their own rules on Wuthering Heights, and the young owner did not fail to cruelly recoup for the humiliation that he once endured from his father's favorite: he now lived in the position of almost a simple worker, Katherine also had a hard time in the care of the close-minded evil hypocrite Joseph ; perhaps her only joy was her friendship with Heathcliff, which gradually developed into a love that was still unconscious to young people.

In the meantime, two teenagers also lived on the Skvortsov Manor - the master's children Edgar and Isabella Linton. Unlike the savages of their neighbors, these were real noble gentlemen - well-mannered, educated, perhaps overly nervous and arrogant. An acquaintance could not fail to take place between the neighbors, but Heathcliff, a rootless plebeian, was not accepted into the Linton company. That would be nothing, but from some point on, Catherine began to spend time with Edgar with undisguised great pleasure, neglecting her old friend, and even, at times, mocking him. Heathcliff vowed terrible revenge on young Linton, and it was not in the nature of this man to throw words to the wind.

Time passed. Hindley Earnshaw had a son, Hareton; the boy's mother fell ill after the birth and never got up again. Having lost the most precious thing in his life, Hindley surrendered and sank before his eyes: he disappeared in the village for days on end, returning with a drunken, irrepressible rampage terrified the household.

The relationship between Catherine and Edgar gradually became more and more serious, and so, one fine day, the young people decided to get married. This decision was not easy for Katherine: she knew in her heart and soul that she was doing wrong; Heathcliff was the focus of her greatest thoughts, those without whom the world is unthinkable for her. However, if she could liken Heathcliff to underground stone layers, on which everything rests, but whose existence does not bring hourly pleasure, she compared her love for Edgar with spring foliage - you know that winter will not leave a trace of her, and yet you cannot don't enjoy it.

Heathcliff, barely aware of the upcoming event, disappeared from Wuthering Heights, and for a long time nothing was heard of him.

Soon the wedding was played; leading Catherine to the altar, Edgar Linton considered himself the happiest of people. The young ones lived at Starling Grange, and anyone who saw them at that time could not help but recognize Edgar and Catherine as an exemplary loving couple.

Who knows how long the serene existence of this family would have continued, but one fine day a stranger knocked at the gates of the Starlings. Heathcliff was not immediately recognized in him, for the former uncouth youth appeared now as a grown man with a military bearing and the habits of a gentleman. Where he was and what he did in those years that had passed since his disappearance remained a mystery to everyone.

Catherine and Heathcliff met as good old friends, while Edgar, who had previously disliked Heathcliff, his return caused displeasure and anxiety. And not in vain. His wife suddenly lost her peace of mind, so carefully guarded by him. It turned out that all this time Catherine had been executing herself as the culprit of the possible death of Heathcliff somewhere in a foreign land, and now his return has reconciled her with God and humanity. A childhood friend became even more dear to her than before.

Despite Edgar's displeasure, Heathcliff was received at Starling Grange and became a frequent visitor there. At the same time, he did not at all bother to observe conventions and decency: he was harsh, rude and straightforward. Heathcliff made no secret of the fact that he returned only to take revenge - and not only on Hindley Earnshaw, but also on Edgar Linton, who took his life with all its meaning. He bitterly reproached Katherine for preferring to him, a man with a capital M, a weak-willed, nervous slobber; Heathcliff's words hurt her soul.

To everyone's bewilderment, Heathcliff settled on Wuthering Heights, which had long since turned from a landowner's house into a den of drunkards and gamblers. The latter was to his advantage: Hindley, who had lost all the money, gave Heathcliff a mortgage on the house and estate. Thus he became the owner of the entire property of the Earnshaw family, and the legitimate heir of Hindley - Girton - was left penniless.

Heathcliff's frequent visits to Starling Manor had one unexpected consequence - Isabella Linton, Edgar's sister, fell head over heels in love with him. Everyone around tried to turn the girl away from this almost unnatural attachment to a man with the soul of a wolf, but she remained deaf to persuasion, Heathcliff was indifferent to her, for he did not care about everyone and everything except Catherine and his revenge; so he decided to make Isabella the instrument of this revenge, to whom his father, having bypassed Edgar, bequeathed the Starling Manor. One fine night, Isabella ran away with Heathcliff, and as time passed, they turned out to be husband and wife at Wuthering Heights. There are no words to describe all the humiliations that Heathcliff subjected his young wife to, and did not think to hide from her the true motives of his actions. Isabella silently endured, wondering in her heart, who really is her husband - a man or a devil?

Catherine Heathcliff had not seen since the day of his escape with Isabella. But one day, having learned that she was seriously ill, he, in spite of everything, appeared in Skvortsy. A painful conversation for both, in which the nature of the feelings nourished by Catherine and Heathcliff for each other was completely revealed, turned out to be the last for them: on the same night, Catherine died, giving life to the girl. The girl (she, grown up, was seen by Mr. Lockwood at Wuthering Heights) was named after her mother.

Catherine's brother, robbed by Heathcliff Hindley Earnshaw, soon died too - he literally drank himself to death. Even earlier, Isabella's patience was exhausted, who finally ran away from her husband and settled somewhere near London. There she had a son, Linton Heathcliff.

Twelve or thirteen years passed, during which nothing disturbed the peaceful life of Edgar and Cathy Linton. But then the news of Isabella's death came to Starling Manor. Edgar immediately went to London and brought her son from there. She was a spoiled creature, inherited sickness and nervousness from her mother, and cruelty and diabolical arrogance from her father.

Cathy, in many ways similar to her mother, immediately became attached to her new-found cousin, but the very next day Heathcliff appeared at the Grange and demanded to give her son back. Edgar Linton, of course, could not object to him.

The next three years passed quietly, for all communication between Wuthering Heights and Starling Grange was forbidden. When Cathy was sixteen she did make it to the Pass, where she found her two cousins, Linton Heathcliff and Hareton Earnshaw; the second, however, she hardly recognized as a relative - he was painfully rude and uncouth. As for Linton, like her mother once, Cathy convinced herself that she loved him. And although the insensitive egoist Linton was not able to return her love, Heathcliff intervened in the fate of young people.

He had no feelings for Linton in the least reminiscent of his father's, but in Cathy he saw the reflection of the features of the one who had dominated his thoughts all his life, the one whose ghost haunted him now. Therefore, he conceived that both Wuthering Heights and Starling Grange, after the deaths of Edgar Linton and Linton Heathcliff (both of whom were already breathing their last), passed into the possession of Cathy. And for this, the children had to be married.

And Heathcliff, against the will of Cathy's dying father, arranged their marriage. Edgar Linton died a few days later, and Linton Heathcliff soon followed.

So there are three of them left: the obsessed Heathcliff, who despises Hareton and does not find control over Cathy; the boundlessly arrogant and wayward young widow Cathy Heathcliff; and Hareton Earnshaw, the impoverished descendant of an ancient family, naively in love with Cathy, who mercilessly treated her illiterate hillbilly cousin.

Such a story was told to Mr. Lockwood by old Mrs. Dean. The time came, and Mr. Lockwood decided at last to part with the village seclusion, as he thought, forever. But a year later, he again found himself passing through those places and could not help visiting Mrs. Dean.

During the year, it turns out, a lot has changed in the lives of our heroes. Heathcliff is dead; before his death, he completely lost his mind, could neither eat nor sleep, and still wandered through the hills, calling on the ghost of Catherine. As for Cathy and Hareton, the girl gradually abandoned her contempt for her cousin, warmed up to him, and at last reciprocated his feelings; the wedding was to be played on New Year's Eve.

In the village cemetery, where Mr. Lockwood went before leaving, everything told him that, no matter what trials fell to the lot of the people resting here, now they all sleep peacefully.

L. A. Karelsky

(The White Chief: A legend of Northern Mexico)

Roman (1855)

The action takes place in Mexico in the late XNUMXth - early XNUMXth century. The novel opens with a description of a feast in honor of St. John's Day in the small Mexican town of San Ildefonso. All walks of life have fun here. Catalina de Cruces, the daughter of the wealthy owner of the mines, Don Ambrosio, stands out among the aristocrats. There is also a contender for her hand, Captain Roblado, an officer of the fortress garrison, and the commandant of the fortress, forty-year-old Colonel Vizcarra.

The main participant in the competitions that make up an integral part of the holiday is Carlos, the buffalo hunter. He, his elderly mother, who has the fame of a sorceress, and the beautiful sister Rosita are Americans. They are light-skinned and fair-haired, besides, they do not attend church, which is why they are known as heretics, and the local population treats them without sympathy, even with caution.

During the holiday, Carlos, an excellent rider, manages to accomplish many feats - he stops an angry bull that almost attacked the crowd, at full gallop, riding a horse, picks up a coin from the ground and, to top it off, dispersing the horse, keeps him on the edge deep gorge. As a result, the commandant Vizcarra, who bet on a large sum with a young rich cattle breeder don Juan, a friend of Carlos, is at a loss.

He hates Carlos and would give dearly to get him out of the way, because even earlier he notices Rosita at the feast, whom he wants to make his mistress. Hates Carlos and captain Roblado, who noticed how his beloved Catalina and the buffalo hunter exchange secret signs.

A week after the holiday, Carlos leaves to hunt buffalo. Hunting is going well, as is trade: Carlos successfully exchanges goods taken specifically for this purpose for mules from the Waco Indians. However, at night, he is completely robbed by a detachment of Indians who has come from nowhere. Carlos sins on the waco, but it soon turns out that he was robbed by the hostile waco tribe Pane. Carlos hopes to get back what he stole with the help of the waco. He goes to their camp, appears there in the midst of a fierce battle and becomes a witness to an unequal battle between the leader of the Wako and the warriors of the Pane tribe. Wanting to help the leader, Carlos kills several panes. And although the leader still dies, Carlos manages to avenge him by sending a bullet in the killer's chest. The participation of Carlos decides the outcome of the battle in favor of the waco, and the grateful tribe chooses him as their leader. However, Carlos refuses to stay with the wacos and, gifted with mules and golden sand, heads home.

While Carlos is hunting, Vizcarra tries to win Rosita's heart, but the girl gives him a decisive rebuff. Then Roblado offers the commandant a cunning plan: under the guise of Indians, they kidnap Rosita, and set fire to Carlos's house. The unfortunate mother, stunned by a blow to the head, is taken in by don Juan.

Carlos returns home hoping that now that he is rich he can marry Catalina and Rosita can marry don Juan. However, only ashes remained on the site of the house. Don Juan, who appeared right there, tells about the raid of the Indians and about the courage of the garrison lancers, who made every effort to catch them.

Carlos visits his mother, and she tells him of her suspicions. Then Carlos goes on the trail of the "Indians", which leads him to the fortress. He decides to take revenge on Colonel Vizkarra for the desecrated honor of his sister and by deception enters the fortress. However, he fails to reckon with the colonel: Lieutenant Garcia comes to the aid of him, whom Carlos is forced to kill in self-defense. Vizcarra manages to escape and Carlos only lightly wounds him on the cheek.

As the killer Carlos is outlawed, a reward is placed on his head. Vizcarra and Roblado make plans to capture him, but first they release his sister - having invented that they recaptured her from the Indians.

Rosita agrees to be taken home by the poor girl Josefa, the bride of one of Carlos's farmhands. On the way, their wagon is overtaken by a rider - this is Catalina, who, through Josefa, gives Carlos a ring with a diamond, and Josefa herself generously endows with money.

The next day, in the church, Josefa gives Catalina a note from Carlos, where he denies the murder charge, calling himself an avenger, and appoints Catalina a date.

Meanwhile, Vizcarra and Roblado take all measures to capture Carlos: his ranch is taken under surveillance, and one of Catalina's maids, Vincenza, the bride of the soldier José, is bribed. She gives the commandant a letter from Carlos to Catalina. Roblado decides to set up an ambush, although he does not know where exactly the meeting of lovers will take place. Just in case, he hides not far from Catalina's house and, on Vincensa's signal, attacks them. Carlos manages to escape, but Catalina is captured and placed under house arrest.

To track down Carlos, Vizcarra and Roblado enlist the help of two thugs who have long disliked Carlos. This is Manuel the mulatto and Pepe (the son of a Negro and an Indian woman). Those willingly accept the offer, especially since they guess where Carlos is hiding, and count on the promised reward.

The villains want to take Carlos alive as the bounty for living is doubled. Finding his hiding place, they wait until he leaves the cave, and then hide there to catch him by surprise.

Carlos really leaves at night to meet his farmhand Antonio, who has become his true friend. Antonio warns the owner of the danger, and he, before entering the cave himself, lets the dog go ahead. Learning that there is an ambush in the cave, he jumps into the forest. There, in the clearing, he builds a fire and dresses up the trunk of a cactus in his costume. The villains mistake the cactus for a sleeping Carlos and attack him. Carlos makes short work of unsuspecting thugs with ease.

Vizcarra and Roblado do not know what else to do, but then it turns out that Carlos still managed to catch - thanks to the betrayal of one of his servants. At the same time, his mother and sister are thrown into prison. Imprisoned in a cell, Carlos becomes a witness to the cruel punishment that unfortunate women are subjected to: tied to the backs of mules, they are beaten with whips. Unable to bear the torture, Carlos' mother dies.

Carlos has his hands and feet tied, he is vigilantly guarded, and he is already beginning to despair. The thought of suicide even visits him, and, unexpectedly for himself, untying the belts, he tries to take his own life with their help. However, once at the window, he suddenly receives a blow to the forehead - this is a bundle with gold coins and a knife sent by Catalina. In the attached note, the girl proposes an escape plan.

At night, Carlos makes a hole in the wall, built of unbaked bricks, and makes an escape. At the same time, taking advantage of her father's absence and lulling the vigilance of the guards, Catalina flees from the house. Having met at the appointed place, Carlos with Catalina, Rosita and several faithful servants set off on a long journey - to America, on the other side of the Great Plains.

Months later, Carlos returns to San Ildefonso to seek revenge. With him are five hundred Indian warriors from the Waco tribe, who had once chosen him as their leader. The Indians arrange a terrible massacre in the fortress, leaving only Colonel Vizcarra and Captain Roblado alive - a more terrible death awaits them.

But Carlos is not satisfied with the massacre of the garrison - at one time he swore to take revenge on the inhabitants of the valley. His warriors burn San Ildefonso to the ground, allowing only the Indians and a few whites to escape, including Catalina's father.

The next day, Carlos commits an act of retribution against the Jesuit fathers who once poisoned his family: the Indians tie them to the backs of mules and reward them with whips, and then shoot them with a bow.

An even more terrible execution is prepared for Vizcarra and Roblado: they are tied to the saddles of wild mustangs, and then the horses are allowed to run at full gallop towards the gorge ...

And Carlos, having taken the gold promised to him from the Indians, goes to Louisiana, where he cultivates a plantation on the banks of the Red River. A beautiful wife, a sister who married don Juan, and several old servants live happily with him.

E. B. Tueva

(The Quadroon; or, A Lover's Adventures in Louisiana)

Roman (1856)

The action takes place in the 1850s. in the United States of America, when slavery dominated the South of the country. The story is told in the first person.

The hero - a young rich Englishman named Edward, in search of romance, comes to the United States and stops in New Orleans, where he leads a carefree, wild life for six months, squandering a large amount of money. By summer, he discovers he only has $25 left. To save himself from the yellow fever epidemic, he buys a steamboat ticket to St. Louis with part of this money, although he does not really imagine how he will live there.

While waiting for the steamer to leave, the hero sees the preparations for the races, which are often arranged for advertising purposes by "first-class" river steamers. Passengers are already betting whether their ship will be able to overtake the rival, when suddenly a woman appears on the pier - a beautiful and rich Creole woman, who expresses her desire to sail on the ship, but on the condition that he will not participate in the race. The captain gives his consent. On the things of the girl, which are loaded onto the ship, the hero manages to read her name: Eugenie Vesancon.

Suddenly, the “Beauty of the West”, on which the hero is sailing, is overtaken by a rival steamer, and the gambling Creole agrees to race. As a result, the steam boiler explodes, and the "Beauty of the West" begins to sink rapidly. The thrifty hero turns out to be the happy owner of a life belt, but, seeing the plight of the Creole woman, he gives the belt to her. Some scoundrel, wanting to take possession of the belt, wounds the hero in the hand, but he still manages to swim to the shore, where he loses consciousness. The hero comes to his senses in the Creole estate, and in his darkened consciousness the image of a beautiful woman emerges, but this is not Eugenie.

The hero is courted by a negro named Scipio, or Zip. From him, the hero learns that as a result of the accident, Antoine, the manager of the estate and guardian of Mademoiselle Besancon, drowned. The second guardian of the girl is the cunning and treacherous lawyer Dominique Gaillard. Scipio believes that the lawyer deceived Eugenie's late father, gradually ruining him, and now ruins his daughter, allowing her to spend too much. The hero also learns that Gaillard lives on an estate nearby, often visits Eugenie and behaves as if he were the owner here. It turns out that Zip received all this information from the quadroon Aurora, a slave and at the same time confidante Eugenie Besancon.

Soon the hero is visited by Dr. Edward Reigart, accompanied by Gaillard. The latter insists that the hero be sent to a hotel, because his presence on the plantation may give rise to gossip, but the doctor forbids the move.

After some time, the hero meets Aurora, in whom he recognizes his beautiful vision. Love flares up in his heart, but he realizes that on the path of this love he will encounter a lot of difficulties associated with the position of his beloved.

Bedridden, the hero reads a lot, communicates with Zip, keeps a diary. From the Negro, he learns that a new overseer Larkin, nicknamed Bill the Bandit, has arrived at the plantation. He is known for his cruelty towards blacks and is patronized by Gaillard.

The hero closely communicates with the doctor, who says that Gaillard has a great influence on Eugenie Besancon, and at one time the friendship of a lawyer with her father was more like a relationship between a creditor and a debtor.

Soon the doctor allows the hero to leave. Taking advantage of this, Gaillard offers the hero to move to a hotel. Eugenie does not keep him, and he, having borrowed money from the doctor, moves to the nearby town of Bringers.

He often visits the plantation and, by secret signs given by Aurora, soon becomes convinced that the quadroon also loves him. He tensely ponders how to free her and link his fate with her.

One day, approaching Eugenie's house, he learns that the quadroon is alone, and hopes to be alone with her, but suddenly he hears voices from the house. This Gaillard, taking advantage of the absence of the hostess, secretly entered the plantation. He covets Aurora's love.

The girl gives him a resolute rebuff, and he is already ready to take her by force, but the hero who bursts into the room drives him away. He proposes to Aurora and they start making plans for her release. Edward expresses his intention to redeem his beloved, but she doubts such a possibility, hinting that the mistress herself is in love with him.

After parting with his bride, the hero travels through a Negro village, where he witnesses how the black Bambara Gabriel tortures Scipio. It turns out that Zip is punished for daring to raise a hand against Larkin, who tried to abuse his daughter. Edward drives Gabriel away, but then the overseer himself appears, in whom the hero recognizes the villain who wounded him. He aims at the hero with a pistol, but the hero saves himself by hitting him on the head with the handle of a whip.

Returning to the hotel, Edward discovers a check for two hundred pounds and decides to immediately settle the issue of Aurora's ransom with Eugenie, but, having learned about the hero's love for the slave, the girl faints, thereby revealing her true feelings.

To clear his head, Edward goes hunting the next day, where he is bitten by a rattlesnake. He is already ready to say goodbye to life, when he suddenly meets Gabriel in the forest, who has gone on the run. The Negro heals the hero and opens his shelter to him, showing the way to him.

Returning to the hotel, Edward learns that Gaillard, who owned the mortgage on the Eugenie estate, has filed for collection and has already been put into possession. Thus, Eugenie is ruined and forced to go to New Orleans, where, according to rumors, her aunt lives. All the Negroes from the plantation are to be auctioned shortly. The next day, the hero receives a letter from Eugenie, where she confesses her love and announces her intention to leave for a monastery.

Wanting to ransom Aurora, the hero goes to New Orleans. Once on board the ship, he witnesses the farewell of lovers and recognizes Aurora in the girl. Tormented by jealousy, he tries to forget himself in wine, and after drinking, he sits down to play whist, as it later turns out, with cheaters. He is saved from complete ruin by a young Creole who introduced himself as Eugene d'Hauteville - he fired two shots into the air and thus interrupted the game.

Hoping to get money to participate in the auction, Edward goes to the Brown and K ° bank, but the check he was expecting has not yet arrived, and the owner of the bank refuses him a loan. Then the hero decides to try his luck at the gambling table, but is completely lost. D'Hautville, who tries to support him, also loses, although he puts everything at stake, up to an expensive diamond ring. After an unsuccessful game, he promises the hero that he will try to help him.

Despite the lack of money, Edward still goes to the auction. He is already desperate to wait for d'Hauteville, but at the very last moment he appears with three thousand dollars. Edward enters the auction, but he fails to redeem Aurora - someone whom everyone considers to be Gaillard's figurehead pays three and a half thousand for her.

Then the hero decides to steal the quadroon from Gaillard's estate and hide for a while in Gabriel's shelter, but he fails: a bloodhound is launched on the trail of the fugitives. Gaillard and Larkin catch the hero, although he desperately resists, and are about to take Ainch's trial against him, when the sheriff suddenly appears, demanding that Edward be brought before a real court.

At the trial, Gaillard accuses him of trying to rebel the slaves of the Besancons, of inciting Gabriel to escape, of kidnapping Aurora, but then d'Hautville appears, who gives the judge a free quadruple and a document indicating that Gaillard concealed fifty thousand dollars owed to Eugenie Besançon, upon reaching the age of majority, that is, in other words, stole them. It turns out that d'Hauteville is Eugenie in disguise. Her accusation is supported by Antoine, who suddenly appeared at the trial, whom everyone considered dead. It turns out that he simply took the opportunity to hide for a while and secretly follow Gaillard's machinations.

Eugenie Besancon gets back the estate, which, however, does not save her from unrequited love. Dr. Reigart becomes a major landowner and prominent Louisiana legislator. Gaillard spends five years in prison, and then, according to rumors, returns to France, where his trail is lost. Larkin is also serving time in prison. One of the sharpers who beat Edward is killed in a duel, another turns into a petty crook, the third dies of tropical fever, and the hero himself lives peacefully and happily with a beautiful quadroon.

E. B. Tueva

(Oceola the Seminole)

Tale (1858)

The action takes place in Florida in the early 1830s, before and during the so-called Second Seminole War. The protagonist George Randolph is the son of an impoverished planter who moved from Virginia to Florida. In his veins there is an admixture of Indian blood, which is considered a matter of pride in America.

At the very beginning of the story, we get acquainted with other characters. Among them are the slaves Yellow Jack and Black Jack, a mulatto and a negro, the Mulatto is described as a gloomy, vicious, cruel and vengeful creature - qualities that the hero, on whose behalf the story is being told, considers the psychological feature of mulattoes in general:

"The mulattoes are proud of their yellow skin and put themselves "above" the Negroes both mentally and physically, and therefore feel their humiliated position more acutely." It is said about the Negroes as follows: "They are rarely insensitive savages <…>, everywhere they have to suffer, but in their souls there is no vindictiveness and cruelty." Therefore, Black Jack has a good heart and is very attached to the hero and his father.

Between the mulatto and the negro there is rivalry because of the beautiful quadroon Viola. One day, a mulatto, wanting to win her favor, lies in wait for her on a forest path, and only the appearance of the hero's sister, young Virginia, saves Viola from violence. The mulatto is punished; out of revenge, he kills Virginia's beloved doe, he is punished again, and then he decides to go to the extreme - he lures an alligator into the pool where the girl usually bathes.

She is saved from death by an Indian boy named Powell, the son of an Indian woman and a white man.

It was decided to execute a mulatto who had encroached on the life of a white girl - to burn him alive. The owners of the neighboring plantation, father and son Ringgold, take a lively part in the preparations for the execution - everyone knows that the young Ringgold dreams of marrying Virginia. Powell and Arene Ringgold exchange insults, and as a result of a fight that breaks out between them, Yellow Jack manages to escape. A chase is sent for him, but in front of his pursuers, he becomes a victim of a crocodile.

Meanwhile, Ringgold and his friends Ned Spence and Bill Williams decide to punish the proud Indian, and the hero saves him from whipping.

This is how the friendship between the hero and the Indian develops, which is subsequently joined by Virginia and Powell's sister Mayumi. This friendship does not last long: soon the hero's parents find out about it, and he is urgently sent to study at West Point.

When he returns to Florida, a war is brewing with the Indians, whose lands are claimed by white settlers. However, it is impossible to simply expel the Indians from their land, since there is a special agreement on this matter. The task of whites is to terminate the existing one and conclude a new agreement providing for the resettlement of Indians to new lands. If the Indians refused, it was decided to use force. Government troops are drawn to the places of settlement of the Seminoles.

Among the Indian leaders there is no unity on the issue of resettlement: some are ready to agree to the conditions of the whites, others prefer to fight the troops. Among the latter is a young leader named Osceola, famous for his courage.

After spending a little time at home, George Randolph goes to Fort King, where the Seminole Office and the main headquarters of the Florida army are located under the command of General Clinch, to whom the hero is seconded. From a conversation with Black Jack, he learns that the Ringgolds deceived the estate from the Powell family, and she left somewhere. This news makes him very sad, as he has been in love with Mayumi for a long time. On the way to the fort, someone shoots at George, and Black Jack says that it was Yellow Jack.

The day after the hero's arrival at Fort King, a council of chiefs takes place, at which government agent Wiley Thompson urges them to sign a resettlement treaty. At a critical moment, Osceola appears, who decides the outcome of the council - under his pressure, the chief leader refuses to put his signature. Angry and annoyed, Thompson addresses him, calling him Powell, and then the hero recognizes him.

Agent Thompson presents the Indians with an ultimatum, to which he was authorized by the president: either resettlement or war. But the Indians say they are ready to defend themselves. Then the agent invites them to discuss everything again in their circle and get together the next day.

Late in the evening, George finds himself in the woods, waiting for the renegade chieftains to give him important information. Suddenly, the insane Indian Haj-Eva, familiar to him from childhood, appears and warns him of the danger. He really becomes a witness to the conspiracy: his old foe Arens Ringgold plots to kill him in order to marry his sister and take over the plantations. The murder must be committed by Yellow Jack, who until that moment was considered dead.

The next day, another meeting of the agent with the Indians takes place near Fort King, during which Osceola is arrested, and Haj-Eva makes an appointment with George in the forest.

The hero wants to settle scores with Ringgold. A friend advises him to give Ringgold an excuse to challenge him to a duel first. One is quickly found: Ringgold boasts of the love victories of his friend Scott, the commander-in-chief's aide-de-camp, who allegedly made Mayumi his mistress. George slaps Ringgold, then wounds him in a duel.

Arriving in the forest in the evening, the hero witnesses Mayumi's meeting with Scott. The girl asks Scott to help free her brother, but he makes her a dirty proposal. The hero saves the girl, and she falls into his arms.

On the same evening, George visits Osceola and advises him to sign the contract, since the signature does not oblige him to anything: after all, according to the contract, the decision to resettle must be made by all the people. So Osceola regains freedom.

Meanwhile, the mobilization of volunteers for the American army begins. To form such a detachment, the hero and his friend, Captain Gallagher, go to his native village of Swanee.

On the way, he learns that his sister is secretly dating Osceola. He is very distressed, as such encounters could seriously damage her reputation. However, gradually it begins to seem to him that Virginia sympathizes with Gallagher, and he reciprocates her feelings. Suddenly, the hero learns that Arena Ringgold often visits his sister. He is afraid that Virginia would not commit a rash act and marry him. But, accidentally witnessing their meeting, he finds out that Virginia is trying to get the estate that once belonged to the Powells as a gift. Later, the girl promises her brother not to have anything to do with Ringgold.

George is urgently summoned to Fort King. Once in the forest at night, he is captured by the Indians and becomes a witness of Osceola's revenge on the traitor leader Omatla. A little later, during the celebration of Christmas, the Indians kill Agent Thompson - this is how Osceola takes revenge.

A real war begins, in which the Indians win one victory after another (the defeat of Major Dade's detachment, the battle of Whitlacutchi). One commander-in-chief replaces another, but none of them can inflict any serious defeat on the Indians. During the war, the hero miraculously survives.

After a two-month absence, he returns home. He is tormented by severe forebodings. Arriving, he learns that his estate was burned, his mother and uncle, who served as a manager, were killed, and his sister was kidnapped. Eyewitnesses call the Indians the culprits, but it later turns out that it was Yellow Jack who dressed up in Osceola's costume, and Ringgold organized the kidnapping in order to then act as a savior and thus force Virginia to marry him.

Osceola, as always, comes to the aid of the hero and his sister. A grateful Virginia gives him the documents for the right to own the estate, and George takes Mayumi under his protection, suggesting marrying her.

But Osceola was no longer destined to take advantage of the nobility of Virginia: he lost interest in life, as he managed to get rid of everyone whom he swore to take revenge on. During a night halt, he easily allows himself to be arrested, and a few weeks later he dies in captivity from an incurable disease.

At the time of Osceola's arrest, from the bite of a rattlesnake, which the insane Hadj-Eve always carries with her, Yellow Jack dies, who betrayed the Indian to the authorities.

Virginia marries Captain Gallagher, the hero marries Mayumi, and Black Jack and his wife Viola go to manage one of the Randolphs' plantations.

E. B. Tueva

(The Headless Horseman: a Strange Tale of Texas)

Roman (1866)

The action takes place in the 1850s ... Wagons are driving along the Texas prairie - this is the ruined planter Woodley Poindexter moving from Louisiana to Texas. With him are son Henry, daughter Louise, and nephew, retired Captain Cassius Calhoun. Suddenly they lose track - in front of them is a scorched prairie. The way to the caravan is indicated by a young rider in a Mexican costume. The caravan continues to move, but soon the rider appears again, this time to save the settlers from the hurricane. He says his name is Maurice Gerald, or Maurice Mustanger, because he is a hunter of wild horses. Louise falls in love with him at first sight.

Soon, in the Casa del Corvo, where the Poindekssters settled, a dinner party should be held on the occasion of a housewarming party. In the midst of the triumph, Maurice the Mustang appears with a herd of horses, which he caught on the order of Poindexter. Among them is a mustang of a rare mottled color. Poindexter offers a large sum for it, but the Mustang refuses money and presents the mustang as a gift to Louise.

After some time, the commandant of Fort Inge, located near Casa del Corvo, arranges a return reception - a picnic on the prairie, during which hunting for mustangs is supposed. Maurice is the guide. As soon as the picnic participants settle down at a halt, a herd of wild mares appears, and a speckled mare, galloping after them, takes Louise to the prairie. Maurice is afraid that the speckled, having caught up with her herd, will not try to get rid of the rider, and rushes in pursuit. Soon he catches up with the girl, but they face a new danger - a herd of wild stallions jumps on them, extremely aggressive at this time of the year. Maurice and Louise have to flee, but they finally get rid of the pursuit only when the mustanger kills the leader with a well-aimed shot.

The heroes are left alone, and Maurice invites Louise to her hut. The girl is pleasantly surprised to see there books and other little things that testify to the erudition of the owner.

Meanwhile, Cassius Calhoun, burning with jealousy, follows in the footsteps of Maurice and Louise and eventually meets them. They slowly ride side by side, and jealousy flares up in him with renewed vigor.

In the evening of the same day, men drink in the bar of the only hotel in the village "On a Halt", which is kept by the German Franz Oberdofer. Calhoun proposes a toast that is insulting to Irishman Maurice Gerald and pushes him in the process. In response, he throws a glass of whiskey in Calhoun's face. It is clear to everyone that the quarrel will end in a shootout.

Indeed, right there, in the bar, there is a duel. Both members are wounded, but the mustanger still manages to put a gun to Calhoun's temple. He is forced to apologize.

Because of their injuries, Calhoun and Maurice the Mustanger must stay in bed, but Calhoun is cared for and the mustanger languishes in a shabby inn. But soon baskets of provisions begin to arrive to him - these are the gifts of Isidora Covarubio de Los Llanos, who he once saved from the hands of drunken Indians and is in love with him. This becomes known to Louise, and, tormented by jealousy, she arranges a meeting with the mustanger. During the meeting, a declaration of love takes place between them.

When Louise once again goes for a horseback ride, her father forbids her to leave on the pretext that the Comanches are on the warpath. The girl surprisingly easily agrees and begins to get involved in archery - with the help of arrows, she exchanges letters with Maurice the Mustanger.

The exchange of letters is followed by secret nightly meetings in the courtyard of the estate. Cassius Calhoun becomes a witness of one of these meetings, who wants to use this as an excuse to deal with the mustanger at the hands of Henry Poindexter. There is a quarrel between Henry and Maurice, but Louise persuades her brother to catch up with the mustanger and apologize to him.

Enraged Calhoun tries to set a certain Miguel Diaz on Maurice, who has his own scores with the Irish because of Isidora, but he turns out to be dead drunk. Then Calhoun himself rides after Maurice and Henry.

The next day, it turns out that Henry is missing. Suddenly, his horse appears at the gate of the estate with traces of gore. It is suspected that the young man was attacked by the Comanches. Fort officers and planters gather to search.

Suddenly, the owner of the inn appears. He says that the mustanger paid his bill the night before and moved out. Soon Henry Poindexter appeared at the hotel. Finding out in which direction the mustanger left, he galloped after him.

The search party is driving along a forest clearing, when suddenly, against the backdrop of the setting sun, a headless horseman appears before the eyes of the assembled. The detachment tries to follow in his footsteps, but the tracks are lost in the "chalk prairie". It was decided to postpone the search until the morning, and the major, commandant of the fort, reports the evidence found by the tracker Spangler, excluding the involvement of the Indians. Suspicion of the murder falls on Maurice Gerald, and everyone decides to go to his hut in the morning.

At this time, the hunter Zebulon (Zeb) Stump, a friend of Maurice, comes to Casa del Corvo. Louise recounts to him the rumors about her brother's death and the involvement of Maurice Gerald in it. At her request, the hunter goes to the mustanger to save him from being lynched.

When the hunter is in the hut, the dog Tara comes running with Maurice's calling card tied to his collar, It says in blood where he can be found. Zeb Stump shows up just in time to save an injured friend from a jaguar.

Meanwhile, Louise sees a rider who looks like Maurice from the roof of the manor. After galloping after him, she finds Isidora's note to Maurice in the forest. Jealousy flares up in the girl, and she decides, contrary to decency, to go to her lover to check her suspicions. In the mustanger's hut, she meets Isidora. At the sight of a rival, she leaves the hut.

Thanks to Isidora, the search party easily finds the home of the mustanger, in which Woodley Poindexter discovers his daughter. He sends her home. And just in time, since the assembled are already ready to lynch the alleged killer, thanks in large part to the false testimony of Calhoun. She manages to delay the execution for a while, but passions flare up with renewed vigor, and the unconscious mustanger is again ready to be pulled up on a bough. This time, Zeb Stump saves him, demanding a fair trial. Maurice Gerald is taken to the guardhouse at Fort Inge.

Zeb Stump follows in the footsteps of the participants in the drama. During the search, he manages to see the headless horseman at close range, and he is convinced that it is Henry Poindexter.

In anticipation of the trial, Calhoun asks his uncle for the hand of Auiza - he is his debtor and is unlikely to be able to refuse. But Louise doesn't want to hear about it. Then, at the trial, Calhoun tells about her secret meeting with the mustanger and about the quarrel of the latter with Henry. Louise is forced to admit that this is so.

From the story of Maurice at the trial, it becomes known that after a quarrel, they met with Henry in the forest, reconciled and, as a sign of friendship, exchanged capes and hats. Henry left, and Maurice decided to spend the night in the forest. Suddenly he was awakened by a shot, but he did not attach any importance to it and fell asleep again, and in the morning he found the corpse of Henry with his head cut off. To deliver him to his relatives, the corpse had to be saddled by a mustang belonging to Maurice, since Henry's horse did not want to carry this gloomy burden. The mustanger himself mounted Henry's horse, but did not pick up the reins, so he could not control him when he carried. As a result of a frantic ride, the mustanger hit his head on a bough and flew off his horse.

Just then, Zeb Stump appears, bringing Calhoun and the Headless Horseman with him. He saw Calhoun try to capture the rider to get rid of the evidence, and makes it clear in court that Calhoun is the killer. The evidence is a bullet extracted from the corpse with Calhoun's initials and a letter addressed to him, which he used as a wad. The caught Calhoun tries to run, but Maurice the mustanger catches him.

Calhoun confesses to a murder he committed by mistake: he aimed at a mustanger, not knowing that he had switched clothes with his cousin. But before hearing the verdict, Calhoun shoots the mustanger, who is saved from death by a medallion donated by Louise. In desperation, Calhoun puts a bullet in his forehead.

It immediately turns out that Maurice Gerald is the owner of a large fortune. He marries Louise and redeems the heir of Calhoun (it turns out that he had a son) Casa del Corvo. With them, the servant Felim O'Neil and Zeb Stump live happily, supplying game to the table. Ten years later, Maurice and Louise already have six children.

Shortly after the wedding of Maurice and Louise, Miguel Diaz kills Isidora out of jealousy, for which he is hanged on the first bitch.

E. B. Tueva

Roman (1871-1872)

Sisters Dorothea and Celia, left without parents, lived in the house of their uncle-guardian Mr. Brook. The sisters were almost equally good-looking, but differed in character: Dorothea was serious and pious, Celia was sweet and moderately frivolous. Mr. Brooke's house was frequented by two gentlemen who had the express intention of soon offering Dorothea their hand and heart. One is a young baronet, Sir James Chettem; Dorothea opted for the latter, although at fifty he looked, as evil tongues used to say, like a withered mummy; the girl was inspired by the erudition and depth of mind of the reverend father, who was preparing to make the world happy with a multi-volume treatise in which he proved on vast material that all mythologies in the world are distortions of a single source given from above. To the formal proposal sent by Mr. Casaubon, Dorothea agreed the same day; a month and a half later they got married, and the newlyweds went on their honeymoon trip to Rome, because Casaubon needed to work with manuscripts in the Vatican library. Young Sir James, a little despondent, turned all his zeal to his younger sister, and she soon became Mrs. Celia Chettom.

In Rome, Dorothea was disappointed: what she so admired in her husband, deep knowledge, more and more seemed to her a dead, cumbersome burden that did not bring to life either lofty joy or inspiration. Her only comfort was meeting Will Ladislaus, a poor distant relative of Mr. Casaubon, who was visiting Rome with an artist friend. Will, in his youth, had not yet chosen a career for himself and lived on money, out of the mercy of Dorothea's husband.

When the Caseubons returned to Middlemarch, the main topic of conversation in the town was the construction of a new hospital. The money for it was given by the banker Mr. Bulstrode, a stranger in Middlemarch, but already having a strong position thanks to his money, as well as his marriage, which connected him with the ties of property with the original Middlemarchs - the Vincys, the Garths, the Featherstones. The head of the hospital was Mr. Lydgate, a young doctor who had come to town from somewhere in the north; at first he was met with hostility by both colleagues and potential patients, who were suspicious of Mr. Lydgate's advanced medical theories, but after a little time, the most respected inhabitants turned out to be among his patients.

So, it was Lydgate who was called when the fever with young Fred Vincey began. This young man, the son of wealthy, respected parents in Middlemarch, did not justify the hopes of the family: his father invested a lot of money in his education so that he could devote himself to the profession of a priest befitting a gentleman, but Fred was in no hurry to take the exam, preferring hunting and billiards to everything in the world. a pleasant society of "life burners". Such a pastime requires money, and therefore he got one very large debt.

Fred's illness did not threaten anything serious, but Mr. Lydgate regularly visited the patient, drawn to his bed partly by duty, partly by the desire to be in the company of Fred's sister, the charming blond Rosamond Vincey. Rosamond also had a liking for a promising, purposeful young man, endowed with a pleasant appearance, intelligence and, as they said, some capital. Enjoying the presence of Rosamond, Lydgate completely forgot about her in the evenings of his studies and did not intend to marry in the next few years. Not the Rosamond. Already after the first meetings, she began to think about the atmosphere of the family home and about everything else that the bride is supposed to take care of. Seeing that Lydgate was powerless before her charms, Rosamond easily got her way, and soon the Lydgates were already living in a beautiful spacious house, exactly as the young woman dreamed of.

So far, everything has been going well for Rosamond, but the situation in which her brother is worse off can by no means be called pleasant. Asking his father for money was out of the question, but Caleb Garth, the father of Mary, to whom Fred was deeply indifferent, acted as a surety for Fred out of kindness. Mr. Garth was a land surveyor and, as an honest and disinterested man, did not have significant funds, but immediately agreed to pay Fred's debt, which doomed his own family to hardship. However, poverty and deprivation are not something that could seriously overshadow the life of the Garths.

Even the savings that Mary Garth made, being something of a housekeeper for a wealthy relative of the Garths and Vincey, old Featherstone, went to pay off the debt of a frivolous youth. In fact, Fred was counting on the inheritance of a rich uncle when issuing a bill, for he was almost sure that it was to him after the death of Featherstone that his land holdings would go. However, all Fred's hopes were in vain, as, indeed, were the hopes of numerous other relatives who flocked to the old man's deathbed. The deceased refused all the property to a certain unknown Joshua Rigg, his illegitimate son, who immediately hurried to sell the estate to Bulstrode and disappear forever from Middlemarch.

The years meanwhile were not kind to Mr. Casaubon either. He began to feel much worse, weakened, suffered from palpitations. In this position, the Reverend Father was especially irritated by the presence in his life with Dorothea of ​​Will Ladislaus, who was clearly in love with Mrs. Casaubon; in the end, he even refused Will the house.

Will was just about ready to leave Middlemarch, where until then only his affection for Dorothea had kept him, when the election campaign began. This circumstance, seemingly having nothing to do with the life of normal people, played a certain role in the choice of a field not only by Will, but also by Fred Vincey. The fact is that Mr. Brooke intended to run for Parliament, and then it turned out that he had a lot of ill-wishers in the city and the county. In order to adequately respond to their attacks, an elderly gentleman bought one of the Middlemarch newspapers and invited Will Ladislav to the post of editor; there were no other sufficiently educated people in the city. The bulk of the attacks boiled down to the fact that Mr. Brooke is a worthless landowner, because the business on the farms belonging to him was put out of hand. In an effort to deprive the accusations of ill-wishers of grounds, Mr. Brooke invited Caleb Garth to be the manager. Several other landowners followed his example, so that the specter of poverty receded from the Garth family, but the affairs of his head became overwhelming. Mr. Caleb needed an assistant, and so he decided to make Fred, who was hanging around anyway.

Fred Vincey, meanwhile, was already seriously considering taking the priesthood, which would give him at least some kind of permanent income and the opportunity to gradually pay off the Garts. What stopped him, in addition to his own reluctance, was the reaction of Mary, with a fervor, in general, unusual for her, who declared that if he goes to such a profanity, she will stop all relations with him. Caleb Garth's offer came in very handy, and Fred, gladly accepting it, tried not to lose face.

Mr. Casaubon could not prevent Will's appointment, and seemed resigned to the fact that the young man remained in Middlemarch. As for Mr. Casaubon's health, it has by no means improved. During one of Dr. Lydgate's visits, the priest asked him to be extremely frank, and Lydgate said that with such a heart disease he could live another fifteen years, or he could die suddenly and much earlier. After this conversation, Casaubon became even more thoughtful and finally set about organizing the materials collected for the book, designed to be the result of his whole life. However, the very next morning, Dorothea found her husband dead on a bench in the garden. Casaubon left all his fortune to her, but at the end of the will they made a note that it was valid only if Dorothea did not marry Will Ladislav. Offensive in itself, this addition cast a shadow on the impeccable reputation of Mrs. Casaubon. One way or another, Dorothea did not even think about remarriage, and directed all her strength and income to charity, in particular to help the new hospital, where Lydgate was in charge of the medical department.

With the practice of Lydgate, everything was in order, but family life was not in the best way. Very soon it turned out that his vital interests had nothing to do with those of Rosamond, who talked about Lydgate leaving the hospital, where he applied advanced methods of treatment with enthusiasm and success, but completely free of charge, and, having moved to another Place, start more profitable practice than he had at Middlemarch. The grief that they experienced when Rosamond had a miscarriage did not at all bring them together, and even more so the financial difficulties that are natural for a novice doctor when he lives on such a grand scale. An unexpected relief came in the form of a check for a thousand pounds - just such a huge amount Lydgate needed to settle with creditors - offered by Bulstrode.

The banker became generous for a reason - he, a pious man in his own way, needed to do something to appease his conscience, awakened by a certain story. The story was reminded, not entirely disinterestedly, to Bulstrode by a man named Ruffles.

The fact is that Ruffles served in one enterprise that flourished thanks to not entirely legal operations, the co-owner, and then the sole owner of which Bulstrode was once. Bulstrode became the owner after the death of his senior partner, from whom he inherited not only the business, but also his wife. His wife's only daughter, Bulstrode's stepdaughter Sarah, ran away from home and became an actress. When Bulstrode was widowed, Sarah should have shared a huge fortune with him, but they could not find her, and he got everything alone. There was one man who nevertheless found a fugitive, but he was generously paid to leave for America forever. Now Ruffles was back from there and wanted money. It remains to be added that Sarah married the son of a Polish immigrant, Ladislav, and that they had a son, Will.

Bulstrode escorted Ruffles away, handing over the amount demanded by him, and Will, having told about everything, offered a fortune, but the young man, poor as he was, indignantly refused money acquired by dishonest means. Bulstrode had almost calmed down when Caleb Harth suddenly appeared to him and brought back the very sick Ruffles; it was clear from Garth that he had time to let him know about everything. Summoned by Bulstrode, Lydgate prescribed opium to the patient and left the banker and his housekeeper in charge. going to bed, Bulstrode somehow forgot to tell the housekeeper how much opium to give to the patient and she made him drink the whole bottle during the night, and in the morning Ruffles died.

Rumors spread around the city that Bulstrode purposely killed the patient, and Lydgate helped him in this, for which he received a thousand pounds. Both were subjected to severe obstruction, the end of which was only able to put an end to Dorothea, who believed the doctor and convinced many others of his innocence.

Dorothea herself, meanwhile, was becoming more and more imbued with tender feelings for Will, and finally an explanation took place: the young people decided to get married, despite the fact that Dorothea would lose the rights to Casaubon's money. Over time, Will became a figure prominent in political circles, but by no means a politician, Dorothea found herself as a wife and mother, for, with all the talents, in what other field could a woman prove herself at that time.

Fred and Mary, of course, also became husband and wife; they never got rich, but lived a long bright life, adorned with the birth of three glorious sons.

Lydgate died at the age of fifty in one of the fashionable resorts where he lived, specializing in gout, a disease of the rich, to the delight of Rosamond.

D. A. Karelsky

Roman (I860)

The action takes place in England in 1850. The young London artist Walter Hartright, on the recommendation of his friend, the Italian professor Sands, gets a job as an art teacher in Limmeridge in Cumberland, on the estate of Frederick Fairley, Esq. Before leaving, Walter comes to say goodbye to his mother and sister, who live on the outskirts of London. Returning home late in the hot evening, he suddenly meets a strange woman on a deserted road, dressed in white from head to toe. They continue on their way together. Hartright's mention of the places where he is to go causes unexpected excitement in the stranger. She speaks fondly of Mrs. Fairley, the late owner of Limmerridge. Then, with anger and fear, she recalls a baronet from Hampshire, without mentioning, however, his name. Walter helps a stranger to catch a cab and almost immediately after her departure sees a carriage with two riders asking about the "woman in white". They are looking for her to bring her back to the lunatic asylum she escaped from.

Walter Hartright arrives in Limmeridge, gets acquainted with its inhabitants. They are Marian Holcombe, daughter of the late Mrs. Fairlie from her first marriage, an ugly but charming and energetic brunette, her maternal sister Laura Fairlie, a gentle and meek blonde, and Mr. Frederick Fairlie, their uncle, a bachelor and a terrible egoist, the very one who Walter a job. Walter tells Marian about his meeting with the woman in white, and she, intrigued, finds a mention of the girl Anna Catherick in her mother's letters. Mrs. Fairley became attached to the girl because of her resemblance to Laura, and little Anna, responding to her patroness with ardent love, swore in her honor to always walk only in white. Here William understands that strange feeling that more than once arose in him when looking at Laura: the woman in white surprisingly resembled Laura, only she had lost weight and turned pale or experienced grief. Marian and Walter keep their discovery a secret. Meanwhile, as often happens, teacher and student, Walter and Laura, fell in love. But they don't talk about their love. They are separated by an abyss of social and property inequality, because Laura is noble and rich, she is the heiress of Limmeridzh. And most importantly, Laura is engaged to the man whom her father chose for her - this is the baronet Sir Percival Glyde, the owner of a large estate in Hampshire. Marian informs Walter about this, and at the words "baronet" and "Hampshire" he recalls the incoherent speeches of a woman in white he once met. But here Hartright sees her again at the Limmeridg cemetery - Anna Catherick washing the white marble monument on the grave of Mrs. Fairlie. In a conversation with Walter (and the day before in an anonymous letter to Laura, which greatly alarmed her), Anna warns Laura against marrying Sir Percival Glyde, who seems to her the embodiment of evil. In addition, it turns out that it was he who imprisoned Anna in a lunatic asylum. Saying goodbye to Laura, a dejected Walter returns to London, and then leaves on a long, dangerous archaeological expedition to Central America.

Marian forces Laura's fiancé, who has come to Limmeridge, to give explanations about Anna, and he presents a letter to Mrs. Catherick, Anna's mother, as proof that he acted with her consent and for the good of her daughter. Until the last minute, Marian and Laura hope that something will interfere with the wedding, but a miracle does not happen. Percival Glyde and Laura Fairlie are married at Limmerridge Church and leave on their honeymoon trip to Italy. Six months later they return to England and settle in Blackwater Park, the estate of Glyde, Marian Golcombe also arrives there. Together with the Glyde couple, another married couple arrives from Italy - Count and Countess Fosco. Countess Fosco, Laura's aunt, once absurd and vain, is now devoted to her husband with her body and soul, from whom she literally does not take her eyes off, as if hypnotized, catches his every word and constantly twists small paquitoskis for him. Count Fosco is extraordinarily fat, unfailingly polite, very amiable, constantly showing signs of attention to his wife, adores white mice, which he carries with him in a large cage. But an extraordinary fortitude is felt in him ("if instead of a woman he had married a tigress, he would have tamed the tigress as well," remarks Marian).

In the vicinity of Blackwater Park, Laura meets Anna Catherick, and she once again warns her, advising her not to trust her husband and be afraid of him. And Sir Percival, desperate for money, wants to force Laura to sign some papers without reading. Laura refuses. Her husband threatens her, but Count Fosco manages to soften the situation. The groom's gloss and charm of Sir Percival have long disappeared, he is rude to his wife, mocking and more than once reproaches her for her passion for an art teacher (Percival guessed about Laura's secret). The Earl and his wife try to prevent Marian from reaching out to the Fairlie family's attorney. They repeatedly intercept letters (once even dousing a girl with some kind of potion, who was supposed to send a letter upon arrival in London). Marian suspects a conspiracy against Laura and, to confirm her assumptions, overhears a conversation between Percival Glyde and Count Fosco. The conspiracy does exist, but Marian cannot resist it - eavesdropping on a nightly conversation, she catches a cold and becomes seriously ill. Taking advantage of Marian's illness, in accordance with the plan of Count Fosco, she is transferred to a remote part of the castle, while Laura is told that she has left, and is lured out by deceit supposedly to visit her uncle, Mr. Fairlie. But in London, Laura, under the name of Anna Catherick, is placed in a lunatic asylum, where the real Anna used to be. At the same time, in the London house of her aunt, the imaginary Lady Glyde, who happened to be passing through, dies. Now nothing stands between Percival Glyde and his wife's wealth.

Having recovered, Marian tries to understand what happened. She manages to find and, with the help of bribery, free Laura - broken, left without a name and wealth. Walter returns from the expedition. Arriving to bow to Laura's grave, he meets Marian and the changed Laura, terribly similar to Anna Catherick. Walter rents an apartment where the three of them live, and together he and Marian help Laura to gradually recover. Walter decides to give Laura her name back. Realizing that Sir Percival Glyde hid Anna Catherick in an insane asylum because he was afraid of exposure, Walter begins to find out which ones. He visits Anna's mother, Mrs. Catherick. She quite definitely refuses to help Hartright bring Percival Glyde to clean water, while it is certain that she hates Glyde and will be glad if Walter manages to reckon with him. From conversations with Mrs. Catherick, Anne's mother, with the clerk of the church of Old Welmingham, Mr. Wansborough, who turned out to have a copied church register book, Walter understands that the marriage of Glyde's parents was not registered, therefore, he has no rights to either the title or to land holdings. At one time, Glyde gained access to the sacristy and the opportunity to forge a record thanks to Mrs. Caterick, but when her husband suspected a love affair between them, Glyde did not refute this assumption, fearing to reveal the true reason for his meetings with her. Subsequently, he repeatedly helped Mrs. Caterick with money. Hatred of Anna and fear of her were caused by the fact that the girl dared to repeat after her mother that she knew the secret of Glyde. This was enough to put the poor girl in an insane asylum, and her speeches - no matter what she claimed - could not be considered evidence. Sensing danger, Percival Glyde tries with all his might to prevent Walter from getting to the truth, then, unaware of the existence of a duplicate, decides to burn the record book, but burns himself in a fire in the church.

Count Fosco eludes pursuit. By chance, Walter sees the count in the theater and notices his obvious fright at the sight of his friend Professor Sands, who does not recognize the count (however, he could change his appearance, and the years have taken their toll). Obviously, Walter realizes, Count Fosco was a member of the same secret society as Pesca. The count's fear can be explained by his defection, betrayal of the interests of the brotherhood and the expectation of imminent retribution. Walter is forced to resort to Pesca's help. He leaves the professor a sealed envelope with a letter in which he exposes the count and asks him to punish him if Walter does not return by the appointed hour the next day. Taking these precautions, Walter Hartright comes to Count Fosco and forces him to write the story of the fraud committed by him and Glyde. The count, with his characteristic self-satisfaction, writes with inspiration, having spent almost the whole night on this occupation, and the countess prepares for a hasty departure, appearing from time to time and demonstrating to Walter her hatred for him.

Based on a discrepancy in dates: the death certificate was issued before Frederick Fairlie's letter was sent, inviting his niece to visit, Walter manages to prove that Laura is alive, and Anne Catherick is buried instead. The inscription on the monument has now been changed. Anna Catherick, the woman in white, found what she longed for after her death: she rests next to Mrs. Fairley, whom she loved so much.

Laura and Walter get married. Their lives are slowly getting better. Walter works hard. Some time later, on business in Paris, he sees the corpse of Count Fosco fished out of the Seine. There are no signs of violence on the body, except for two knife cuts on the hand, which hid the stigma - the mark of a secret society the size of a small coin (the same mark is on Peska's hand). Returning to London, Walter does not find either Laura with her six-month-old son or Marian at home. He is given a note from his wife asking him to come to Limmeridge immediately and without any worries. There, excited Laura and Marian meet him. After the death of his uncle, the family estate passed into the possession of Laura. And little Walter, the young heir of Limmeridge, whom Marian holds in her arms, can now be considered one of the noblest landowners in England.

N. G. Krotovskaya

 (The Moonstone)

Roman (1868)

Moonstone - a huge yellow diamond - from time immemorial adorned the brow of the moon god in one of the temples of the sacred Indian city of Somnaut. In the 1799th century, saving the statue from the Mohammedan conquerors, three Brahmins transported it to Benares. It was there that the god Vishnu appeared in a dream to the Brahmins, ordered them to guard the Moonstone day and night until the end of time and predicted misfortune to the bold one who dares to take possession of the stone, and to all his descendants, to whom the stone will pass after him. Century after century passed, the successors of the three Brahmins kept their eyes on the stone. At the beginning of the XVIII century. the Mongol emperor betrayed the temples of the worshipers of Brahma to robbery and ruin. The moonstone was stolen by one of the warlords. Not being able to return the treasure, the three guardian priests, disguised, watched him. The warrior who committed sacrilege died. The moonstone passed, bringing with it a curse, from one illegitimate owner to another, the successors of the three priests continued to watch over the stone. The diamond ended up in the possession of the Sultan of Seringapatam, who made it into the hilt of his dagger. During the assault on Seringapatam by the English troops in XNUMX, John Herncastle, not stopping before the murder, captures the diamond.

Colonel Herncastle returned to England with such a reputation that the doors of his family were closed to him. The wicked colonel did not value the opinion of society, did not try to justify himself and led a solitary, vicious, mysterious life. John Herncastle bequeathed the moonstone to his niece Rachel Verinder as a birthday present for her eighteenth birthday. In the summer of 1848, Franklin Black, Rachel's cousin, brought the diamond from London to the Verinder estate, but even before his arrival, three Indians and a boy appeared near the Verinders' house, who pretended to be wandering magicians. In fact, they are interested in the Moonstone. On the advice of old butler Gabriel Betteredge, Franklin takes the diamond to the nearest bank in Frizinghall. The time before Rachel's birthday passes without much happening. The young people spend a lot of time together, in particular, painting the door of Rachel's small living room with patterns. There is no doubt about Franklin's feelings for Rachel, her attitude towards him remains unknown. Perhaps she was more fond of her other cousin, Godfrey Ablewhite. On Rachel's birthday, Franklin brings a diamond from the bank. Rachel and the guests who have already arrived are overjoyed, only the girl's mother, Milady Verinder, shows some concern. Before dinner, Godfrey declares his love to Rachel, but is refused. At dinner, Godfrey is gloomy, Franklin is cheerful, excited and speaks out of place, without malicious intent setting others against himself. One of the guests, Friesingall doctor Candy, noticing Franklin's nervousness and hearing that he has recently been suffering from insomnia, advises him to undergo treatment, but receives an angry rebuff. It seems as if the diamond, which Franklin managed to attach to Rachel's dress like a brooch, has tainted those present. As soon as dinner was over, the sounds of an Indian drum were heard and magicians appeared at the porch. The guests wished to see the tricks and poured out onto the terrace, and Rachel with them, so that the Indians could make sure that the diamond was with her. Mr. Merthwat, a famous traveler in India, who was also present among the guests, determined without any doubt that these people were only disguised as conjurers, but in fact they were high-caste Brahmins. In a conversation between Franklin and Mr. Mertwet, it turns out that the gift is a sophisticated attempt by Colonel Herncastle to harm Rachel, that the owner of the diamond is in danger. The end of the festive evening goes no better than dinner, Godfrey and Franklin try to hurt each other, and in the end, Dr. Candy and Godfrey Ablewhite agree on something mysteriously. The doctor then drives home in the sudden onset of heavy rain.

The next morning it turns out that the diamond is gone. Franklin, having slept well against expectations, actively starts searching, but all attempts to find the diamond lead to nothing, and the young man leaves for the police. The loss of the jewel has had a strange effect on Rachel: not only is she upset and nervous, she has undisguised malice and contempt towards Franklin, she does not want to talk to him or see him. Inspector Seagrave appears at the Verinders' house. He searches the house and rather rudely interrogates the servants, then, having not achieved results, leaves to take part in the interrogation of three Indians detained on suspicion of stealing a diamond. The famous detective Cuff arrives from London. He seems to be interested in everything except finding the stolen stone. In particular, he is partial to roses. But then the detective notices a speck of smeared paint on the door of Rachel's small living room, and this determines the direction of the search: on whose clothes the paint is found, he, therefore, took the diamond. During the investigation, it turns out that the maid Rosanna Spearman, who entered the service of milady from the house of correction, has been behaving strangely lately. The day before, Rosanna was met on the road to Frizinghall, and Rosanna's companions testify that the fire burned in her all night, but she did not answer the knock on the door. In addition, Rosanna, who was unrequitedly in love with Franklin Black, dared to speak to him in an unusually familiar manner and seemed ready to tell him something. Kuff, having interrogated the servants in turn, begins to follow Rosanna Spearman. Finding himself with the butler Betteredge at the house of Rosanna's friends and skillfully conducting a conversation, Cuff guesses that the girl has hidden something in Quicksand - an amazing and terrible place not far from the Verinder estate. In the Shifting Sands, as in a quagmire, any thing disappears and a person may well die. It is this place that becomes the resting place of the poor suspected servant, who, moreover, had the opportunity to be convinced of the complete indifference to her and to her fate, Franklin Black.

Milady Verinder, worried about her daughter's condition, takes her to relatives in Frizingall, Franklin, having lost Rachel's favor, leaves first for London, then travels around the world, and detective Cuff suspects that the diamond was stolen by Roseanne at the request of Rachel herself, and believes that soon the Moonstone case will come up again. The day after the departure of Franklin and the owners of the house, Betteredge meets Lucy the Limp, Rosanna's friend, who brought the letter of the deceased for Franklin Black, but the girl does not agree to give the letter except to the addressee in her own hands.

Milady Verinder lives in London with her daughter. Doctors have prescribed entertainment for Rachel, and she is trying to follow their recommendations. Godfrey Ablewhite, in the opinion of the world, is one of the possible thieves of the Moonstone. Rachel strongly protests this accusation. Godfrey's meekness and devotion persuade the girl to accept his proposal, but then her mother dies of a long-standing heart disease. Father Godfrey becomes Rachel's guardian, she lives with the Ablewhite family in Brighton. After the visit of the lawyer Breff, who has been dealing with family affairs for many years, and a conversation with him, Rachel terminates her engagement, which Godfrey accepts without a murmur, but his father makes a scandal for the girl, because of which she leaves the guardian's house and temporarily settles in the attorney's family.

Upon receiving news of his father's death, Franklin Black returns to London. He tries to see Rachel, but she stubbornly refuses to meet with him and accept his letters. Franklin leaves for Yorkshire, home of the Verinders, to try once more to solve the mystery of the missing Moonstone. Here, Franklin is handed a letter from Rosanna Spearman. A brief note contains instructions for Franklin to retrieve a paint-stained nightgown hidden in a cache from the Shifting Sands. To his deepest amazement, he finds his mark on the shirt! And Rosanna's dying letter, which was hidden along with the shirt, explains the feelings that made the girl buy fabric, sew a shirt and replace it with the one that was smeared with paint. With difficulty accepting the incredible news - that it was he who took the diamond - Franklin decides to bring the investigation to an end. He manages to persuade Rachel to tell about the events of that night. It turns out that she saw with her own eyes how he took the diamond and left the small living room. Young people part in sadness - an undisclosed secret stands between them. Franklin decides to try to replicate the circumstances leading up to the stone's disappearance, in hopes of tracking down where it might have gone. It's impossible to gather all those present at Rachel's birthday, but Franklin asks everyone he can find about the events of the memorable day. Arriving to visit Dr. Kandy, Franklin is amazed at the change that has taken place in him. It turns out that the cold, picked up by the doctor on the way from the guests home about a year ago, turned into a fever, as a result of which Mr. Candy's memory continually fails, which he diligently and vainly tries to hide.

The doctor's assistant, Ezra Jennings, a sick and unfortunate person, having taken part in Franklin's fate, shows him the diary entries made when Jennings was caring for the doctor at the very beginning of his illness. Comparing these data with the stories of eyewitnesses, Franklin realizes that a small dose of opium was mixed into his drink (Dr. the fact that he had recently given up smoking had plunged him into a sleepwalk-like state. Under Jennings' guidance, Franklin prepares himself to repeat the experience. He again quits smoking, his insomnia begins again. Rachel secretly returns to the house, she again believes in Franklin's innocence and hopes that the experience goes well. On the appointed day, under the influence of a dose of opium, Franklin, like last time, takes the "diamond" (now replaced by glass of approximately the same type) and takes it to his room. There, the glass falls out of his hands. Franklin's innocence has been proven, but the diamond has yet to be found. Traces of him are soon discovered: an unknown bearded man redeems a certain jewel from the usurer Luker, whose name was previously associated with the history of the Moonstone. The man stops at the Wheel of Fortune tavern, but Franklin Black arrives there, along with the detective Cuff, find him already dead. After removing the wig and fake beard from the dead man, Cuff and Franklin recognize him as Godfrey Ablewhite. It turns out that Godfrey was the guardian of a young man and squandered his money. Being in a desperate situation, Godfrey could not resist when Franklin, unconscious, gave him the stone and asked him to hide it better. Feeling complete impunity, Godfrey pledged the stone, then, thanks to the small inheritance he received, he bought it, but was immediately discovered by the Hindus and killed.

Misunderstandings between Franklin and Rachel are forgotten, they marry and live happily. Old Gabriel Betteredge watches them with pleasure. A letter arrives from Mr. Mertuet, in which he describes a religious ceremony in honor of the god of the moon, which took place near the Indian city of Somnauta. The traveler completes the letter with a description of the statue: the moon god sits on a throne, his four arms are stretched out to the four cardinal points, and a yellow diamond shines on his forehead. The moonstone, over the centuries, has again found itself within the walls of the sacred city where its history began, but it is not known what other adventures may fall to its lot.

N. G. Krotovskaya

 (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

Tale story (1865)

The heroine of the book, a girl named Alice, begins her journey to Wonderland unexpectedly for herself: Alice, exhausted from the heat and idleness, suddenly noticed a rabbit, which in itself is not surprising; but this rabbit turned out to be not only a talker (which Alice was not surprised at that moment either), but also the owner of a pocket watch, and besides, he was in a hurry somewhere. Burning with curiosity, Alice rushed after him into a hole and ended up ... in a vertical tunnel, through which it was fast (or not very fast? After all, she managed to notice that she was standing on shelves along the walls, and even grabbed a jar with a sticker "Orange Marmalade", unfortunately empty) fell through the ground. But everything ends in this world, Alice's fall also ended, and quite happily: she ended up in a large hall, the Rabbit disappeared, but Alice saw many doors, and on the table - a small golden key, with which she managed to open the door to a wonderful garden, but to go through it was impossible to go there: Alice was too big. But she immediately turned up a bottle with the inscription "Drink me"; in spite of Alice's usual caution, she still drank from the bottle and began to shrink, so much so that she was afraid that what happens to the flame of a candle when a candle is blown out might happen to her. It's good that there was a pie with the inscription "Eat me" nearby; having eaten it, Alice waved to such a size that she began to say goodbye to her legs, which remained somewhere far below. Everything here was very strange and unpredictable. Even the multiplication table and long-learned verses came out of Alice sideways; the girl did not recognize herself and even decided that it was not her at all, but a completely different girl; from grief and endless oddities, she began to cry. And she cried a whole lake, even she almost drowned there. But it turned out that she was not floundering in the lacrimal lake alone, a mouse snorted nearby. Polite Alice started a conversation with her (it would be embarrassing to remain silent), but, unfortunately, she started talking about cats, because Alice had a beloved cat at home. However, the Mouse, offended by Alice's callousness, withdrew, and the newly appeared Rabbit sent Alice, like some kind of maid, to his house for a fan and gloves, as he was heading to the Duchess. Alice did not argue, she entered the Rabbit's house, but out of curiosity she drank some liquid from another bottle - and grew to such a size that she almost smashed the house. It’s good that they threw stones at her that turned into pies, she became tiny again and ran away.

For a long time she wandered in the grassy jungle, almost got on the tooth of a young puppy, and finally found herself near a large mushroom, on the hat of which the Caterpillar was sitting and smoking a hookah importantly. Alice complained that she was constantly changing in height and did not recognize herself, but the Caterpillar did not find anything special in such changes and reacted to the confused Alice without any sympathy, especially when she heard that she, you see, was not satisfied with the growth of three inches - The caterpillar, however, was very satisfied with such growth! Offended, Alice left, taking with her a piece of mushroom.

The mushroom came in handy when Alice saw the house: she chewed a little mushroom, grew to nine inches and approached the house, on the threshold of which one footman, like a fish, handed another, like a toad, an invitation to the Duchess to come to the Queen for a game of croquet. Alice asked the Toad Footman for a long time whether she could enter, did not understand anything from his answers (not devoid of their strange logic) and entered the house. She found herself in the kitchen, where it was impossible to breathe from smoke and pepper; there the cook was cooking, and not far away sat the Duchess with a screaming baby in her arms; between times the cook threw dishes at both of them; a big cat was watching all this with a smirk. To the surprised Alice, the Duchess briefly explained that the cat smiles because he is the Cheshire Cat, adding that, in fact, all cats know how to smile. After that, the Duchess began to hum a seemingly familiar lullaby to the shrill baby, but this song made Alice feel terrible. In the end, the Duchess threw the bundle with the baby to Alice, who carried the strangely restless grunting baby out of the house and suddenly saw with amazement that it was not a child at all, but a pig! Alice involuntarily remembered other children, which, perhaps, would also have turned out to be very nice little pigs.

Then the Cheshire Cat appeared before Alice again, and she asked him where she should go next. The cat, smiling, explained that if, as she says, she does not care where she comes, then she can go in any direction. He calmly told the girl that everyone in this country is crazy, and even smart little Alice was unable to challenge his evidence. After that, the Cat disappeared - all except for a wide smile that hung in the air for a long time. This property of the Cat was especially useful to him when the ferocious Queen of Hearts ordered to cut off his head: the Cat immediately disappeared, only his head was visible in the air, but how can you order to cut off his head if she doesn’t even have a body? And the Cat just grinned widely.

Alice, meanwhile, went to the crazy March Hare and ended up at a tea party so beloved and familiar to the British, but completely unusual. The Hare and the Mad Hatter were forced to drink tea not once or twice a day (which would have been natural and reasonable), but continuously - such was their punishment for killing Time. Because they treated her very inhospitably, confused her and ridiculed her, Alice left them too and after new adventures she finally got into the royal garden, where gardeners painted white roses red. And then the royal couple appeared, the King of Hearts and the Queen, surrounded by courtiers - smaller cards of diamonds and hearts. And although the King and Queen showed unusual severity to those around them, and the Queen demanded to chop off the heads of almost everyone in a row, Alice was not afraid: after all, they were just cards, she reasoned.

Alice saw almost all her acquaintances in Wonderland in the hall where the Jack of Hearts was judged, who, as they said in an old song, stole the pies baked by the Queen. What strange testimonies were given in court by frightened witnesses! How the clumsy jurors tried to write everything down, and how they confused everything! And suddenly they called Alice, who managed to grow to her usual size. The King and Queen tried to intimidate her, but their attempts were shattered by her sound logic, and she calmly replied to the threat of the death penalty:

"You're just a deck of cards," and the magic dissipated. Alice woke up in the same meadow near her sister. There was a familiar landscape around, familiar sounds were heard. So it was only a dream!

I. S. Stam

(Through the Lookin-Glass and What Alice Found There)

Story-tale (1869-1871)

In this book, Lewis Carroll, a big fan of puzzles, paradoxes and "shifters", the author of the already famous "Alice in Wonderland", sends his favorite heroine, the girl Alice, to another fairy-tale country - Through the Looking Glass.

Like last time, Alice embarks on an adventure thanks to her curious and cute animal - a black kitten, with whom she plays half asleep. And on the other side of the magical mirror face, various miracles and transformations begin.

Alice seemed to be in exactly the same room with a blazing fireplace, but the portraits there whispered about something, the clock smiled broadly, and near the fireplace Alice saw a lot of small, but living chess pieces. The Black King and the Black Queen, the White King and the White Queen, the Rooks and the Pawns were walking and talking decorously, obviously not noticing the appearance of Alice.

And when the girl picked up the king and cleaned it from the ashes, he was so frightened by this intervention of an incomprehensible invisible force that, by his own admission, his whiskers went cold to the tips, which, the Black Queen did not fail to notice, he did not have at all. And even when smart little Alice figured out how in this country one should read poems written in a completely incomprehensible way, and brought the book to the mirror, for some reason the meaning of the poem slipped away, although it was felt that there were a lot of familiar things in the words and amazing events were depicted.

Alice really wanted to explore an unusual country, but it was not easy to do this: no matter how hard she tried to climb to the top of the hill, every time she again found herself at the entrance to the house from which she left. After talking with very brisk-tongued flowers that grew nearby in a flower bed, Alice heard unusual advice: to go in the opposite direction from the goal. Seeing the Black Queen, Alice did so and, to her own amazement, met her at the foot of a hitherto unattainable hill. It was then that Alice noticed that the country was divided into neat squares with hedges and streams - a chessboard. And Alice really wanted to take part in this chess game, even as a pawn; although most of all she, of course, wanted to become a Queen. But in chess, if you try hard, even a pawn can become a queen. The Black Queen even told her how to get to the eighth line.

Alice set off on a journey full of surprises and adventures. In this extraordinary country, instead of bees, elephants flew around Alice, on the train in which Alice found herself, passengers (including Goat, Beetle and Horse) presented tickets the size of themselves, and the Controller looked at Alice for a long time through a telescope, microscope, theater binoculars and finally concluded: "You're going the wrong way!" Having approached the stream, the train casually jumped over it (with it, Alice jumped over to the fourth line of the chessboard). Then she met so many incredible creatures and heard so many incredible judgments that she could not even remember her own name. Then she no longer objected when the Lion and the Unicorn, these fabulous monsters, began to call her, Alice, the Beast.

On the fourth line, as the Black Queen predicted, Alice met two fat men, Tweedledum and Tweedledum, who were always arguing and even fighting over trifles. The brawlers pretty much frightened Alice: they brought her to the Black King, who was sleeping nearby, and declared that she only dreams of him in a dream and that as soon as the King wakes up, like Alice, and they themselves, and everything around will disappear. Although Alice did not believe them, she still did not wake the King and check the words of the twins.

Looking-glass life affected everything. The White Queen, who met Alice, promised to treat the girl with jam tomorrow. Alice began to refuse, but the Queen reassured her: anyway, tomorrow never really comes, it comes only today, and jam is promised for tomorrow. Moreover, it turned out that the Queen remembers both the past and the future at once, and when she screamed in pain over her bloodied finger a little later, she still didn’t prick him at all, it happened only after some time. And then, in the forest, Alice could not cut the cake and treat the audience in any way: the cake grew together all the time; then Leo explained to her that the Looking-Glass Pie must first be distributed, and only then cut. Here everything happened contrary to the usual logic, as if backwards.

Ordinary objects also behaved differently than anything else. The egg suddenly grew before Alice's eyes and turned into a round, foreheaded little man, in whom Alice immediately recognized Humpty Dumpty from the famous nursery rhyme. However, a conversation with him put poor Alice in a complete dead end, because even completely familiar words acquired unexpected meanings with him, to say nothing of unfamiliar ones! ..

This property - to interpret unusually, to turn habitual words inside out - was inherent in almost all the inhabitants of the Looking Glass. When Alice met the White King in the forest and told him that she did not see anyone on the road, the King envied her: still, she managed to see Nobody; The King himself never saw him.

In the end, Alice fell to the ground, of course, to the eighth line, where she felt an unusually heavy object on her head - it was a crown. However, the Black and White Queens, who appeared soon after, still behaved with her like two angry governesses, puzzled the newly-made Queen with their strange logic. And the feast, supposedly arranged in her honor, was also surprisingly strange. Angry, Alice pounced on the Black Queen, who turned up under her arm, began to shake her and suddenly found that she was holding in her hands ... a black kitten. So it was a dream! But whose? The question is still waiting for an answer.

I. S. Stam

(Tess of the d'Urbervilles. A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented)

Roman (1891)

Deaf English province of the end of the last century. In the valley of Blackmore (or Blackmoor) lives the family of the carter Jack Darbeyfield. One evening in May, the head of the family meets the priest, who, answering the greeting, calls him "Sir John", Jack is surprised, and the priest explains: Durbeyfield is a direct descendant of the d'Urberville knightly family, descended from Sir Pagan d'Urberville, "that came from Normandy with William the Conqueror." Unfortunately, the family died out a long time ago, there were no castles and estates left, but in the neighboring village of Kingsbeer-sub-Greenhill there are many family crypts.

A dumbfounded Durbeyfield believes the priest. Not accustomed to hard work, he easily begins to imitate the manners of the nobility and spends most of his time in taverns. His wife, burdened with numerous young children, is also not averse to breaking out of the house and having a drink or two. The support of the family and younger children, in fact, is the eldest daughter Tess.

The tipsy father is not able to take the beehives to the fair, and Tess, together with her younger brother, set off before dawn. On the way, they accidentally fall asleep, and a mail gig flies into their wagon. A sharp shaft pierces the horse's chest, and it falls dead.

After the loss of the horse, the family's affairs deteriorate sharply. Suddenly, Mrs. Durbeyfield learns that the wealthy Mrs. d'Urberville lives nearby, and it immediately occurs to her that this lady is their relative, which means that Tess can be sent to her to tell about their relationship and ask for help.

Tess is disgusted by the role of a poor relative, however, recognizing herself guilty of the death of a horse, she obeys her mother's desire. In fact, Mrs. d'Urberville is not related to them at all. It's just that her late husband, being a very rich man, decided to add another, more aristocratic, name to his plebeian surname Stock.

At the estate, Tess meets a foppish young man - Alec, Mrs. d'Urberville's son. Seeing Tess's unusual beauty for a village girl, Alec decides to hit on her. Having convinced her that his mother is ill and therefore cannot receive her, he walks with her all day long through his possessions.

At home, the girl tells her parents about everything, and they decide that their relative has fallen in love with Tess and wants to marry her. The girl tries to dissuade them, but to no avail. Moreover, a letter arrives a few days later, in which Mrs. d'Her6erville announces her desire to entrust Tess with looking after the poultry house. Tess does not want to leave her home, especially since Mr. Alec inspires fear in her. But, mindful of her guilt before her family, she agrees to accept this offer.

On the first day, Alec flirts with her, and she barely evades his kisses. Wanting to get the girl, he changes tactics: now he comes to her every day at the poultry yard and chats with her in a friendly way, talks about his mother's habits, and gradually Tess stops being shy of him.

On Saturday evenings, workers usually go to the neighboring town to dance. Tess also starts going to dances. On the way back, she always looks for fellow travelers among her companions. One day, she accidentally finds herself in the company of tipsy girls, Alec's former mistresses, who viciously attack her, accusing her of cohabiting with the young d'Urberville. Alec suddenly appears and offers Tess to take her away from the angry women. Tess's desire to run away is so great that she jumps on the croup of the young rake's horse, and he takes her away. By deception, he lures her into the forest and dishonors her there.

A few months later, Tess secretly leaves the estate - she can no longer tolerate the love of young d'Urberville. Alec tries to get her back, but all his persuasions and promises are in vain. At home, her parents are at first indignant at her act, blaming her for not being able to force a relative to marry her, but they soon calm down. "We are not the first, we are not the last," the girl's mother remarks philosophically.

At the end of the summer, Tess works in the fields with other day laborers. During lunch, she steps aside and feeds her newborn baby. Soon the baby falls ill, and Tess wants to christen him, but the father does not let the priest into the house. Then the girl, fearing that an innocent soul will go to hell, herself, in the presence of her younger brothers and sisters, performs the rite of baptism. Soon the baby dies. Touched by Tess' ingenuous story, the priest nevertheless does not allow her to bury the baby in sacred ground, and she has to be content with a place in the corner of the cemetery where suicides, drunkards and unbaptized babies lie.

In a short time, a naive girl turns into a serious woman. Sometimes it seems to Tess that she can still find her happiness, but for this she needs to leave these places associated with such painful memories for her. And she goes as a milkmaid to Talbotays Manor.

Tess has taken root on the farm, the owners and other milking girls treat her well. Also, a certain Mr. Angel Clare, the youngest son of a priest, works on the farm, who decided to study all branches of farming in practice, so that later he could go to the colonies or rent a farm in his homeland. This is a modest, educated young man who loves music and subtly feels nature. Noticing a new worker, Claire suddenly discovers that she is surprisingly pretty and the movements of her soul are surprisingly in tune with his own soul. Soon young people begin to meet constantly.

One day, Tess accidentally overhears a conversation between her friends - Marion, Ratty and Izz. The girls confess to each other their love for the young Mr. Clare, and complain that he does not even want to look at any of them, because he does not take his eyes off Tess Darbeyfield. After that, Tess begins to torment herself with the question - does she have the right to Angel Claire's heart? However, life decides everything by itself: Claire falls in love with her, and she falls in love with him. Angel specifically goes home to tell his parents about his decision to marry a simple peasant woman in order to find in her person not only a faithful wife, but also a reliable assistant in his chosen field of life. The young man's father, a stern Anglican priest, does not approve of either the plans or the choice of the youngest son, from whom he, like his older brothers, wanted to make a priest. However, he is not going to resist him, and Claire returns to the farm with the firm intention of marrying Tess. The girl does not accept his proposals for a long time, but then agrees. At the same time, she always tries to tell him about her past, but the lover does not want to listen to her. Mother Tess, reporting in a letter about the consent of the family to her marriage, notices that none of the women ever tells the suitors about troubles like the one that happened to her.

Tess and Claire are married, they go to the mill to spend their honeymoon there. Unable to stand it, Tess on the very first day tells her husband about the misfortune that happened to her in the past. Claire is shocked: not having the strength to condemn the girl, he nevertheless cannot forgive her. As a result, he decides to part with her, relying on the fact that over time everything will work out somehow. He tells Tess that he will go to Brazil and, perhaps, write her out to him - if he manages to forget everything. Leaving his wife some money, he asks her to turn to his father in case of need.

Returning, Tess does not linger in her home. Things go badly, and she is hired as a day laborer on a distant farm. Exhausting work prompts her to seek help from Claire's father. Unfortunately, she does not find him at home, but while waiting, she hears the conversation of the Angel brothers, in which they condemn the act of their younger brother. The frustrated girl comes back without seeing her husband's father. On the way, she meets a Methodist preacher, whom she recognizes as her abuser, Alec d'Urberville. Alec also recognizes her, and the old passion flares up in him with renewed vigor.

A'er6ervill begins to pursue the girl, trying to convince her that he has repented and embarked on the path of virtue. By deception, he makes her swear at the place of execution of the robber that she does not want to tempt him. Tess diligently avoids meeting d'Her6erville, but he finds her everywhere. He leaves the preachers, while declaring to Tess that it is her beauty that is to blame for the fact that he took this sinful step.

News comes from home: her mother is seriously ill, and Tess immediately goes home, where the whole household, all domestic problems immediately fall on her fragile shoulders. Her mother recovers, but her father suddenly dies. With his death, the family loses the rights to the house, and Mrs. Durbeyfield is forced to look for a haven where she could live with her youngest children. Tess is desperate. There is still no news from her husband, although she has already written more than one letter to him, begging to be allowed to come to him in Brazil and to let her at least just live near him.

Having learned about the misfortunes that have befallen Tess's family, Alec finds the girl and promises her to take care of her relatives, to give their dead mother's house at their full disposal, if only Tess would return to him again. Unable to look at the torment of her younger brothers and sisters any longer, Tess accepts Alec's offer.

Meanwhile, Tess's husband, who has suffered a serious illness in Brazil, decides to return home. The journey taught him a lot: he understands that it is not Tess, but he is to blame for the fact that his life did not work out. With the firm intention of returning to Tess and never parting with her again, Angel arrives home. After reading the last desperate letter from his wife, he goes to look for her, which turns out to be a very difficult task. Finally, he finds the house where the girl's mother lives. She reluctantly informs him that Tess lives in a nearby town, but she does not know her address. Claire goes to the indicated town and soon finds Tess - she settled with Alec in one of the boarding houses. Seeing her husband, Tess is in despair - he reappeared too late. Shocked, Angel leaves. Soon Tess catches up with him. She says that she killed Alec because she could not stand his mockery of her husband. Only now does Angel realize how much his wife loves him. For several days they wander through the forests, enjoying freedom and happiness, not thinking about the future. But soon they are overtaken, and the police take Tess away. Saying goodbye, the unfortunate woman asks her husband after her death to marry her younger sister Lisa Lu, the same beautiful, but innocent girl.

And so Angel and Lisa Lou, "a young girl, half-child, half-woman, living likeness of Tess, thinner than her, but with the same wonderful eyes," walk sadly, hand in hand, and a black flag slowly rises above the ugly prison building. Justice has been done. "Two silent travelers bowed to the ground, as if in prayer, and remained motionless for a long time. <…> As soon as their strength returned to them, they straightened up, joined hands again and went on."

E. V. Morozova

Roman (1883)

XVIII century. In the tavern "Admiral Benbow", located near the English city of Bristol, a mysterious stranger settles - a heavyset elderly man with a saber scar on his cheek. His name is Billy Bonet. Rough and unbridled, at the same time he is clearly afraid of someone and even asks the son of the owners of the inn, Jim Hawkins, to see if a sailor on a wooden leg appears in the area.

Finally, those from whom Billy Bonet is hiding find him; the first intruder, a man with a pale, sallow face, is called Black Dog. A quarrel breaks out between Billy Bones and Black Dog, and Black Dog, wounded in the shoulder, flees. From the excitement experienced, Billy Bones suffers an apoplexy. Bedridden for several days, he confesses to Jim that he served as a navigator for the late captain of the flint - a famous pirate, whose name until recently terrified sailors. The old navigator is afraid that his former accomplices, who are hunting for the contents of his sailor's chest, will send him a black mark - a sign of a pirate warning.

And so it happens. It is brought by a repulsive-looking blind man named Pew. When he leaves, Billy Bones is about to run, but his aching heart gives out and he dies. Realizing that the tavern will soon be raided by sea robbers, Jim and his mother send fellow villagers for help, and they themselves return to take the money due to them from the chest of the deceased pirate. Along with the money, Jim takes a package from the chest.

As soon as the young man and his mother leave the house, the pirates appear, who cannot find what they are looking for. Customs guards jump along the road, and the robbers have to get out. And the blind Pugh, abandoned by accomplices, falls under the hooves of a horse.

The package that Jim gives to two respectable gentlemen, Dr. Livesey and Squire (an English title of nobility) Trelawney, contains a map of the island where Captain Flint's treasures are hidden. The gentlemen decide to go after them, taking Jim Hawkins as a ship's cabin boy. Having promised the doctor not to dedicate anyone to the purpose of the upcoming journey, Squire Trelawny leaves for Bristol to buy a ship and hire a crew. Subsequently, it turns out that the squire did not keep his word: the whole city knows where and why the schooner "Hispaniola" is going to sail.

The team he has recruited does not like the captain Smollett hired by him, who thinks that the sailors are not reliable enough. Most of them were recommended by the owner of the Spyglass Inn, the one-legged John Silver. Himself a former sailor, he is hired on a ship as a cook. Shortly before sailing, Jim meets the Black Dog in his tavern, who, seeing the young man, runs away. The Doctor and the Squire learn about this episode, but do not attach any importance to it.

Everything becomes clear when the "Hispaniola" is already sailing to Treasure Island. Climbing into an apple barrel, Jim accidentally hears Silver's conversation with the sailors, from which he learns that most of them are pirates, and their leader is a one-legged cook who was the quartermaster of the captain of the flint. Their plan is to find treasures and bring them on board the ship, to kill all the honest people on the ship. Jim informs his friends about what he heard, and they take a further plan of action.

As soon as the schooner anchors off the island, discipline on the ship begins to drop sharply. A riot is brewing. This is contrary to Silver's plan, and Captain Smollett gives him the opportunity to calm the crew by talking to the sailors in private. The captain invites them to rest on the shore, and return to the ship before sunset. Leaving accomplices on the schooner, the pirates, led by Silver, set off on boats to the island. Into one of the boats, it is not clear why, Jim jumps, who, however, runs away as soon as she reaches the ground.

Wandering around the island, Jim meets Ben Gunn, a former pirate left here by his comrades three years ago. He paid the price for convincing them to search for Captain Flint's treasure, which proved unsuccessful. Ben Gunn says he's more willing to help born gentlemen than gentlemen of fortune, and asks Jim to pass this along to his friends. He also informs the young man that he has a boat and explains how to find it.

Meanwhile, the captain, doctor, squire with three servants and sailor Abe Gray, who did not want to stay with the pirates, manage to escape from the ship on a skiff, taking with them weapons, ammunition and provisions. They take refuge in a log house behind a palisade, where a stream flows and a siege can be held for a long time. Seeing the British flag over the palisade, and not the "Jolly Roger" that the pirates would have raised, Jim Hawkins realizes that there are friends there and, joining them, talks about Ben Gunn.

After a courageous little garrison repels an attack by pirates seeking to take possession of the treasure map, Dr. Livesey goes to meet with Ben Gunn, and Jim makes another inexplicable act. He leaves the fort without permission, finds a boat belonging to Ben Gunn and goes to the Hispaniola. Taking advantage of the fact that shortly before his appearance, two pirates guarding her staged a drunken fight in which one of them died and the other was wounded, Jim captures the ship and takes it to a secluded bay, after which he returns to the fort.

But he does not find his friends there, but ends up in the hands of the pirates, to whom, as he later learns, the fort was given without a fight. They already want to give the young man a painful death, when suddenly John Silver stands up for him. It becomes clear that the leader of the robbers by that moment already understands that the game is lost, and, protecting Jim, is trying to save his own skin. This is confirmed when Dr. Livesey comes to the fort, who gives Silver the coveted card, and the former cook receives from him a promise to save him from the gallows.

When the sea robbers arrive at the place where, as the map shows, treasures are buried, they find an empty hole and are about to tear their leader to pieces, and with him the boy, when suddenly shots are heard and two of them fall dead, the rest start running. Dr. Livesey, sailor Abe Gray and Ben Gunn, who came to the rescue, lead Jim and Silver into the cave, where the squire and the captain are waiting for them. It turns out that Ben Gunn had already found Flint's gold a long time ago and dragged it into his home,

Having loaded the treasures on the ship, everyone sets off on their way back, leaving the pirates on a deserted island. In one of the ports of America, Silver makes an escape, taking a bag of gold coins. The rest safely reach the shores of England, where each receives his share of the treasure.

E. B. Tueva

Roman (1888)

The action takes place in England in the second half of the XNUMXth century, during the War of the Scarlet and White Roses.

In the village of Tunstall, owned by Sir Daniel Brackley, a messenger appears who brings Sir Daniel's order to the entire male population of the village to immediately set out on a campaign. The detachment is to be led by Bennet Hatch, Sir Daniel's right-hand man and, in his absence, steward of Castle Mot. For the duration of the campaign, he wants to leave the old soldier Nicholas Appleyard to look after the castle, but during their conversation, Appleyard is pierced by a black arrow - this is the sign of a forest robber nicknamed John-Mschu-For-All. Hatch is forced to stay, and reinforcements to Sir Daniel will be led by his pupil Richard (Dick) Shelton.

While the detachment is gathering at the church, a letter is found on the church doors, in which John-Avenge-For-All speaks of his intention to take revenge on Sir Daniel, Sir Oliver - the priest, guilty, as the letter says, of the death of young Dick's father, and Bennett Hatch .

Meanwhile, Sir Daniel is sitting in a tavern in one of his villages. There, on the floor, a boy settled down, painfully reacting to the jokes of Sir Daniel, who promises to successfully marry him off, making Mrs. Shelton.

Dick appears. After reading the letter of the priest Sir Oliver, Sir Daniel tries to shift the blame for the death of Dick's father on a certain Ellis Dackworth. While Dick is eating, someone comes up behind him and asks for directions to Holywood Abbey, not far from Mot Castle. After giving the answer, Dick notices how the boy, whom everyone in the tavern calls "Master John", secretly slips out of the room.

Sir Daniel sends Dick back to Mot Castle with a letter. A messenger arrives calling for Brackley to come to the aid of the Lancastrian Earl Risingham, and Sir Daniel notices that "Master John" is missing. Then he sends a detachment of seven people to look for him.

Dick's path to the castle lies through the swamp. There he meets John, whose horse has drowned in the bog, and then the boys go together. Dick learns from John that Sir Daniel is going to marry him to a certain Joanna Sadley. When they cross the river, they are fired upon by robbers. Dick ends up in the water and John saves him. Passing through the forest, they find themselves in a camp of robbers, whose leader really turns out to be Ellis Duckworth. Soon the boys witness the defeat of the detachment sent in search of John. After spending the night in the forest, the boys meet a leper - this is Sir Daniel in disguise, utterly defeated by York supporters.

In the castle, Sir Daniel prepares for defense - most of all he fears the "forest brothers". Every minute ready to betray his former supporters, he sends a letter with a messenger to his friend, who is in the Lancaster party. Meanwhile, Dick is trying to find out the circumstances of his death, which incurs the wrath of Sir Daniel. He is moved to a room above the chapel, and Dick feels it is a trap. John appears suddenly and confirms his suspicions. Indeed, the killer is already opening a secret hatch, but he is distracted by the search for some Joanna that has begun in the castle. Dick's friend confesses that he is Joanna, and they vow to join their destinies.

Through a secret hatch, Dick leaves the castle and, having hardly crossed the moat, wanders into the forest. There he finds a hanged messenger and takes possession of the letter, after which he surrenders to the robbers. He is taken to the leader. Dackworth greets the boy cordially and vows to avenge Sir Daniel for him and for himself. Through the peasants, Dick sends a letter to his former guardian, in which he warns him against arranging the marriage of his betrothed.

Several months pass. The supporters of the House of York are defeated, and the Lancaster Party temporarily triumphs, the main supporters of which settled in the town of Shoreby-on-Till.

Dick learns that Sir Daniel wants Joanna to marry Sir Shoreby. In an attempt to kidnap the bride, Dick attacks the house where she is being held in custody, but instead of being guarded, he engages in battle with Lord Foxham, her guardian. As a result, the young man defeats the old knight, and he agrees to his marriage to Joanna.

Then Dick, together with Lord Foxham, try to free Joanna by stealing the ship, but nothing comes of their idea to attack her house from the sea - they and the sailors from among the "forest brothers" miraculously manage to escape. Lord Foxham is wounded in a skirmish with the guards. He gives Dick his ring as evidence that the young man is his representative, and a letter to the future King Richard III, which contains information about the forces of Lancaster's supporters.

After a failed attempt to free Joanna, Lawless, Dick's most loyal outlaw, leads the youth into the woods, where they disguise themselves as monks. In this attire they enter Sir Daniel's house; there Dick finally meets Joanna. However, in self-defense, he has to kill Sir Shoreby's spy; a commotion rises as a result, and Dick is forced to flee. He tries to deceive the guards, saying that he is going to pray, and they take him to the church, where he has to reveal himself to Sir Oliver. He promises not to betray him if nothing interferes with Joanna's wedding to Sir Shoreby.

However, during the wedding ceremony, Dackworth's men kill the groom and wound Sir Daniel, so that Sir Oliver betrays Dick. Sir Daniel wants to torture him, but he declares his innocence and asks the Earl of Risingham for protection. The Count, not wanting to quarrel with Sir Daniel, is also going to punish him, but Dick shows the Count a letter proving Sir Daniel's betrayal, and the young man is released. But as soon as they go outside with the faithful Lawless, Dick falls into the hands of the captain, from whom he stole the ship, and he miraculously manages to escape.

Dick comes to meet Richard of Gloucester, the future king, and together they devise a plan to attack Shoreby. During the battle for the city, Dick manages to hold an important line until reinforcements arrive, for which the future king knights him. But Dick quickly loses his favor, asking to save the life of the captain of the ship he stole.

Arriving after the battle at Sir Daniel's house, Dick discovers that he has fled, taking Joanna with him. After receiving 50 horsemen from Gloucester, he sets off in pursuit and finds Joanna in the woods. Together they come to Holywood Abbey, where they are to be married the next day. Going out for a walk in the morning, Dick meets a man dressed as a pilgrim. This is Sir Daniel, who wants to sneak into Holywood under the protection of his holy walls, and then flee to Burgundy or France. Dick is not going to kill his enemy, but he does not want to let him into the abbey either. Sir Daniel leaves, heading for the forest, but an arrow overtakes him at the edge - this is how Ellis Dackworth, ruined by him, takes revenge.

The hero marries Joanna, the captain of the stolen ship happily lives out his life in the village of Tunstall, and Lawless becomes a monk and dies in piety.

E. B. Tueva

(The Picture of Dorian Gray)

Roman (1890)

On a sunny summer day, the talented painter Basil Hallward receives in his studio an old friend, Lord Henry Wotton, an epicurean aesthete, the "Prince of Paradox", by definition, one of the characters. In the latter, the features of Oscar Wilde, well known to contemporaries, are easily recognizable; the author of the novel “gives” him the prevailing number of his famous aphorisms. Captivated by a new idea, Hallward enthusiastically works on a portrait of an unusually handsome young man whom he recently met. Tom is twenty years old; His name is Dorian Gray.

Soon the sitter appears, listening with interest to the paradoxical judgments of the weary hedonist; Dorian's youthful beauty, which captivated Basil, does not leave Lord Henry indifferent either. But now the portrait is finished; those present admired his perfection. Golden-haired, adoring everything beautiful and liking himself, Dorian dreams aloud: "If the portrait changed, but I could always remain the same!" Touched, Basil gives the young man a portrait.

Ignoring the sluggish resistance of Basil, Dorian accepts the invitation of Lord Henry and, with the active participation of the latter, plunges into secular life; attends dinner parties, spends evenings at the opera. Meanwhile, having paid a visit to his uncle the lord farmer, Lord Henry learns about the dramatic circumstances of Dorian's origin: raised by a wealthy guardian, he painfully experienced the early death of his mother, who, contrary to family traditions, fell in love and tied her fate with an unknown infantry officer (at the instigation of an influential father-in-law who soon killed in a duel).

Dorian himself, meanwhile, falls in love with the aspiring actress Sybil Vane - "a girl of about seventeen, with a face as gentle as a flower, with a Greek head entwined with dark braids. Her eyes are blue lakes of passion, her lips are rose petals"; she plays with amazing spirituality on the wretched stage of a beggarly theater in the East Indus the best parts of Shakespeare's repertoire. In turn, Sibile, eking out a half-starved existence with her mother and brother, sixteen-year-old James, who is preparing to sail as a sailor on a merchant ship to Australia, Dorian seems to be an incarnation of a miracle - "Prince Charming", descended from transcendental heights. Her lover does not know that in her life there is also a secret carefully guarded from prying eyes: both Sybil and James are illegitimate children, the fruits of a love union that once tied their mother - "a tortured, withered woman", serving in the same theater, with a person of a foreign class.

Having found in Sybil the living embodiment of beauty and talent, the naive idealist Dorian triumphantly announces his engagement to Basil and Lord Henry. The future of their ward instills anxiety in both; however, both of them willingly accept an invitation to a performance where Dorian's chosen one must play the role of Juliet. However, absorbed in bright hopes for the real happiness that awaits her with her beloved, Sybil that evening reluctantly, as if under compulsion (after all, "playing a lover is a profanity!" - she thinks) pronounces the words of the role, for the first time seeing without embellishment the squalor of the scenery, the falsity of stage partners and the poverty of the enterprise. A loud failure follows, causing the skeptical mockery of Lord Henry, the restrained sympathy of the good-natured Basil and the total collapse of Dorian's castles in the air, in desperation throwing to Sibile: "You killed my love!"

Having lost faith in his beautiful-hearted illusions, mixed with the belief in the indissolubility of art and reality, Dorian spends a sleepless night wandering around deserted London. Sibile, however, finds his cruel confession beyond her powers; the next morning, preparing to send her a letter with words of reconciliation, he learns that the girl committed suicide that same evening. Friends-patrons and then react to the tragic news, each in their own way: Basil advises Dorian to strengthen his spirit, and Lord Henry - "not to shed tears for Sybil Vane in vain." In an effort to console the young man, he invites him to the opera, promising to introduce him to his charming sister, Lady Gwendolen. To Basil's bewilderment, Dorian accepts the invitation. And only the portrait recently presented to him by the artist becomes a merciless mirror of the spiritual metamorphosis brewing in him: a hard wrinkle is indicated on the flawless face of the young Greek god. Seriously worried, Dorian puts the portrait out of sight.

And again, his helpful friend Mephistopheles, Lord Henry, helps him drown out the disturbing pricks of conscience. On the advice of the latter, he plunges headlong into reading a strange book by a newfangled French author - a psychological study about a man who has decided to experience all the extremes of life. For a long time fascinated by her ("it seemed that a heavy smell of incense rose from her pages and intoxicated the brain"), Dorian in the next twenty years - in the narrative of the novel they fit into one chapter - "falls more and more in love with his beauty and observes with great interest the decomposition of his souls." As if drunk in his ideal shell, he seeks consolation in the magnificent rites and rituals of foreign religions, in music, in collecting antiquities and precious stones, in narcotic potions offered in brothels of notoriety. Drawn by hedonistic temptations, falling in love over and over again, but not able to love, he does not shun dubious connections and suspicious acquaintances. The glory of a soulless seducer of young minds is fixed behind him.

Recalling the fates of fleeting chosen ones and chosen ones, broken at his whim, Doriana tries to reason with Basil Hall. horde, who had long cut off all ties with him, but before leaving for Paris, was going to visit. But in vain: in response to fair reproaches, he laughingly invites the painter to see the true face of his former idol, captured on the Hallward portrait, gathering dust in a dark corner. To the astonished Basil, the frightening face of the voluptuous old man is revealed. However, the spectacle turns out to be too much for Dorian: holding the creator of the portrait responsible for his moral behavior, he, in a fit of uncontrollable rage, stabs a dagger into the neck of a friend of his young days. And then, calling for help one of his former associates in revels and feasts, chemist Alan Campbell, blackmailing him with some shameful secret known only to both of them, makes him dissolve Basil's body in nitric acid - material evidence of the villainy he committed.

Tormented by belated remorse, he again seeks oblivion in drugs. And he almost dies when some tipsy sailor recognizes him in a suspicious brothel at the very "bottom" of London: this is James Wayne, who found out too late about the fatal fate of his sister and swore at all costs to take revenge on her offender.

However, fate for the time being keeps him from physical death. But not from the all-seeing eye of Hallward's portrait. “This portrait is, as it were, a conscience. Yes, a conscience. And it must be destroyed,” concludes Dorian, who has survived all the temptations of the world, even more devastated and lonely than before, vainly envious of both the purity of an innocent village girl and the selflessness of his accomplice involuntarily, Alan Campbell, who found the strength to commit suicide, and even ... the spiritual aristocracy of his friend-tempter Lord Henry, who seems to be alien to any moral obstacles, but incomprehensibly believes that "any crime is vulgar."

Late at night, alone with himself in a luxurious London mansion, Dorian attacks the portrait with a knife, trying to chop and destroy it. The servants who rose to the cry discover the dead body of an old man in a tailcoat in the room. And a portrait, timeless, in its radiant grandeur.

Thus ends the novel-parable about a man for whom "in some moments Evil was only one of the means of realizing what he considered the beauty of life."

N. M. Fingers

(Lady Windermire's Fan. A play about a Good Woman)

Comedy (1892)

The action of the play takes place during the day in London, in the house of Lord Windermere and his wife, and in the bachelor's apartment occupied by Lord Darlington, in the early 1890s.

The main character of the play - Margaret, Lady Windermere - we find in the small living room of the family mansion a few hours before the start of the reception in honor of her birthday: Margaret is twenty-one years old. A young mother and a happy wife, she seems to be favored by fate and a self-confident woman, favorably, albeit with a touch of secular rigor, accepting the gallant courtship of one of her husband's friends - a polished dandy and principled bum Lord Darlington, whose "meaningful" name is hardly a gift by the author of the character by chance. However, on this day, his intonation is more serious and excited than usual, and the brilliant aphorisms and vague half-hints of the interlocutor make her feel a little bewildered.

This feeling is replaced by confusion and anxiety when, after saying goodbye to the mistress of the house for a while, Lord Darlington gives way to an old acquaintance of the Windermeres, the Duchess of Berwick, accompanied by her young daughter. A charming lady of indeterminate age, spewing secular nonsense as if from a cornucopia, feigned sympathy (as, indeed, most of Wilde's heroes, who manage to observe the commandments of good manners and at the same time question them) complains about the reprehensible behavior of her husband, several times visiting a certain Mrs. Erlynne, a person of dubious reputation (“Many women have a past, but she is said to have at least a dozen of them ...”), for whom he even rented a luxurious apartment in a fashionable quarter. Selflessly devoted to her husband, brought up by her aunt in the spirit of strict Puritan morality (she lost both parents in early childhood), Margaret perceives this news like a bolt from the blue. At first, not wanting to believe the talkative interlocutor, she is painfully convinced that she is right, secretly looking into her husband's bank book.

Lord Windermere finds her behind this occupation. To Margaret's horror, he not only does not refute the false, as she hopes, slander, but also demands from his wife the truly impossible: demonstrating friendly concern for the "woman with the past", whom he intended to help return the lost once a position in London society, Lord Windermere insists that Margaret send Mrs. Erlynne an invitation to her party. She refuses indignantly; then Lord Windermere writes the invitation with his own hand. Picking up from the sofa the fan given to her by her husband for her birthday, the heroine swears that she will publicly insult "this woman" if she dares to cross the threshold of her house. Lord Windermere is in despair: he cannot, does not dare, tell his wife the whole truth about Mrs. Erlynne and his relationship with her.

A few hours later, much to the surprise of a motley social crowd, busy with idle gossip and light flirting, the latter really appears, exuding an aura of disarming courtesy and habitual ability to command the opposite sex. Margaret lacks the courage to insult her rival; she is left powerless to watch as she drags along first the old bachelor Lord Augustus, and then Lord Windermere. Indignantly watching all this, Lord Darlington finally throws off the mask of a tired Epicurean and fervently convinces Margaret to leave her husband and reciprocate his feelings. She hesitates; in response, he declares that he will leave England immediately and she will never see him again.

Depressed, like a puppet of the acting hostess of the ball, Margaret manages to hear a fragment of a conversation between Mrs. Erlynne and Lord Windermere: from it it is clear that Mrs. Erlynne intends to marry Lord Augustus, and it remains for Lord Windermere to ensure her comfortable material existence. Completely discouraged, Margaret writes a farewell letter to her husband and disappears from the house.

The letter is accidentally discovered and read by Mrs. Erlin, who has returned from the terrace. She is genuinely horrified: "Or does life still repeat its tragedies? .. These very words I wrote to her father twenty years ago!" Only at this moment is the secret revealed to the viewer to the end, linking the relationship of Lord Windermere, his young wife and the mysterious "woman with the past" into an ambiguous tangle: Mrs. Erlin is Margaret's mother; and Lord Windermere, initiated into this secret, in obedience to human and kinship duty, supports her, but is not authorized to reveal even to his beloved wife the incognito of his newly-minted "chosen one".

Having mastered herself, she hides the letter and leaves the mansion, intending to intercept Margaret in Lord Darlington's apartment and dissuade her from the fatal step.

The tension reaches its climax when, in the bachelor's abode, Mrs. Erlynne, a refined lover of social pleasures, finds Margaret trembling from the irreparability of the step taken and already beginning to repent. She addresses the girl with a passionate speech, warning against the cruelty of the high society, which does not forgive mistakes, recalling marital and maternal duty. The heroine is crushed by the consciousness of her own guilt before her husband; and when the "rival" incomprehensible to her declares that she found and took with her the letter she left on the table, her indignation knows no bounds. But Mrs. Erlin knows how to navigate in extreme situations: she throws a letter into the fire, repeating: "Even if he leaves you, your place is still near your child ..." Something thaws in the puritanical nature of an impeccably honest girl who succumbed to a fit of passion and wounded self-love. She is ready to surrender, to return home, but at this moment ...

At this moment, male voices are heard: after visiting the club, several men decided to look into the abode of Lord Darlington for a short time, including the note wit Cecil Graham, Lord Augustus and ... Lord Windermere. Margaret is hiding behind the curtain, Mrs. Erlynne is in the next room. A sparkling exchange of remarks about everything and nothing follows, and suddenly Cecil Graham discovers Lady Windermere's fan dropped on the sofa. The owner of the house belatedly realizes what really happened, but is powerless to do anything. Lord Windermere sternly demands an explanation from him, in the midst of which Mrs. Erlynne bravely emerges from the next room. General confusion follows: neither her potential fiancé Lord Augustus, nor her official suitor Lord Windermere, nor Lord Darlington himself could have suspected her presence. Taking advantage of the moment, Margaret sneaks out of the room unnoticed.

The next morning, the feverish boiling of passions is replaced by a pacifying calm. Now Lord Windermere, who has remained in ignorance, asks for forgiveness from his beloved wife, blaming Mrs. Erlynne: "She is a bad woman, she is" incorrigible "; the same asks him to show more tolerance and condescension. "In women who are called good, - she says, - a lot of terrible things - reckless outbursts of jealousy, stubbornness, sinful thoughts. And those so-called bad women are capable of torment, repentance, pity, self-sacrifice. "When the butler announces that Lady Windermere is asking for an audience ... Mrs. Erlynne, Lord Windermere again becomes indignant, but not for long: she says that she is going to leave England forever. And left alone with Margaret, he asks her for a souvenir photo with her little son and ... a fan. And when the main character casually notices that she bears the name of her mother, she slightly opens the veil over the secret: it turns out that her name is also Margaret. M- Erlene says a warm farewell and leaves, and a few minutes later her betrothed Lord Augustus appears as if nothing had happened, declaring that, in spite of everything, they intend to marry soon.

N. M. Fingers

Comedy (1893, publ. 1899)

The action of the play takes place during the day in London, in the mansion of the Chiltern couple and in the apartment of Lord Goring, in the early 1890s.

A soiree in the octagonal hall of the mansion of the baronet Sir Robert Chiltern, who holds the responsible post of Deputy Foreign Minister, is one of the most exquisite attractions of high-society London. The refined taste of an exemplary married couple is reflected in everything - from paintings by Boucher and Corot on the walls to the appearance of the owners of the house and guests. Such is the mistress of the house, twenty-year-old Gertrude - "a type of strict classical beauty", the young sister of Sir Robert Mabel - "a perfect example of English female beauty, white and pink, like the blossom of an apple tree." To match them and Mrs. Cheveley - "a work of art, but with traces of too many schools." Describing the characters of the stronger sex, the playwright also does not miss the opportunity to notice that the elderly dignitary, Lord Goring's father, Lord Caversham "reminiscent of a portrait by Lawrence", and speaking of Sir Robert himself, add that "Van Dyck would not refuse to paint his portrait."

The attention of the secular nobility is attracted by a new face: in the company of the elderly good-natured Lady Markby, a certain Mrs. Cheveley arrives for the evening. One of the diplomats met her five years ago in Vienna or Berlin; and Lady Chiltern remembers that they once went to the same school...

However, the newcomer is not in the mood for nostalgic dreams. With masculine determination, she provokes an acquaintance with Sir Robert, mentioning a mutual acquaintance from Vienna - a certain Baron Arnheim. Upon hearing the name, Sir Robert flinches, but feigns polite interest.

Alien to soft-bodied sentimentality, she puts her cards on the table. Influential in political circles, Sir Robert is preparing to deliver a speech in Parliament on another "scam of the century" - the construction of the Argentine Canal, which threatens to turn into the same grandiose swindle as the Panama Canal. Meanwhile, she and the people behind her have invested considerable capital in this fraudulent action, and in their interests, so that it is supported by official circles in London. Sir Robert, not believing his ears, refuses indignantly, but when she casually mentions a certain letter in her possession and signed by his name, reluctantly agrees.

Sir Robert's forthcoming speech becomes the subject of discussion between him and Gertrude, his confidant in all his affairs. Long despised by Mrs. Cheveley (she was once expelled from school for stealing), Lady Chiltern demands that her husband notify the insolent blackmailer in writing of his refusal to support the fraudulent project. Knowing that he is signing his own death warrant with his own hands, he yields.

Sir Robert makes an old friend of Lord Goring, sympathetic, understanding, indulgent and seriously passionate about the younger sister of the baronet Mabel, as an attorney for his far from impeccable past. Eighteen years ago, as Lord Radley's secretary, and possessing no other capital than his family name, Robert informed a stock speculator of a forthcoming purchase of shares in the Suez Canal; he made a million, and allocated a significant percentage to the accomplice, which laid the foundation for the property prosperity of the present comrade minister. And this shameful secret could become public knowledge any minute and, worst of all, Lady Chiltern, who literally idolizes her husband.

And so it happens: without finding Sir Robert, the enraged Mrs. Cheveley throws a monstrous accusation in the face of Gertrude, repeating her ultimatum. She is literally crushed: the heroic halo of her husband fades in her eyes. Returning Sir Robert does not deny anything, in turn bitterly taking up arms against the eternal female idealism that encourages the weaker sex to create false idols for themselves.

Bored alone with his butler, Lord Goring ("You see, Phipps, what others wear is not fashionable. But what you yourself wear is fashionable") receives a note from Lady Chiltern: "I believe. I want to see. I will come. Gertrude." He is excited; however, instead of a young woman, as usual inopportunely, his dignitary father appears in the library of his luxurious apartment. The embodiment of British common sense, Lord Caversham reprimands his son for celibacy and idleness; Lord Goring asks the butler to immediately escort the expected lady to his office. The latter does appear soon; but the exemplary dandy does not know that, contrary to expectations, he has been granted a visit by Mrs. Cheveley.

The “business woman” who had a sentimental weakness for him in past years (at one time they were even engaged, but the engagement was immediately upset) invites her long-time lover to start all over again. Moreover, she is ready to sacrifice a compromising letter to Sir Robert for the sake of renewed affection. But true to his notions of honor (and gentlemen's freedom), Lord Goring rejects her claims. Instead, he catches the guest on an old vice: the night before, at the reception, a brooch lost by someone caught his eye. Mrs. Cheveley dropped it, but in the diamond snake, which can also be worn as a bracelet (which Mrs. Cheveley herself does not know), he recognized the thing that he had presented ten years ago to a high society cousin and later stolen by someone. Now, fighting the blackmailer with her own weapon, he closes the bracelet on Mrs. Cheveley's wrist, threatening to call the police. Fearing exposure, she is forced to part with evidence incriminating Sir Robert, but in retaliation she steals a letter from Gertrude Chiltern lying on the corner of the table. Powerless to destroy the baronet's political career, she is determined to destroy his family fortune.

A few hours later, Lord Goring, who came to visit the Chilterns' house, learns that Sir Robert's thunderous speech against the "Argentine project", delivered in Parliament, brought him large political dividends. On behalf of the Prime Minister, Lord Caversham appears here, authorized to offer the portfolio of the Minister to the brilliant orator. Soon he himself appears - with the ill-fated letter in his hands, which was handed to him by the secretary. However, the fears of Gertrude and Lord Goring, who held their breath, are in vain: Sir Robert saw in Gertrude's letter only the moral support of his beloved wife ...

Flattered by the offer of the Prime Minister, under pressure from the same Gertrude, he initially refuses, declaring that his political career is over. However, Lord Goring (happy at this point in time with Mabel's consent to tie the knot with him) finally manages to convince the adamant maximalist that leaving the political field will be the end of his life for his friend, who does not think of himself outside of noisy public battles. After a little hesitation, she agrees - in passing confessing to her husband that the letter that came to him was actually addressed to Lord Goring. He easily forgives his wife for a fleeting weakness of spirit.

The chivalrous duel of the oncoming generosity ends with the prophecy of the elderly Lord Caversham: “Chiltern <…> congratulations. And if England does not fall into the dust and fall into the hands of the radicals, you will still someday be prime minister,”

N. M. Fingers

(The Importance of Being Earnest. A Trivial Comedy for Serious People)

(1893, publ. 1899)

The action of the comedy takes place in the London apartment of a young gentleman Algernon Moncrief, who comes from an aristocratic family, and in the estate of his bosom friend Jack Worthing in Woolton, Hertfordshire.

Bored Algernon, waiting for tea for his aunt Lady Bracknell with her charming daughter Gwendolen, exchanges lazy remarks with his lackey Lane, no less a hedonist and lover of philosophizing. Suddenly, his loneliness is interrupted by the appearance of his longtime friend and constant opponent-rival in all endeavors, the magistrate and the owner of a vast rural estate, Jack Worthing. It soon becomes clear that, fed up with secular and official duties (in the care of Worthing, moreover, an eighteen-year-old pupil), both play the same game in front of others, only call it differently:

Jack, trying to escape from his family, declares that he is going "to his younger brother Ernest, who lives in Albany and now and then gets into terrible trouble"; Algernon, on similar occasions, refers to "the eternally ill Mr. Banbury, in order to visit him in the country whenever he pleases." Both are incorrigible self-lovers and are aware of this, which does not in the least prevent them from blaming each other for irresponsibility and infantilism if necessary.

“Only relatives and creditors call like that in Wagnerian,” Algernon says of the ladies who came to visit him. Taking the opportunity, Jack turns the conversation to matrimonial topics: he has long been in love with Gwendolen, but does not dare to confess his feelings to the girl. Distinguished by an excellent appetite and an equally indestructible penchant for love affairs, Algernon, who takes care of his cousin, tries to portray offended virtue; but here the calmly talkative Lady Bracknell comes into play, making the new applicant for the hand of her daughter (she, endowed with remarkable practicality and common sense, had already managed to give Mr. Worthing a preliminary consent, adding that the dream of her life was to marry a man named Ernest: "There is something in this name that inspires absolute confidence") a real interrogation with an emphasis on the property aspects of his well-being. Everything is going well, until it comes to the pedigree of the justice of the peace. He admits, not without embarrassment, that he is a foundling raised by a compassionate squire who discovered him ... in a bag forgotten in a storage room at London Victoria Station.

“I highly recommend you <…> get relatives <…> and do it before the end of the season,” the imperturbable Lady Bracknell advises Jack; otherwise marriage with Gwendolen is impossible. The ladies are leaving. However, some time later, Gwendolen will return and prudently write down the address of Mr. Worthing's estate in the provinces (information invaluable for Algernon, who quietly eavesdrops on their conversation, is burning with a desire to meet Jack's charming pupil Cecily at all costs - an intention that is in no way encouraged Worthing, who cares about the moral improvement of his ward). Be that as it may, both pretending friends come to the conclusion that both the "dissolute younger brother Ernest" and the "eternally ill Mr. Banbury" are gradually becoming an unwanted burden for them; in anticipation of bright future prospects, both promise to get rid of the imaginary "relatives".

Fads, however, are not at all the prerogative of the stronger sex. For example, in the Worthing estate, the dreamy Cecily is bored over textbooks of geography, political economy and German, repeating word for word what Gwendolen said: “My girlish dream has always been to marry a man whose name is Ernest ". Moreover, she is mentally engaged to him and keeps a box full of his love letters. And no wonder: her guardian, this boring pedant, so often recalls his "dissolute" brother with indignation that he is drawn to her as the embodiment of all virtues.

To the amazement of the girl, the object of her dreams appears in the flesh: of course, this is Algernon, who soberly calculated that his friend would be delayed in London for a few more days. From Cecily, he learns that the "severe older brother" decided to send him to Australia for correction. Between young people there is not so much a love acquaintance as a kind of verbal formulation of what they dreamed about and dreamed of. But before Cecily, having shared the good news with the governess Miss Prism and Jack's neighbor, Canon Chasuble, seated the guest for a plentiful village meal, the owner of the estate appears. He is in deep mourning and looks sad. With due solemnity, Jack announces to his children and household the untimely death of his unlucky brother. And the "brother" - looks out of the window ...

But if this misunderstanding can still be somehow settled with the help of an exalted old maid governess and a good canon (both rival friends appeal to him, declaring, one after another, about a passionate desire to be baptized and be called by the same name : Ernest), then with the appearance at the estate of Gwendolen, who declares an unsuspecting Cecily that she is engaged to Mr. Ernest Worthing, total confusion reigns. In support of her own correctness, she refers to an advertisement in London newspapers, the other - to her diary. And only the alternate appearance of Jack Worthing (revealed by an innocent pupil who calls him Uncle Jack) and Algernon Moncrief, who is mercilessly denounced by his own cousin, brings a note of discouraged calm to the troubled minds. Until recently, representatives of the weaker sex, who were ready to tear each other apart, are an example of true feminist solidarity to their friends: both of them, as always, were disappointed by men.

However, the offense of these gentle creatures is short-lived. Learning that Jack, in spite of everything, intends to undergo the rite of baptism, Gwendolen generously remarks: "How stupid all the talk about gender equality. When it comes to self-sacrifice, men are immeasurably superior to us."

Lady Bracknell unexpectedly appears from the city, to whom Algernon immediately spreads the good news: he intends to marry Cecily Cardew.

The reaction of the venerable lady is unexpected: she is definitely impressed by the pretty profile of the girl (“The two most vulnerable points of our time are the lack of principles and the lack of profile”) and her dowry, as far as origin ... But then someone mentions the name of Miss Prism, and Lady Bracknell is on the alert . She certainly wants to see an eccentric governess and recognizes in her ... the unlucky servant of her late sister, who disappeared twenty-eight years ago, is guilty of losing her child (instead of him, a manuscript of a three-volume novel was found in an empty stroller, "to sickeningly sentimental"). She humbly admits that, out of absent-mindedness, she put the child entrusted to her in a bag, and handed over the bag to a storage room at the station.

To startle at the word "bag" it is Jack's turn. A few minutes later, he triumphantly demonstrates to those present the household attribute in which he was found; and then it turns out that he is none other than the eldest son of a professional military man, the nephew of Lady Bracknell and, accordingly, the elder brother of Algernon Moncrief. Moreover, as the registration books testify, at birth he was named in honor of his father John Ernest. So, as if obeying the golden rule of realistic drama, at the end of the play, all the guns that appeared on display at the beginning of the play are fired. However, the creator of this brilliant comedy, who sought to turn it into a true holiday for contemporaries and posterity, hardly thought about these canons.

N. M. Fingers

(Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)

Tale (1889)

Three friends, George, Harris and Jay (short for Jerome) are planning a fun boat ride up the Thames. They intend to have great fun, take a break from London with its unhealthy climate and merge with nature. Their collections last much longer than they originally expected, because every time the bag is closed with great effort on the part of young people, it turns out that some item necessary for the upcoming morning, such as a toothbrush or a razor, is hopelessly buried. in the bowels of the bag, which has to be reopened and rummaged through all its contents. Finally, on the following Saturday (after sleeping for three hours), under the whisperings of all the quarter shopkeepers, three friends and Jay's dog, Montmorency's fox terrier, leave the house and first in a cab, and then on a suburban train, get to the river.

On the thread of the story about a trip along the river, the author strings, like beads, everyday episodes, anecdotes, funny adventures. So, for example, sailing past the Hampton Court maze, Harris recalls how he went there one day to show it to his visiting relative. Judging by the plan, the labyrinth seemed very simple, but Harris, having collected about twenty people who had lost their way along its entire length, and assuring them that it was elementary to find a way out, led them through it from morning to dinner, until an experienced watchman, who came in the afternoon, brought them into the light of day.

Molesey lock and multi-colored carpet of colorful outfits of those who come running. at his service, travelers remind Jay of the two overdressed young ladies with whom he once sailed in the same boat, and how they trembled at every drop that fell on their priceless dresses and lace umbrellas.

As the friends sail past Hampton Church and the cemetery, which Harris certainly wants to see, Jay, not a fan of this kind of entertainment, reflects on how intrusive cemetery watchmen can sometimes be, and recalls the time when he had to flee from one of these keepers from all over. legs, and he certainly wanted to make him look at a pair of skulls reserved especially for inquisitive tourists.

Harris, dissatisfied that he is not allowed to go ashore even on such a significant occasion, reaches into the basket for lemonade. At the same time, he continues to manage the boat, which does not tolerate such negligence and crashes into the shore. Harris dives into the basket, sticks his head into its bottom and, spreading his legs in the air, remains in this position until Jay comes to his rescue.

Mooring at Hampton Park for a bite to eat, the travelers get out of the boat, and after breakfast, Harris begins to sing comic verses in a way that only he can do. When you have to pull the boat on the tow line, Jay, without hiding his indignation, expresses everything that he thinks about the waywardness and treachery of the tow line, which, being just stretched, again becomes entangled in an unthinkable way and quarrels everyone who, trying to bring it into more or less ordered state, touches it. However, when you are dealing with a tow line, and especially with young ladies pulling a boat on a tow line, it is impossible to get bored. They manage to wrap themselves around it so that they almost suffocate themselves, unraveling, they throw themselves on the grass and begin to laugh. Then they get up, pull the boat too fast for a while, and then stop and run it aground. True, the young people who put canvas on the boat for the night are also not inferior to them in originality of execution. So, George and Harris wrap themselves in canvas and, with blackened faces from suffocation, wait for Jay to release them from captivity.

After dinner, the character and mood of travelers change dramatically. If, as they have already noted, the river climate affects the general increase in irritability, then full stomachs, on the contrary, turn people into complacent phlegmatic people. Friends spend the night in a boat, but, oddly enough, even the laziest of them are not particularly disposed to a long sleep by bumps and nails sticking out of its bottom. They get up at sunrise and continue on their way. The next morning, a sharp icy wind blows, and not a trace remains of the evening intention of friends to swim before breakfast. However, Jay still has to dive for the shirt that has fallen into the water. Trembling all over, he returns to the boat to George's merry laughter. When it turns out that George's shirt got wet, its owner immediately switches from unbridled fun to gloomy indignation and curses.

Harris undertakes to prepare breakfast, but out of six eggs that miraculously fell into the pan, one spoonful of burnt mess remains. For dessert after lunch, the friends intend to eat canned pineapples, but it turns out that the can opener was left at home. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to open the jar with an ordinary knife, scissors, the tip of a hook and a mast, and the wounds received as a result of these encroachments, irritated travelers throw the jar, which by that time had acquired an unimaginable appearance, into the middle of the river.

Then they sail under the sail and, daydreaming, crash into the punt of three respectable fishermen. At Marlo they leave the boat and spend the night at the Crown Hotel. The next morning friends go shopping. They leave each store with a porter boy carrying a basket of groceries. As a result, when they come to the river, they are already followed by a whole horde of boys with baskets. The boatman is incredibly surprised when he learns that the heroes did not rent a steam boat or a pontoon, but only a four-oar skiff.

Friends experience a real hatred for arrogant boats and their impudent horns. Therefore, by all means they try to hang out in front of them as often as possible and give them as much trouble and trouble as possible.

The next day, the young gentlemen peel the potatoes, but their peeling reduces the size of the potato to the size of a nut. Montmorency fighting a boiling kettle. From this struggle, the teapot emerges victorious and for a long time inspires Montmorency in relation to himself with horror and hatred. After dinner, George is going to play the banjo he brought with him. However, nothing good comes of this. Montmorency's mournful whining and George's acting are by no means conducive to calming the nerves.

The next day you have to row, and in this regard, Jay recalls how he first came into contact with rowing, how he built rafts from stolen boards and how he had to pay for it (with cuffs and cuffs). And for the first time setting sail under sail, he crashed into a mudflat. Trying to get out of it, he broke all the oars and stuck around for three hours in this self-made trap, until some fisherman towed his boat to the pier.

Near Reading, George fishes the corpse of a drowned woman out of the water and fills the air with a scream of horror. At Streatley, travelers stay for two days to have their clothes laundered. Before that, under the guidance of George, they independently made an attempt to wash it in the Thames, but after this event, the Thames, obviously, became much cleaner than it was, and the washerwoman had to not only wash the dirt from their clothes, but rake them.

In one of the hotels, friends see a huge stuffed trout in the lobby. Everyone who enters and finds the young people alone assures them that it was he who caught her. Clumsy George breaks the trout, and it turns out that the fish is made of plaster.

Having reached Oxford, friends stop there for three days, and then set off on their way back. All day long they have to row to the accompaniment of rain. At first, they are delighted with the weather, and Jay and Harris sing a song about gypsy life. In the evening they play cards and have a fascinating conversation about deaths from rheumatism, bronchitis and pneumonia. Following this, George's heartbreaking banjo melody completely deprives the travelers of their presence of mind, and Harris begins to sob like a child.

The next day, these nature lovers fail the severe test of the weather, leave the boat at Pengbourn in the care of a boatman, and arrive safely in London by evening, where an excellent dinner in a restaurant reconciles them to life, and they raise their glasses to their last act of wisdom.

E. V. Semina

Tale (1890)

The events of the story "The Sign of Four" unfold in London in 1888. During a forced idleness associated with a lack of orders, the famous consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, who lives at 221-6 Baker Street with his friend Dr. Watson, outlines to him the essence his deductive method, which he uses in solving crimes. Sherlock Holmes is convinced that an observant person can use a drop of water to prove the existence of the Atlantic Ocean and Niagara Falls by logical conclusions, even if he has never seen or heard anything about them before. It is necessary to notice the smallest details and facts, since they can make an invaluable contribution to recreating a complete picture of the events, the nature of the person and the circumstances of the crime.

Being a brilliant detective, Sherlock Holmes has an encyclopedic knowledge of criminal history and chemistry, plays the violin well, fencing and boxing is excellent, understands English laws, is well-versed in geology, anatomy, botany, has an outstanding acting talent, but in the field of literature, philosophy, astronomy, his knowledge is zero. In the hours when he has nothing to do, he is overcome by deadly boredom and he finds solace in morphine and cocaine.

Dr. Watson, a friend and companion of Sherlock Holmes, a former military doctor who served with the British army in the war between India and Afghanistan and was wounded in this war, lives with Holmes in the same apartment and is a chronicler of all the cases disclosed by his friend.

To the great delight of Sherlock Holmes, his temporary idleness is interrupted by a certain Miss Morstan, a special twenty-seven-year-old with a spiritual and kind face, testifying to the nobility and responsiveness of the soul. She tells the detective about the strange events that happened recently in her life, and asks him for help. As a child, she lost her mother. The father, who served as an officer in India, sent his daughter to a boarding school in England. In 1878, that is, ten years ago, he arrived in England, which he previously announced in a telegram. However, when Miss Morgen arrived at the hotel, she learned that her father had suddenly disappeared. He did not return the next day, he never returned. Then, starting in 1882, she suddenly began to receive from someone every year one very beautiful and large pearl. And on the day of her visit to Holmes, she received a letter in which she was asked to come to the Lyceum Theater in the evening, informed that she had been treated unfairly and someone wanted to correct this injustice.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go to the indicated place with her. Before leaving, she shows Holmes a strange note found in the things of the missing Morsten, which depicted a plan of some room, with four crosses drawn in the same row, crossbars touching each other and with a pretentious signature: "sign of four." A man they meet is taking them in a cab to south London. There they meet a small red-haired man with a shiny bald head. It turns out that he is one of the twin sons of Major Sholto, who died six years ago - Tadeusz Sholto. His father and Miss Morstan's father had once served together in India in the colonial forces. There Major Sholto, mysteriously rich, resigned eleven years ago and returned to England with a rich collection of oriental rarities and a whole staff of native servants. The secret of the acquisition of treasures and where they were stored, the major did not reveal to anyone until his death. Feeling her approach, he called his sons to him and told them how Captain Morstan died. It turned out that, having arrived in London ten years ago, he came to Sholto and they had a dispute over the division of treasures, which Morstan knew about and half of which was due to him. He, who suffered from a heart condition, had an attack. Then he fell and, hitting his head on the corner of the chest with the treasure, died. Fearing that he would be accused of murder, Sholto hid the captain's body and did not say anything to his daughter when, a few days later, looking for her missing father, she came to his house. Before his death, he also wanted to reveal to his sons where the casket itself was hidden, but a terrible face outside the window prevented him from doing this. He died, taking the secret with him to the grave. His sons, feeling a duty to Miss Morstan and wanting to save her at least from need, began to send her annually one pearl from a pearl rosary, taken out of their father's casket in due time. For the time being, Tadeusz Szolto and his brother Bartholomew did not even guess where the riches themselves were hidden. However, the day before, after many years of unsuccessful searches, Bartholomew found them in the attic of his house, in a secret immured room. He informed Tadeusz about this. He, despite the objections of his brother, who inherited his stinginess from his father, decided to share the treasure with Miss Morstan. All four go to Bartholomew's. However, they discover that he was killed by a poisoned thorn thrown into his neck, that the treasure was stolen, and that a piece of paper with the "sign of four" was left at the crime scene.

Small details lead Sherlock Holmes to assume that two people are the perpetrators - an escaped convict named Jonathan Small, who has a wooden prosthesis for his right leg, and Number One, a savage from the Andaman Islands, small, very vicious and agile. After helping Small, along with the chest, to descend from the window by a rope, he closed the shutters from the inside and climbed out through the attic. While fleeing, he soiled his foot in creosote, and Holmes, with the help of Toby's sniffer dog, followed his footsteps to the river. There he learned that the criminals boarded the hired boat "Aurora". When Holmes's plan to track down the boat with the help of a gang of boys hired by him is frustrated, he himself, disguised as an old sailor, goes in search of the Aurora and tries to find her at the docks. He succeeds. He calls Scotland Yard Inspector Ethelney Jones, who is investigating this murder, to help, and together with Dr. Watson, they set off in pursuit in a police boat and catch up with the criminals with a casket. When chasing, the savage has to be killed, because he begins to shoot at his pursuers with his poisonous thorns. Dr. Watson takes the box to Miss Morstan, but is eventually found to be empty, to which the doctor is overjoyed, as the barrier he believes between him and the young woman due to her supposed wealth is gone. Now he can freely confess his love to her and offer his hand and heart. Miss Morstan finds his offer very attractive.

Small, realizing that he would inevitably be overtaken, threw the jewels into the Thames, for he did not want to let someone else get them. The death of Bartholomew Sholto was not part of his plans, and it was not he who killed him, but an evil savage without the knowledge of Small. To convince Sherlock Holmes and Athenley Jones of this, he tells them the story of his life. As a young man, he enlisted as a soldier in a regiment going to India. However, he soon had to leave the service: when he was swimming in Tanga, a crocodile bit off his leg above the knee, and he became a helpless cripple. Then, when he was working as an overseer on a plantation, a riot suddenly broke out in the country. Small hurried to Agra and joined the detachment of the British who had taken refuge in the Agra fortress. He was entrusted with guarding one of the entrances to the fortress and given two Sikhs at his disposal. On the third night, Small was captured by the Sikhs and presented with a choice: be with them or remain silent forever. They told him about their plan: in the northern provinces there lived a very rich rajah. He ordered his servant Ahmet to hide part of his wealth in the Agra fortress until the end of the war, so that in the event of a British victory, at least this chest would be preserved. The Sikhs and their accomplice accompanying Ahmet wanted to kill him and take possession of the casket. Small decided to join them and swore allegiance to them. All four carried out their plan. They hid the murdered Akhmet in one of the halls of the old fortress, where no one had ever entered. The casket was immured in the wall of the same hall. Each of them received a note with a plan and a "sign of four" symbolizing their loyalty to each other.

However, later they were all sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder. While serving their sentence, they could not use their wealth. Then Small agreed with Sholto and Morsten, guarding the prison, that he would tell them where the casket was hidden, they would receive their share, and in return they would organize an escape for four prisoners. Sholto, who went after the casket, deceived everyone and returned to England alone. Since then, Small began to live only with the thought of revenge. He escaped from prison with the help of his friend, a native named Tongo. In England, he made contact with one of Major Sholto's servants and waited for the right moment. It was Small who peered in at the dying major's window. Having waited in the wings, he stole the treasures. For the death of Bartholomew, he whipped Tongo with a rope. Such was the story of Jonathan Small.

No one got the treasure. Dr. Watson got Miss Morstan as his wife, Ethelney Jones - fame for solving a crime, and Holmes was satisfied with an ampoule of cocaine.

E. V. Semina

(The Hound of the Baskervilles)

Tale (1902)

The famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend assistant Dr. Watson examine a cane left in the apartment on Baker Street by a visitor who came in their absence. Soon the owner of the cane appears, physician James Mortimer, a tall young man with close-set gray eyes and a long, protruding nose. Mortimer reads to Holmes and Watson an old manuscript - a legend about the terrible curse of the Baskerville family - entrusted to him not so long ago by his patient and friend, Sir Charles Baskerville, who died suddenly. Domineering and intelligent, not at all inclined to fantasies, Sir Charles took this legend seriously and was ready for the end that fate had in store for him.

In ancient times, one of the ancestors of Charles Baskerville, the owner of the Hugo estate, was distinguished by an unbridled and cruel disposition. Inflamed with an unholy passion for the daughter of a certain farmer, Hugo kidnapped her. Having locked the girl in the upper chambers, Hugo and his friends sat down to feast. The unfortunate woman decided on a desperate act: she went down from the window of the castle along the ivy and ran home through the swamps. Hugo rushed after her in pursuit, setting the dogs on the trail, his comrades after him. On a wide lawn among the marshes, they saw the body of a fugitive who died of fear. Nearby lay the corpse of Hugo, and above him stood a vile monster that looked like a dog, but much larger. The monster tormented the throat of Hugo Baskerville and sparkled with fiery eyes. And, although the writer of the legend hoped that Providence would not punish the innocent, he nevertheless warned his descendants to beware of "going out into the swamps at night, when the forces of evil reign supreme",

James Mortimer relates that Sir Charles was found dead in an avenue of yews, not far from the gate leading to the marshes. And nearby, the doctor noticed fresh and clear footprints ... of a huge dog. Mortimer asks Holmes for advice, as the heir to the estate, Sir Henry Baskerville, is coming from America. The day after his arrival, Henry Baskerville, accompanied by Mortimer, visits Holmes. Sir Henry's adventures began immediately upon arrival: firstly, his shoe was missing in the hotel, and secondly, he received an anonymous message with a warning to "keep away from the peat bogs." Nevertheless, he is determined to go to Baskerville Hall, and Holmes sends Dr. Watson with him. Holmes himself remains on business in London. Dr. Watson sends Holmes detailed accounts of life on the estate and tries not to leave Sir Henry alone, which soon becomes difficult as Baskerville falls in love with nearby Miss Stapleton. Miss Stapleton lives in a house in the marshes with her entomologist brother and two servants, and her brother jealously protects her from Sir Henry's advances. Having made a scandal about this, Stapleton then comes to Baskerville Hall with an apology and promises not to interfere with the love of Sir Henry and his sister, if he agrees to be content with her friendship within the next three months.

At night in the castle, Watson hears women's sobs, and in the morning the butler's wife Barrymore is crying. He and Sir Henry manage to catch Barrymore himself on the fact that he gives signs at the window with a candle at night, and from the swamps he is answered in the same way. It turns out that a fugitive convict is hiding in the swamps - this is the younger brother of Barrymore's wife, who for her remained only a mischievous boy. One of these days he must leave for South America. Sir Henry promises not to betray Barrymore and even gives him some of his clothes. As if in gratitude, Barrymore says that a piece of a half-burnt letter to Sir Charles with a request to be "at the gate at ten o'clock in the evening" has survived in the fireplace. The letter was signed "L. L." Next door, in Coombe Tracy, lives a lady with those initials - Laura Lyons. Watson goes to her the next day. Laura Lyons admits that she wanted to ask Sir Charles for money to divorce her husband, but at the last moment received help "from other hands". She was going to explain everything to Sir Charles the next day, but she learned from the newspapers about his death.

On the way back, Watson decides to go to the swamps: even earlier, he noticed some person (not a convict) there. Stealthily, he approaches the supposed dwelling of the stranger. Much to his surprise, he finds in an empty hut a note scrawled in pencil: "Doctor Watson has gone to Coombe Tracy." Watson decides to wait for the occupant of the hut. Finally he hears approaching footsteps and cocks his revolver. Suddenly a familiar voice is heard:

"Today is such a wonderful evening, dear Watson. Why sit in stuffiness? It is much more pleasant in the air." As soon as the friends exchange information (Holmes knows that the woman whom Stapleton passes off as his sister is his wife, moreover, he is sure that Stapleton is his opponent), they hear a terrible scream. The cry is repeated, Holmes and Watson rush to help and see the body ... of an escaped convict dressed in Sir Henry's costume. Stapleton appears. By clothes, he also takes the deceased for Sir Henry, then with a great effort of will hides his disappointment.

The next day, Sir Henry goes alone to visit Stapleton, and Holmes, Watson and the detective Lestrade, who arrived from London, are hiding in the swamps near the house. Holmes' plans are almost knocked down by the fog creeping from the side of the bog. Sir Henry leaves Stapleton and heads home. Stapleton starts a dog in his wake: a huge, black, with a burning mouth and eyes (they were smeared with a phosphorescent composition). Holmes manages to shoot the dog, although Sir Henry still survived the nervous shock. Perhaps even more shocking for him is the news that the woman he loves is Stapleton's wife. Holmes finds her bound in a back room - finally she rebelled and refused to help her husband in the hunt for Sir Henry. She also escorts the detectives deep into the bog where Stapleton hid the dog, but no trace of him can be found. Obviously, the swamp swallowed the villain.

To improve his health, Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer go on a trip around the world, and before sailing they visit Holmes. After they left, Holmes tells Watson the details of this case: Stapleton, a descendant of one of the branches of the Baskervilles (Holmes guessed this by his resemblance to the portrait of the wicked Hugo), was repeatedly seen in fraud, but he managed to safely hide from justice. It was he who suggested that Laura Lyons first write to Sir Charles, and then forced her to refuse a date. Both she and Stapleton's wife were entirely at his mercy. But at the decisive moment, Stapleton's wife ceased to obey him.

Having finished the story, Holmes invites Watson to go to the opera - to the "Huguenots".

V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva

 (The Light that Failed)

Roman (1891)

Dick Heldar, an orphan boy, lives with his guardian, the evil widow Mrs. Jenette. After six years of staying with her, Dick meets Maisie, a long-haired, gray-eyed girl, the widow's new pupil. A friendship develops between them. For several years they live in the same house, but then Maisie's guardians send her to study in France. Before she leaves, Dick confesses his love for her.

Ten years pass. Dick travels the colonial fronts of Britain and sketches battle scenes. By this time, he had already become a talented battle painter. In Sudan, he meets a representative of the Central Southern Syndicate, the war correspondent Thorpengow, and through her mediation receives a position as a draftsman in the syndicate. During one of the battles, Dick, covering Thorpengow, who became his close friend, is wounded in the head. He temporarily loses his sight and in his nightly delirium calls Maisie all the time.

The Sudanese campaign ends, Dick's head heals. Thorpengow leaves for London, and Dick wanders around Cyprus, Alexandria, Izmalia, Port Said and continues to paint. By the time his money is running out, he receives a telegram from England from Thorpengow, in which a friend summons him to London with the news that the syndicate wants to extend his contract with him, because his drawings are very popular with the public.

Arriving in England, Dick, at the suggestion of Thorpengow, settles with his friend. Soon, the head of the Central Southern Syndicate, an overweight elderly man with a bad heart, comes to him, whom Dick forces to return to him all his drawings made in Sudan. The gentleman, who does not agree with the requirements of Dick, still has to yield to the pressure of the young artist. Dick arranges an exhibition of his work on his own, which is very successful, so much so that he even manages to sell all his drawings. From now on, he is obsessed with the desire to earn as much money as possible in order to compensate for the hardships that have fallen to his lot due to their lack. He begins to get carried away, he believes that for the sake of money he can draw what the public likes, hack, and this will not damage his reputation. Friends try to reason with him. Thorpengow even tears up one of his works.

One day, while walking along the embankment, Dick accidentally meets Maisie, whom he has not seen for more than ten years. He learns that Maisie is now an artist, living in London and renting an apartment with her Impressionist friend. In Dick's soul, a feeling that originated in childhood flares up with renewed vigor.

The next day and from now on every Sunday, Dick goes to Maisie to help her master the secrets of art at her request. He quickly discovers that Maisie is an ordinary artist, but fanatically dreaming of success. Work is the main thing in her life. She paints daily and with titanic patience. However, she lacks talent and sensuality, and besides, she is poorly versed in technology. Despite this, Dick loves her more than anything. She warns him in advance that he should not hope for anything in relation to her and that the main goal of her life is success in painting.

Dick is patient, he does not rush things and waits for circumstances to develop in his favor and love awakens in Maisie. This goes on for several months. There is no shift in their relationship and is not expected. Dick abandons his job and lives only in the dream of Maisie's love. One day, he decides to move the situation forward and, unexpectedly for Maisie, appearing to her on a weekday, takes her for a walk to the suburbs, where they lived in childhood with Mrs. evening, when Maisie replied to Dick's declaration of love that she belonged to him forever. Sitting on the seashore, he eloquently tells her about distant islands and countries, urging her to leave England and go on a journey with him. Maisie's soul remains closed, she is cold and once again gives Lik far-fetched arguments about the impossibility of their life together. Dick's feelings are still strong, and he promises her that he will wait for her for as long as it takes. Maisie herself despises herself for her selfishness and callousness, but is unable to help herself.

Dick's friends notice that he is distressed and suggest that he go somewhere to distract himself, but he refuses. A week later, Dick again goes to Maisie and learns that she intends to paint a picture called "Melancholia". She shares her ridiculous ideas with him. Dick loses control of himself and declares that she has no talent, but only ideas and aspirations. He also decides to write Melancholia and prove by the superiority of his work that it is time for Maisie to stop this game of painting and tame her vanity, but at first the work does not stick.

A month later, Maisie, as usual, leaves for France in Vitry-on-Marne to her painting teacher, in order to paint a picture under his guidance. She plans to return in six months. Dick is upset by her departure. In parting, before boarding the steamer, she allows Dick to kiss her one and only time, and the young man, burning with passion, has to be content with this.

Returning home, he finds a sleeping person of easy virtue in the apartment. Torpengow explains that he found her in the stairwell in a hungry swoon and brought her to the house to bring her to her senses. When she wakes up, Dick begins to see in her an excellent model for his Melancholy, for her eyes fully correspond to his plan for the picture. The girl's name is Bessie, she comes every day and poses for Dick. After a while, she gets used to her friends' apartment as well as possible, begins to darn their socks, tidy up the workshop and pour tea. She is embarrassed about Dick, but Thorpengow tries to tie him to her and almost begs him to let her stay with him, as at the most decisive moment Dick interrupts their conversation and frightens Bessie. He makes Thorpengow change his mind and convinces him to leave for a while. Bessie is imbued with a burning hatred for Dick.

In the absence of Thorpengow, Dick's eyes sometimes begin to veil. He goes to the optometrist, and the doctor informs him that his optic nerve is damaged and he will soon go blind. Dick is shocked. Having recovered a little, he tries to finish the picture as soon as possible. His eyesight is deteriorating more and more rapidly. Dick begins to abuse alcohol. In a few weeks, he turns into a flabby, pitiful, unshaven, pale and hunched over subject. Returning Thorpengow finds Bessie in the corridor, who came to the last session. She is furious that Thorpengow is not paying attention to her. Before leaving, she spoils the picture, from which only one dirty spot remains.

After Dick showed the admiring Thorpengow the still unspoiled picture, he lost his sight almost immediately. Therefore, when Thorpengow sees what Bessie has done with the picture, in order not to upset his friend, he does not tell him anything in the hope that Dick will never know about it. Dick, mad because of his blindness, is delirious and in his delirium tells his whole life. So Thorpengow learns about Maisie and follows her to France. After some hesitation, she decides to visit Dick. At the sight of his misfortune, she is overwhelmed with insane pity, but no more. When Dick shows her his picture and asks her to accept it as a gift, Maisie, thinking that he has lost his mind, barely holding back laughter and not even saying goodbye to him, runs away. Dick is terribly depressed by her behavior.

Thorpengow and other correspondents leave England for another war. On a walk, Dick meets Bessie. She, having learned that he was blind, forgives him, and discovering that he is also rich, she decides that it would be nice to marry him. Dick, touched by her participation, invites her to live with him. Bessie decides that she needs to torment him a little and immediately disagree. She tells him about her trick with the painting and asks his forgiveness. Dick is not angry, but radically changes his plans. He refuses to marry, transfers all his money to Maisie, and he himself goes to Port Said. There, old acquaintances help him get to the front, where Torpengow is. In a vague hope of finding the full life that he once lived, he subconsciously strives for death. The moment Dick reaches Thorpengow's squad and sees his friend, a firefight ensues, in which a compassionate bullet hits him in the head and ends his torment.

E. V. Semina

(The jungle book)

Collection of stories (1895)

The book consists of two parts. Some of the stories are about Mowgli, about his life in the jungle among wild animals. At the age of two, the lumberjack's little son gets lost in the jungle. Behind him, the lame tiger Shere Khan prowls and wants to make him his prey. The child crawls to the lair of the wolves. Father and Mother wolves take him into their family and protect him from Shere Khan. They call him Mowgli, which means "frog". At the council of the wolf pack, the bear Baloo, who teaches the cubs the law of the jungle, and the black panther Bagheera, who pays the pack so that she does not give the baby to be torn to pieces by Shere Khan, speak out for Mowgli to be allowed to live among the wolves.

Mowgli's mind and courage allow him to survive and grow stronger in the difficult conditions of life in the jungle. The bear Balu, Bagheera, the boa constrictor Kaa, the leader of the wolf pack Akelo become his friends and patrons. Many adventures take place in his life, he learns to speak the language of all the inhabitants of the jungle, and this saves his life more than once.

One day, the Bandarlog monkeys carry the boy to the Cold Lairs, a ruined Hindu city built in the jungle centuries ago. While the monkeys are carrying him, moving along the branches of trees, Mowgli asks the kite to follow where he is being taken and warn his friends. Bagheera, Baloo and Kaa come to the boy's aid and save him from the monkeys, who play with him like a toy.

Ten years after the arrival of Mowgli in the jungle, the pack leader Akelo becomes old and can no longer patronize his pet. Many wolves hate Mowgli because they cannot stand his gaze and feel his inexplicable superiority. Shere Khan is waiting for the right moment to deal with Mowgli. Then, on the advice of Bagheera, Mowgli brings fire from the village. On the Council Rock of the wolf pack, he demonstrates his strength to the beasts, sets fire to the skin of Shere Khan, and defends Akelo.

After that, he leaves the jungle and goes to the village, to the people. There, a woman named Messua takes him for her son, once dragged off by Shere Khan, and gives him shelter in her house. Mowgli learns the human language, gets used to the way of life of people, and then for several months becomes a shepherd of the village herd of buffaloes. One day, he learns from the wolves devoted to him that Shere Khan, who had gone to another part of the jungle to heal his wounds, has returned. Then Mowgli lures the tiger into a trap and sends a buffalo herd at him from two sides. Shere Khan dies. The village hunter, having learned about the death of the tiger, wants to receive 100 rupees for the capture of Shere Khan and wants to take his skin to the village. Mowgli won't let him do it. Then the hunter calls him a werewolf, and Messua and her husband are sorcerers. Mowgli with tiger skin hides in the jungle. His named parents are going to be burned. Mowgli returns, helps them hide and get to the English settlement, from whom they can ask for protection. Mowgli sends wild elephants, buffaloes, deer to the village, and they trample all the fields, destroy houses, disperse herds, so that the inhabitants are forced to leave their former habitat and seek shelter in some other place.

After the death of Shere Khan and the destruction of the village, Mowgli returns to the jungle, and now he lives especially well. Everyone recognizes him as the owner and master of the jungle. He grows up as a handsome, strong and intelligent young man.

When he reaches the age of seventeen, the habitat of the wolves is attacked by wild red dogs of the Dol. Each of them is weaker than a wolf, but they attack in hordes, they are hungry and kill all living things in their path. Mowgli, along with Kaa, lures them into a trap consisting of a billion-strong swarm of wild bees and a rushing river. Cunning helps him deal with most of the uninvited guests. Then the wolf pack finishes off the survivors and the most stubborn of them. Thus, Mowgli saves the wolves from certain death (if they decided to fight the dales without preliminary measures) or from forced relocation.

Spring is coming, and Mowgli is drawn to people. He says goodbye to his friends and finally leaves for where Messua and her newly born child now live. Mowgli meets a girl, marries her and leads a normal life for a human being, but forever keeps in his memory his first years spent in the jungle and the images of true friends.

The other most famous stories are the story of Rikki-tikki-tavi and also of the White Cat. Rikki-tikki-tavi is a small mongoose, a brave snake fighter. One day, an English family, who had recently settled in a bungalow with a garden, finds a barely alive mongoose, nurses it and leaves it in their house. Rikki-tikki realizes after a while that he will have to fight two cobras: Nag and his girlfriend Nagena, who are extremely unhappy with his appearance in the garden. They intend to kill all the people: the husband and wife and their son Teddy, hoping that then the mongoose will have nothing to do in their garden. On the first night of Rikki-tikki in the bathroom of Teddy's parents, Naga kills. The next morning, he destroys all the eggs of the cobra, from which small snakes are about to hatch, and after Nagena herself, she rushes into her hole and cracks down on her there. So little Rikki-Tikki-Tavi saves a whole family from certain death.

The story is also fascinating about the White Cat, who set himself the goal of finding such an island for his relatives, where people could not get to them and steal them to the slaughterhouse. For five whole years he sails the seas and oceans, asking everyone he meets on his way where to find such a place. He has to fight storms, escape from sharks, find food in difficult conditions. During his wanderings, he develops extraordinary strength in himself, sharpens his mind and powers of observation. Finally, sea cows point him to such an island surrounded by coastal reefs, and the next year he brings to it almost the entire tribe of his fellows, where they can live in safety and nothing overshadows the future of their babies.

E. V. Semina

(The Time Machine)

Roman (1895)

Most of the characters in the novel are not named. Among the listeners of the Traveler's story are the Psychologist, the Very Young Man, the Provincial Mayor, the Doctor and others. They are present at the return of the Traveler from the future, who appears to his guests not in the best shape: he is lame, his clothes are dirty, the car is bent. And no wonder - in the past three hours he lived for eight days. And they were full of adventure.

Going on a journey, the Traveler hoped to get into the Golden Age. Indeed, millennia of the flourishing of mankind flashed before him. But just flashed. The car stopped at the moment of decline. From the past there are dilapidated palaces, excellent plants cultivated for centuries, juicy fruits. One misfortune - humanity, as we imagine it today, has completely disappeared. Nothing remains of the old world. It is inhabited by charming "eloi", the underworld - animal-like "Morlocks". Eloi is truly adorable. They are beautiful, kind, funny. But these heirs of the ruling classes have completely degenerated mentally. They do not know how to read and write, they do not have the slightest idea of ​​the laws of nature, and although they have fun together, they are not able to help each other under any circumstances. The oppressed classes have moved underground, where some complex machines work, they serve. They have no problems with food. They devour the eloi aegetarians, though out of habit they continue to serve them,

However, all this is revealed to the Traveler far from immediately. Its appearance in 802801 was preceded by the journey itself, during which years merged into millennia, constellations moved, the sun described a continuous visible circle.

Fragile, unviable, but in their own way beautiful Eloi were the first to appear to the Traveler's eyes. However, he still had to unravel the complex riddle of this incomprehensible society. Why are there countless waterless wells here? What is that car noise? Why are the Eloi so beautifully dressed, although they are not capable of any work? And does not the key to the latter (and many other circumstances) lie in the fact that our feelings and abilities become sharp only on the grindstone of labor? And it's been broken for a long time. And we also need to understand why the Eloi are so afraid of the dark and there are no cemeteries or crematoria in the foreseeable world.

In addition, on the second day the Traveler is hit by a blow. He is horrified to discover that the time machine has disappeared somewhere. Is he really destined to stay forever in this alien world? There is no limit to his despair. And only gradually does he begin to break through to the truth. After all, he has yet to get acquainted with another human breed - the Morlocks.

This is also not easy.

When the Traveler had just landed in a new world for him, he drew attention to the colossal figure of the White Sphinx, standing on a high bronze pedestal. Is his car hidden there? He starts beating the sphinx with his fists and hears some giggling. He remains in complete ignorance for four more days. Suddenly he sees in the dark a pair of shining eyes, obviously not belonging to any of the Eloi. And then he sees a small white creature, obviously not accustomed to daylight, with a strangely lowered head. This is the first Morlock he saw. It resembles a humanoid spider. Following him, the Traveler discovers the secret of waterless wells. They are connected into a single ventilation circuit that makes up the exits from the underworld. And, of course, it was the Morlocks who hid, and, as it turned out later, dismantled, studied, oiled and reassembled his car. Since then, the Traveler has only been thinking about how to get her back. He ventures into a dangerous undertaking. The shackles, along which the Morlock, hiding from him, descended, are too thin for the Traveler, but he, at the risk of his life, grabs them anyway and penetrates into the underworld. Long passages open before him, where creatures with inhumanly pale faces without chins, with lidless reddish-gray eyes and tables with minced meat live. One salvation - the Morlocks are afraid of the light and a lit match scares them away. All the same, you have to run and start the search again; especially since now he knows - he should get into the pedestal of the White Sphinx.

To do this, you need to get the right tool. Where to get it? Maybe there is something in the abandoned museum? This turns out to be difficult. For so many millennia, the exhibits have turned to dust. Finally, they manage to find some kind of rusty lever, but on the way they have to endure a fight with the Morlocks. In the dark they become dangerous. In this fight, the Traveler loses the only human being to whom he managed to become attached. At his very appearance, he saved little Weena, who was drowning with the complete indifference of those around her. Now she was gone forever, kidnapped by the Morlocks.

However, the trip to the museum turned out to be in vain in a certain sense of the word. When the Traveler, holding his club in his hands, approached the White Sphinx, he found that the bronze doors of the pedestal were open and both halves were pushed into special grooves. In the depths there is a time machine, which the Morlocks could not use also because the Traveler prudently unscrewed the levers at the very beginning. Of course, it was a trap anyway. However, no obstacles could prevent the Traveler from moving in time. He sits in the saddle, fastens the levers and disappears from this world full of dangers.

However, new challenges lie ahead. When the car tipped over on its side on its first brake, the saddle shifted and the Traveler turned the levers in the wrong direction. Instead of returning home, he rushed into an even more distant future, in which predictions about changes in the solar system, the slow extinction of all forms of life on Earth and the complete disappearance of mankind come true. At some point, the Earth is inhabited only by crab monsters and some other huge butterflies. But then they disappear.

It goes without saying that the Traveler's story is hard to believe. And he decides, having captured the camera, once again "run" through the millennia. But this new attempt ends in disaster. It is foreshadowed by the sound of broken glass. The traveler never returns.

But the novel ends with a phrase full of enlightenment: "Even at a time when the strength and mind of a person disappear, gratitude and tenderness continue to live in the hearts."

Yu. I. Kagarlitsky

(The Island of Dr. Moreau)

Roman (1896)

On February 1, 1887, the Lady Vane was wrecked. One of his passengers, Charles Edward Prendick, whom everyone believed dead, was picked up at sea on a boat after eleven months and four days. He claimed that he spent all this time on the island, where incredible things happened. His stories were attributed to the nervous and physical overwork that he had to endure.

After the death of Edward Prendick, his nephew found detailed records of his uncle's adventures.

After the death of his comrades in misfortune, Prendik woke up in a small and dirty cabin of the merchant ship Ipecacuana. His savior - Montgomery - explains that Prendik was picked up half dead on a boat. Montgomery was able to help him, as he was engaged in natural sciences at the university and possessed the necessary medical knowledge. He eagerly asks Prendik about London, the university, professors he knows...

Montgomery is carrying an unusual load - a puma, a llama, rabbits, a dog. Prendick stands up for Montgomery's servant, who is being bullied by a crew of sailors, and earns the captain's drunken dislike. Prendik drew attention to the strange appearance of Montgomery's servant - eyes glowing in the dark, a wary look. He evoked in those around him a feeling of disgust, bordering on fear. This, apparently, was the reason for his persecution.

Montgomery's journey comes to an end - the island on which he is to land is approaching. And again Prendik finds himself on the verge of life and death. The captain does not want to leave an unexpected passenger, and Montgomery does not want to take him to the island with him. Charles Prendick is pushed onto a half-sunk boat ... But Montgomery took pity at the last moment and hooked the boat to the longboat that met him.

Prendika from the first steps on the island is amazing. And above all - the kind of its inhabitants. "<...> there was something elusive in them, which I could not comprehend, and this caused me a strange disgust <...> I was especially surprised by their gait <...> they were somehow twisted, as if they consisted of somehow fastened pieces".

Montgomery introduces Charles to his senior colleague and blurts out, calling his name - Moreau. Charles Prendick recalls the long-standing scandal associated with the name of the outstanding physiologist Moreau. One of the journalists managed, under the guise of a laboratory assistant, to enter the laboratory where Moreau was performing mysterious experiments. Threatened by exposure, Moreau fled England. The mystery surrounding the work of Montgomery's senior colleague confirms Prendik's hunch that this is the same Moreau.

But what kind of experiments does he conduct? Heartbreaking moans and cries of the animal operated by Moreau are heard in the room in which Prendik was placed. Prendik realizes it's a cougar. When the screams become unbearable, Charles runs out, wanders aimlessly, and ends up in the woods. Here he has a meeting with a strange creature that does not look like a person. He begins to guess the essence of Dr. Moreau's experiments. Montgomery and Moreau find him and bring him back to the house. But the fear that he himself will be a test subject makes Prendik run again. In the forest, he stumbles upon a whole settlement of animal people. Ugly bull-people, bear-foxes, man-dogs, satyr-monkey-man. These monstrous creatures can speak.

Moreau, in order to keep his wards in obedience, created for them a god - himself.

Dr. Moreau and Montgomery found Prendick again. And Moreau reveals his secret to him - he gave animals a human appearance. The man was chosen as a model because in his appearance there is something "that is more pleasing to the aesthetic sense than the forms of all other animals."

To Prendik's question - how can he subject living beings to such suffering - Moreau objects that "it is so insignificant." "Pain is just our adviser <...> it warns and encourages us to be careful."

Moreau is not satisfied with his experiments - animal instincts are returning to his creations.

The main difficulty is the brain. All instincts harmful to mankind suddenly break through and overwhelm its creation with malice, hatred or fear. But this does not discourage him - man has been formed for thousands of years, and his experiments are only twenty years old. “Every time I immerse a living being in a font of burning suffering, I tell myself: this time I will burn everything animal out of it ...” He connects his hopes with an operation on a cougar.

Among other animals, Montgomery brought rabbits to the island and set them free - "be fruitful and multiply." One day in the forest, he and Prendik discover a torn carcass. So someone broke the law and tasted the taste of blood. Moreau, to whom they tell about this, understands what a terrible danger hangs over them. He decides to urgently gather the beast people in order to punish the one who broke the law. Arriving at the place of settlement of his creatures, he blew his horn. Sixty-three individuals quickly gathered. The only thing missing was a leopard-man. When he finally appeared, hiding behind the backs of the animals, Moreau asked his wards: "What awaits the one who has broken the Law?" And the chorus of voices answered: he "returns to the House of Suffering."

Then the leopard-man rushed at Moro. Montgomery's servant - Mling - hurried to the rescue, Aeopardo the man disappeared into the thicket, the chase began. Prendik is the first to overtake him in order to save him from the House of Suffering. And the hyena-pig that followed them sank its teeth into the neck of the dead leopard-man.

Charles Prendick is deeply shocked by everything he sees, especially the fact that "wild, aimless research carried Moreau." “I was seized with a strange confidence that, despite all the absurdity and extraordinary forms, I saw before me human life with its intertwining of instincts, reason and accidents…”

The atmosphere on the island thickens. During one of the operations on the cougar, she broke free, tearing out the hook to which she was tied from the wall. Moreau went in search of her. Both of them died in the fight.

Living on the island becomes even more dangerous. The animals were afraid of Moreau, his whip, the Law he invented, and most of all - the House of Suffering. Now, despite all the efforts of Prendick and Montgomery, the man-beasts are gradually returning to their instincts. Montgomery, who went to the island with Moreau because of his addiction to alcohol, dies from drunkenness. He gets drunk himself, gives water to his faithful servant and other animal-people who came to his call. The results were tragic. Prendik ran out at the noise, the tangle of beastmen disintegrated at the sound of a shot, someone ran away in the darkness. A terrible picture opened up to Prendik's eyes: the wolf-man bit Montgomery's throat and died himself.

While Prendick was trying to save Montgomery, a fallen kerosene lamp caught fire in the House of Suffering. With horror, he sees that Montgomery has burned all the boats at the stake.

Charles Prendick was left alone on the island with Dr. Moreau's creations. And this is what happens to them: “their naked bodies began to become covered with hair, their foreheads to grow, and their faces to stretch forward. But they did not sink at all to the level of animals<…>, since they were a cross between them, it was as if general animal features appeared in them, and sometimes glimpses of human features. "The neighborhood with them became more and more dangerous, especially after the hyena-pig tore to pieces the beast-dog, which protected Prendik's sleep.

Prendik is looking for a way to escape. The construction of the raft ends in failure. But one day he was lucky - a boat was washed ashore, in which there were dead sailors from the Ipecac. Prendik returned to the normal world. But Prendik could not recover from the island of Dr. Moreau for a long time.

"I could not convince myself that the men and women I met were not beasts in human form, who are still outwardly similar to humans, but will soon begin to change again and show their bestial instincts…", "…it seems to me that a beast is hiding under the outer shell, and the horror that I saw on the island will soon play out before me, only on a larger scale.

Charles Prendick can no longer live in London. He moves away from the noise of the big city and the crowds of people, and calmness gradually comes to him. He believes "that everything human that is in us should find comfort and hope in the eternal, all-encompassing laws of the universe, and not in everyday, worldly worries, sorrows, passions."

T. V. Gromova

 (The War of the Worlds)

Roman (1896)

In 1877, the Italian astronomer Giovanni Virgino Schiaparelli (1835-1910) discovered a network of straight lines on Mars, which he called channels. There was a hypothesis according to which these channels are artificial structures. This point of view was subsequently refuted, but Schiaparelli enjoyed wide recognition during his lifetime. And from this the idea of ​​the habitability of this planet logically followed. Of course, something contradicted her. Mars is older than the Earth, further away from the Sun, and if life on it began earlier, then it is already nearing its end. The average daily temperature in the equatorial zone is not higher than in our coldest weather, the atmosphere is very rarefied, huge masses of ice accumulate at the poles. But does it not follow from this that during the existence of Mars they have developed technology incomparable to that of Earth and, at the same time, the desire to move to another, more comfortable planet for life?

These are the premises of this largest science fiction novel by Wells. It is about the invasion of the Martians on Earth. With the opposition of the Earth and Mars, the distance between them is reduced as much as possible. Astronomers at this time observe some flashes on the surface of this planet. It's most likely an earthquake. Or maybe, Wells suggests, the Martians are just casting a giant cannon from which they will soon fire ten projectiles at Earth? There would have been more of these shells, but something happened on Mars - some kind of explosion - although the Martians who arrived turned out to be quite enough to conquer our entire planet if the unforeseen did not happen.

The novel ends with another scientific assumption. The period of development of the Martian civilization - it is worth recalling, a very long one - turned out to be sufficient to destroy all pathogenic microbes. And the Martians become a victim of their inability to live on earth. They are dying.

Between this beginning and the end, the action of the novel unfolds. It is twofold. At first, Wells is presented as a kind of follower of Jules Verne, a kind of "technical science fiction writer". The Martians brought new principles of science and technology to Earth. Their combat tripods, walking at the speed of a bird, their heat and light rays, their gas attacks, long foreshadowing the horrors of world war, the ability to use articular rather than wheel devices, which engineers of future generations came to, are the forerunners of robotics. Heavier-than-air aircraft were just being planned, and at Wells, his Martians are already building their own aircraft.

And another prediction of Wells is chimerical. The Martians are like an intelligent tadpole equipped with tufts of tentacles. They are rather a product of the earth, and not an extraterrestrial civilization. And in the eyes of modern man, they are disgusting. Moreover, the Martians feed on the blood of creatures resembling the current inhabitants of the Earth. This is one of the main reasons for their expansion,

The action begins with the fall of the first Martian cylinder that unscrews from the inside. People dream of making contact with aliens. However, the Martians have completely different plans. They need to subjugate the Earth, and from the very beginning they behave extremely aggressively, suppressing the very first pockets of possible resistance. The artillery batteries aimed at them are destroyed by a heat beam. The government still has the power to call on the population to leave London, after which its functions are completely exhausted. Production comes to an end. There is no more social order. A massive exodus of people from the world's largest city begins. Marauders are rampaging. People who are no longer subject to external discipline show themselves as they are.

The novel has two narrators. One of them is the author himself. It is he who immediately notices the arrival of the Martians, the destruction of the peacekeeping delegation with a white flag, the first crowds of refugees who have not yet managed to reach London. During his wanderings, he meets two people who stop his attention. One of them is a priest, with whom, by chance, he finds himself in a dilapidated house on the very edge of a giant funnel dug by a falling cylinder. From a hole in the wall, he watches as the Martians assemble their gear. The priest is a sincere believer, yet gradually goes crazy, raises a cry and soon attracts the attention of the Martians. Tentacles stretch out into the gap, and one can only guess what fate awaits him. The hero miraculously escapes the same fate.

And another person gets in his way. This is a riding artillery battery, lagging behind his unit. The moment they meet again, the Martians have already triumphed over humanity. But, as it turns out, the artilleryman has his own plan to save the human race. It is necessary to dig deeper into the ground, for example, into the sewer network, and wait. At first it seems that there is some truth in his calculations. The sewerage after a rain is well washed out. It is spacious enough, and you can get there through a specially dug underground passage. In time, the Earth will be reclaimed. It is only necessary to master the secret of the Martian tripods. There will still be more people. Yes, and among them there are capable of managing these for the time being incomprehensible mechanisms.

The plan itself was good. Yes, that's the trouble - he was born in the head of a man representing a considerable danger to mankind. This becomes clear almost from the first moment. The artillery soldier is one of the marauders that have bred recently. Not immediately recognizing the narrator, he does not want to let him go to "his site", where enough food has accumulated for two people. In addition, he digs his dig in the wrong direction. There is no access to the sewers from here. And there won't be time for that. The creator of the great plan does not like to work too much. He prefers to absorb food prepared by someone else and alcoholic drinks.

But worst of all is the other side of this "great plan". For its implementation, a new breed of people will have to be bred. The weak (according to the well-known Spartan model) will have to be killed. Women will be called only to give birth to viable people. And the narrator, the bearer of completely different thoughts, decides to leave this unbridled and strange dreamer and go to London.

The spectacle before his eyes is frightening. The city, except for a few drunks, was deserted. It is littered with corpses. And above all this, the howl of an extraterrestrial monster is heard. But the narrator does not yet know that this is the death cry of the last surviving Martian.

He learns a lot from his brother's lips. This is the second narrator. It was he who witnessed the great exodus from London. In the story of the gunner about the nonentities inhabiting England, there was still a lot of truth. These useless people, at the first sign of danger, go berserk and lose their sense of reality. On the roads, they rob and take away vehicles. Some old man, risking his life, collects crumbled, useless gold. But now the tide is back. And since then, people have learned a lot about the Martians. They don't feel tired. Like ants, they work twenty-four hours a day. They reproduce by budding and therefore do not know those violent emotions that arise in people due to the difference between the sexes. The digestive apparatus is missing. The main organ is a huge, continuously working brain. All this makes them strong in their own way and at the same time ruthless.

And everything that the Martians brought with them, people, Wells predicts, will eventually master. It's not just about technology. The Martian invasion threatened not only England, but our entire planet. And at the end of the book, Wells returns to his favorite thought, which he expressed all his life: “Perhaps the Martian invasion will not be left without benefit to people; it took away from us the serene faith in the future, which so easily leads to decline <...> it contributed to propaganda of the idea of ​​a unified organization of mankind".

Yu. I. Kagarlitsky

(The Invisible Man)

Roman (1897)

In the inn "Coachman and Horses", owned by Mrs. Hall and her henpecked husband, in early February, a mysterious stranger appears wrapped from head to toe. Getting a guest on a winter day is not easy, and the visitor pays generously.

His behavior seems more and more strange, more and more alarming to those around him. He is very irritable, avoids human society. When he eats, he covers his mouth with a napkin. His head is all wrapped in bandages. In addition, the Aiping provincials (a place in southern England) do not understand what he is doing. The smells of some chemicals are spreading around the house, the sound of broken dishes, loud curses that the tenant pours (obviously, something does not work out for him).

Griffin, whose name we will learn much later, strives to regain his former state, to become visible, but fails and becomes more and more annoyed. In addition, he ran out of money, they stopped feeding him, and he goes, using his invisibility, to a robbery. Of course, suspicion first of all falls on him.

The hero is going crazy. He is by nature an irritable person, and now this is manifested most clearly. Hungry, exhausted by constant failures with experiments, he takes an insane step - gradually, in front of everyone, tears off his disguise, appears before the observers as a man without a head, and then completely dissolves into the air. The first pursuit of the Invisible ends happily for him. In addition, while escaping from his pursuers, the Invisible Man runs into Marvel's drifter, referred to as "Mr. Marvel" - perhaps because he invariably wears a battered top hat. And he's very picky about shoes. And no wonder - nothing is so necessary for a tramp as good shoes, albeit donated ones. Here at one fine moment, trying on and evaluating new shoes, he hears a Voice resounding from the void. Among the weaknesses of Mr. Marvel is a passion for alcohol, so he does not immediately manage to believe himself, but he has to - an invisible voice explains to him that he saw in front of him the same outcast as himself, took pity on him and at the same time thought that he could help. After all, he was left naked, driven, and Mr. Marvel needed him as an assistant. First of all, you need to get clothes, then money. Mr. Marvel at first fulfills all the requirements - especially since the Invisible Man has not left his aggressive attacks and is a considerable danger. In Aiping, preparations are underway for the holiday. And before finally leaving Aiping, Invisible arranges a rout there, cuts telegraph wires, steals the vicar's clothes, takes books with his scientific records, loads poor Marvel with all this and is removed from the field of view of local inhabitants. And in the surrounding areas, people often see handfuls of coins flashing in the air, or even whole bundles of banknotes. Marvel keeps trying to escape, but every time he is stopped by an invisible Voice. And he remembers very well what tenacious hands the Invisible Man has. For the last time, he was about to reveal himself to a sailor he happened to meet, but immediately discovered that the Invisible Man was nearby, and fell silent. But only for a while. Too much accumulated in the pockets of money.

And then one day Dr. Kemp, sitting quietly in his rich house filled with servants and engaged in scientific work, for which he dreamed of being awarded the title of a member of the Royal Society, saw a rapidly running man in a shabby silk top hat. In his hands were books tied with twine, his pockets, as it turned out later, were stuffed with money. The route of this fat man was extremely accurate. At first he hid in the Merry Cricketers' pub, and then asked to be escorted to the police as soon as possible. Another minute, and he disappeared into the nearest police station, where he asked to be immediately locked in the most secure cell. And Dr. Kemp's doorbell rang. There was no one behind the door. The boys must have been having fun. But an invisible visitor appeared in the office. Kemp found a dark stain on the linoleum. It was blood. In the bedroom the sheet was torn, the bed crumpled. And then he heard a voice: "My God, it's Kemp!" Griffin turned out to be Kemp's university friend.

After Mr. Marvel, frightened half to death, hid in the Merry Cricketers tavern, the Invisible Man, obsessed with a thirst for revenge, tried to break through there, but it ended in disaster. Invisible Man had already been blown in all the newspapers, people had taken security measures, and one of the visitors to the Merry Cricketers, a bearded man in gray, judging by the accent, had an American, turned out to be a six-shot revolver, and he began firing fan-shaped at the door. One of the bullets hit Griffin in the arm, although there was no dangerous wound. The search for the body did not give any result, and Griffin appeared at Kemp's at the same time.

From the story that Griffin told his classmate, we learn his backstory.

Griffin is a talented scientist, on the verge of genius, but his career was not in the best way. He was engaged in medicine, chemistry and physics, but, knowing what morals reign in the scientific world, he was afraid that his discoveries would be appropriated by less gifted people. In the end, he had to leave the provincial college and settle in some slum London house, where at first no one bothered him. There was just no money. This is where Griffin's chain of crimes begins. He robs his father, taking other people's money from him, and he commits suicide. Griffin has no remorse. He is so focused on his work that he does not take into account any other considerations. Finally, the hour of the long-awaited opening arrives. But how to live on? Money is running out, neighbors and the householder suspect him of something. He is too unlike the others. And he does something strange. It is necessary to escape from the house that has become uncomfortable. But for this, first become invisible. And it's a painful process. The body burns like on fire, he loses consciousness. He is terrified at the sight of his own, becoming as if transparent body.

When the householder with his stepchildren bursts into the room, he, to his surprise, finds no one in it. And Griffin for the first time feels all the inconvenience of his position. Going out into the street, he notices that everyone who is not lazy is pushing him, cabbies almost knock him off his feet, dogs are chasing him with terrible barking. You have to get dressed first. The first attempt to rob the store ends in failure. But then he comes across a poor shop, littered with second-hand make-up accessories. Some unfortunate hunchback is in charge of it, whom he ties in a sheet, thereby depriving him of the opportunity to escape and, most likely, dooming him to starvation. But the same person who will later appear in Aiping comes out of the shop. All that remains is to cover up the traces of your stay in London. Griffin sets fire to the house, destroying all his drugs, and hides in southern England, from where, if desired, it is easy to move to France. But first you need to learn how to move from the invisible to the visible state. However, things are not going well. The money has run out. The robbery is revealed. Organized chase. Newspapers are full of sensational reports. And in this state, Griffin appears at Dr. Kemp's - hungry, hunted, wounded. He used to be an unbalanced person, And now a mania of misanthropy is ripening in him. From now on, he - the Invisible One - wants to rule over people, establishing a reign of terror for decades. He persuades Kemp to become his accomplice. Kemp realizes that before him is a dangerous fanatic. And he makes a decision - he writes a note to the head of the local police, Colonel Edlai. When he appears, Griffin is initially reluctant to touch him. "I didn't quarrel with you," he says. He wants the traitor Kemp. But the colonel has a pistol borrowed from Kemp, and he falls as another victim of Griffin. Then follows the completely senseless murder of Lord Burdk, who is armed with just a cane at the sight of an iron rod hanging in the air.

But they are already looking for the Invisible One - according to the plan drawn up by Kemp. The roads are covered with crushed glass, mounted police officers are galloping all over the district, the doors and windows of the houses are locked, it is impossible to get into passing trains, dogs are prowling everywhere. Griffin is like a hunted animal, and a hunted animal is always dangerous. But he still needs to take revenge on Kemp, who, after the murder of Adlai, turns from a hunter into a pursued one. A terrible invisible enemy is chasing him. Fortunately, already on his last breath, Kemp finds himself in a crowd of fellow countrymen, and then Griffin is waiting for the end. Kemp wants to save him, but those around him are relentless. And gradually, before everyone's eyes, a beautiful, but all wounded man reappears - Griffin is invisible as long as he is alive,

However, the last character in this novel is not Kemp, not Griffin, but Mr. Marvel. He's dressed up, bought the Merry Cricketers tavern with money stolen from Griffin, and is highly respected in the district. And every evening he locks himself away from people and tries to unravel the mystery of Griffin. Almost his last words: "Here was the head!"

Yu. I. Kagarlitsky

The legend about Ulenspiegel and Lamm Gudzak, about their valiant, funny and glorious deeds in Flanders and other parts

(La legende et les aventures heroi'ques, joyeuses et glorieuses d'UIenspiegel et de Lamme Goedzak au pays de Flandres et ailleurs)

Roman (1867)

The book is preceded by the "Preface of the Owl", which gives a double interpretation of the name "Ulenspiegel". According to one version, it means "I am your mirror", according to another - "owl and mirror". The action of the legend takes place in Flanders in the XNUMXth century. In the city of Damme, a son is born in the family of the coal miner Klaas - Til Ulenspiegel. He grows up as a cheerful and mischievous guy, and often his pranks are far from harmless. Once in the company, Ulenspiegel declares that prayers for the dead are beneficial only to priests, and one of those present informs on him and accuses him of heresy. Ulenspiegel is banished from Flanders for three years, during which he must make a pilgrimage to Rome and receive absolution from the pope. Saddened parents, Klaas and Soetkin, remain in Damme. But most of all, Til's girlfriend, Nele, the daughter of the good sorceress Kathlina, is saddened.

Born at the same time as Ulenspiegel, King Philip II grows sickly, pampered and cruel. Seeing that Philip burned his pet monkey at the stake, Emperor Charles wants to punish his son, but the archbishop stands up for him: "His Highness will one day become a great burner of heretics." And indeed, on the flowering land of Flanders, bonfires light up one after another, with the help of which the church protects its purity from heretics. Kathleen is accused of causing damage to a neighbor's cow (in fact, Kathleen simply failed to cure her). She is subjected to torture, from which she is damaged in the mind. Ulenspiegel, having spent the prescribed period in exile, having tried a lot of activities, cunning and cheating, receives absolution and returns to Damme. On the eve of his return, Claes is imprisoned on charges of heresy. He was denounced by a neighbor, the foreman of the fishermen, Jost Graipstuver, coveting the money sent to Klaas by his brother. Klaas is burned at the stake. After his death, Soetkin and Ulenspiegel come to the place of execution and take some ashes - from where the flame burned a deep hole in the place of the heart. Soetkin sews a pouch of red and black silk, and Ulenspiegel wears it around his neck ever since, repeating from time to time: "The ashes of Klaas beat against my chest." The widow and son of the executed are tortured to find out where the money is hidden, but they are silent.

Kathleen, anointed with a miraculous ointment, sees a vision: the collier Claes and Emperor Charles appear before Christ, seated on a starry throne. The soul of the worker Claas is raised up by the Mother of God to the highest of the mountain dwellings, and there, washed by angels, he becomes young and beautiful. And the soul of Emperor Charles, a cruel despot and tyrant, the destroyer of his country, is sent to hell.

Kathleen is visited at night by her lover, the "black demon" as she calls him. He announces his arrival with the cry of an eagle. The demon extorts money from Kathleen, and one day she tells him that the money of Soetkin and Ulenspiegel is hidden at the well. On the same night, having drugged Kathleen with sleeping pills, the lover kills the dog and steals the money. From grief, Soetkin falls ill and dies. Ulenspiegel wants to take revenge on the fishmonger, but, having met him, seeing how vile and pitiful he is, he throws him into the canal. Ulenspiegel comes to Kathleen for advice. "The ashes of Klaas are beating against my chest, I want to save the land of Flanders," says Thiel. "I asked the Creator of heaven and earth, but he did not answer me." Kathleen promises to help him, but on the condition that the girl who loves him takes him with her to the sabbath of spring spirits, "on Easter of the juices of the earth." After drinking the miraculous liquid, Nele and Ulenspiegel are present at the spring festival of spirits.

The spirits discover mortals and toss them one to another until they are before the throne of the soaring. Ulenspiegel finds in himself composure and courage to tell what brought him here the desire to save his tormented land. In response, the steamer and the queen of spirits, and after them all the others, begin to sing, and from their song it follows that Ulenspiegel "in death, in blood, in devastation, in tears" should look for the Seven. Ulenspiegel and Nele are unable to understand the meaning of the song, and the pitiless hand of one of the spirits throws them into the abyss. Til comes to his senses and sees Nele lying next to him.

Ulenspiegel leaves in search of the Seven. His companion is a good-natured fat man, a lover of delicious food and drink, Lamme Gudzak, who is looking for his wife who left him. Nele accompanies Ulenspiegel and cannot part with him.

King Philip establishes the Spanish Inquisition in the Netherlands. Across the country, the fire of popular anger is burning. Those who rebelled for independence call themselves "gozes", that is, beggars. Ulenspiegel and Lamme join the Gyoza. Ulenspiegel, wherever he can, sows a storm and raises the people against the executioners who torment their native land. The Duke of Alba and his troops are in a frenzy. Count Egmont and Count Horn have already been executed. The Prince of Orange, nicknamed the Silent One, is recruiting an army. Ulenspiegel recruits soldiers for him. Walking past the ruins, seeing blood and tears everywhere, he is at a loss as to who will save his homeland. And Philip does not find a place for himself from longing and anger. He is not consoled even by the thought of those times when he will concentrate power over all of Europe in his hands. He deals with his son, with his wife, with the courtiers, without experiencing either joy or grief.

Ulenspiegel shares victory and defeat with the army of the Silent One. One day he says about himself: “I come from beautiful Flanders <…> I am a painter, and a peasant, I am a nobleman, I am a sculptor. But Ulenspiegel also intervenes in the course of events, punishing the villains and helping the offended. He brings to light the corrupt Spelle, who killed many people, including the brother of the girl Boolkin, Mikhilkin. Ulenspiegel's thoughts often return to Nela and to his native city of Damme. At this time, a werewolf, a murderous wolf, appears in the vicinity of the city. Once Kathleen barely escaped him. Once in Damme, Ulenspiegel decides to catch the werewolf and sets a trap for him. The killer, who robbed his victims, turns out to be the same fishmonger, Jost Grapestuver, who once killed Klaas. He "bited" the necks of those whom he managed to waylay with the help of a waffle iron with long sharp teeth on the sides. Rybnik is tried and sentenced to be burned.

King Philip amuses himself by playing the "harpsichord", a crate of cats. When the king struck the key, she pricked the cat, and the animal meowed and squealed in pain. But the king did not laugh, just as he did not laugh when he sent murderers, just as he did not laugh, satisfying his voluptuousness.

Til Ulenspiegel and Lamme Gudzak begin to serve on the ship of Admiral Dolgovyazy. And in Damme, Catlina recognizes her lover, the "black demon", in the retinue of the new governor of the city. He renounces her, but Nele talks publicly about the connection between Katlina and Hans, as the poor insane calls him, and that he killed his friend Gilbert near the gates. The governor detains Ioos Damman, he is Hans, he is also the beloved demon of Catlina. Kathleen, thinking she is helping Hans, finds a buried body. She, too, is imprisoned and, like Damman, is tortured. Nele brings to court a letter she found from Damman to Catliné, and another letter from him was found in the late Gilbert's bag. Damman is found guilty of both witchcraft and murder. He is burned at the stake. Kathleen, on the other hand, is tested by water in a canal. She drowns, that is, it turns out not to be a witch, but after she is unconscious, stiffened, pulled out of the water, she cannot recover and dies on the third day. Orphaned Nele moves to Holland.

Ulenspiegel becomes a skilled gunner and an excellent warrior. He is smart and tireless. "I don't have a body, I only have a spirit," Til answers questions, "and my friend Nele looks like me. Spirit of Flanders, Love of Flanders - we will never die." Ulenspiegel intercedes for the monks who should have been released after they surrendered but were not released. "The word of a soldier is the law," he declares and stands his ground, although intercession almost costs him his life. Nele saves Ulenspiegel from the gallows, announcing that he takes him as her husband - according to local customs, this is possible. She becomes a piper on the ship where Ulenspiegel serves. The Gyozas suffer a series of setbacks. Nele, Ulenspiegel and Lamme are captured and imprisoned with others in a former monastery. But the captives are released, and Ulenspiegel with Nele and Lamme return to the ship. Lamme is made into a ship's cook. Ulenspiegel is appointed captain of the ship. Victory again smiles at the gozes. In one of the skirmishes, the Gyoza take a fat monk prisoner. Lamme begins fattening the monk, who soon becomes fatter than himself. Lamme is wounded in the thigh. And then his wife, whom he had been looking for for so long, visits him and bandages his wound. She explains that she left Lamme after listening to the calls of a monk who persuaded women to become celibate. This is the same monk that Lamme is fattening. Lamme and Kalleken, who returned to him, say goodbye to the Gyoza and leave the ship.

The Estates General convened at The Hague depose King Philip. The Netherlands becomes free. And soon a hired killer puts three bullets in the chest of the Prince of Orange. Ulenspiegel and Nele leave the fleet. They have not lost their youth, nor their strength, nor their beauty, for the love and spirit of Flanders do not grow old. Ulenspiegel becomes watchman and head of the Veere tower. One day, Nele and Ulenspiegel anoint themselves with the magic potion again and see the transfigured Seven. Pride became Noble Pride, Avarice was transformed into Thrift, Anger - into Liveliness, Gluttony - into Appetite, Envy - into Competition, Laziness - into the Dream of poets and sages. And the Lust that sat on the goat turned into Love. Waking up, Nele is horrified to see that Ulenspiegel does not come to his senses. The burgomaster and the priest who happened to be nearby with a joyful cry:

"Thank God! Great Gyoza is dead!" - Burying Til rushes. The grave is covered, the priest reads the prayer for the dead, but suddenly the sand stirs and Ulenspiegel rises from the grave.

"No one will be able to bury Ulenspiegel, the spirit of our Flanders, and Nele, her heart! Flanders, too, can sleep, but she will never die! Let's go, Nele!" - With these words, Ulenspiegel, embracing Nele, leaves.

V. S. Kulamna-Yartseva

Play (1890)

Old northern forest under high starry sky. Leaning against the trunk of an old hollow oak, the decrepit priest froze in dead immobility. His blue lips are half open, and his eyes, which have stopped, no longer look at this visible side of eternity. Wrinkled hands are folded in their laps. To his right, six blind old men sit on stones, stumps and dry leaves, and to his left, facing them, six blind women. Three of them pray and lament all the time. The fourth is a very old woman. The fifth, in a quiet frenzy, holds a sleeping child on her lap. Six is ​​strikingly young, her hair streaming down her shoulders. Both women and old men are dressed in wide, gloomy, monotonous clothes. All of them, putting their hands on their knees and covering their faces with their hands, are waiting for something. Tall cemetery trees - yews, weeping willows, cypresses - stretch their reliable canopy over them. Darkness.

The blind talk among themselves. They are concerned about the long absence of the priest. The oldest blind woman says that the priest has not been feeling well for several days, that he became afraid of everything after the doctor died. The priest was worried that the winter might be long and cold. He was frightened by the sea, he wanted to look at the coastal cliffs. The young blind woman says that before leaving, the priest held her hands for a long time. He was trembling, as if from fear. Then he kissed the girl and left.

“When he left, he said “Good night!” One of the blind recalls. They listen to the roar of the sea. The noise of the waves is unpleasant for them. The blind remember that the priest wanted to show them the island on which their shelter is located. That is why he brought them closer to the sea. "You can't wait forever for the sun under the arches of the dormitory," he said. The blind try to determine the time of day. Some of them think that they feel the moonlight, feel the presence of the stars. The least sensitive are the blind born ("I hear only our breathing < …> I never felt them," one of them remarks). The blind want to return to the shelter. The distant chime of the clock is heard - twelve strikes, but it's midnight or noon, the blind cannot understand. Night birds gloatingly flap their wings over their heads. One of the blind suggests, if the priest does not come, to return to the shelter, guided by the noise of a large river flowing nearby. Others are going to wait without moving. The blind tell each other where someone came to the island from, the young blind woman remembers her distant homeland, the sun , mountains, unusual flowers. ("I have no memories," says the blind-born.) The wind blows. Leaves fall in heaps. It seems to the blind that someone is touching them. They are filled with fear. A young blind woman smells flowers. These are asphodels - a symbol of the kingdom of the dead. One of the blind manages to pluck a few, and the young blind woman weaves them into her hair. You can hear the wind and the roar of the waves on the coastal rocks. Through this noise, the blind catch the sound of someone approaching footsteps. This is a shelter dog. She drags one of the blind men towards the motionless priest and stops. The blind realize that there is a dead man among them, but they do not immediately find out who it is. Women, crying, kneel down and pray for the priest. The oldest blind woman reproaches those who complained and did not want to go forward that it was they who tortured the priest. The dog does not move away from the corpse. The blind join hands. A whirlwind twists dry leaves. A young blind woman distinguishes someone's distant steps. Snow is falling in large flakes. The steps are coming. The child of the lunatic begins to cry. The young blind woman takes him in her arms and lifts him up so that he can see who is coming towards them. Footsteps are approaching, you can hear the leaves rustling under someone's feet, you can hear the rustle of a dress. The footsteps stop next to a group of blind "Who are you?" asks the young blind woman. No answer. "Oh, have mercy on us!" exclaims the oldest. Silence again. Then a desperate cry of a child is heard.

V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva

Play (1894)

Old garden, willows in the garden. In the depths of the house, three windows of the lower floor are lit. The father is sitting by the fire. The mother is leaning on the table and staring into space. Two young girls in white are embroidering. Leaning his head on his mother's left hand, the child is dozing. The Old Man and the Stranger cautiously enter the garden.

They look to see if everyone at home is in place, and talk to each other, deciding how best to inform them of the death of the third sister. The old man believes that it is necessary to go together: the misfortune, which is reported by more than one person, is not so difficult. He is looking for words to tell about what happened: "When they found her, she was swimming along the river, and her hands were folded ..." The stranger corrects him - the girl's arms were stretched along the body. It was the Stranger who noticed and pulled out the drowned woman. The old man recalls how he met a drowned girl in the morning at the church - "she smiled the way those smile who do not want to speak, who are afraid that they will not be guessed ...". Each person has many reasons not to live, the Old Man argues. You can't look into your soul like you're into a room. The Stranger and the Old Man observe the peaceful, ordinary life of the family. Families who think they are safe: bars on the windows, bolted doors. The stranger tries to go and tell about what happened, afraid that someone will tell the terrible news without preparing his relatives. Enter the Old Man's granddaughter, Maria. She reports that the peasants are walking and carrying a drowned woman on a stretcher made of branches. The old man tells Mary to look out the window:

"At least you will understand a little what life is..."

Inside the house, the sisters approach the windows and peer into the darkness. Then they kiss their mother. The elder strokes the child, but he does not wake up. The girls approach their father. These simple, mean movements fascinate the Old Man, his granddaughter and the Stranger watching from the garden. Now Maria asks her grandfather not to inform the relatives of the dead girl about the misfortune yet. The old man is ready to agree with her and not say anything to them until morning, but it's too late - the crowd with the body has already approached the house. Another granddaughter of the Old Man appears - Martha. Realizing that her grandfather has not yet said anything, she is ready to go into the house herself with bad news. The old man tells her to stay and not look out the window, so as not to see "what a human face becomes when death passes before her eyes."

Prayers are being heard. Part of the crowd enters the garden. There are muffled footsteps and soft voices. The old man goes into the house. Martha and Maria are sitting on a bench with their backs to the windows. The stranger looks out the window and comments on what is happening. Everyone is listening - probably the Old Man knocked on the door. Father goes to open. Everyone gets up, only the child, head tilted to one side, sleeps in a chair. The old man hesitates. But at last the terrible words were spoken. Mother, father and both girls rush to the door, but the father does not immediately manage to open it. The old man tries to keep his mother. The crowd in the garden disperses. Only the Stranger continues to stand under the window. Finally, the doors of the house swing open, everyone comes out at the same time. By the light of the stars and the moon, one can see how a drowned woman is carried on a stretcher. And in the middle of an empty room, in an armchair, the child is still sleeping sweetly. Silence. "The baby hasn't woken up!" - says the Stranger and leaves.

V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva

Historical drama (1902)

Events unfold in Pisa at the end of the XNUMXth century. The head of the Pisan garrison, Guido Colonna, discusses the current situation with his lieutenants Borso and Torello: Pisa is surrounded by enemies - the troops of the Florentines, and the troops sent by Venice to help the Pisans could not break through to them. The city is about to begin famine. The soldiers had no gunpowder or bullets left. Guido sent his father Marco to negotiate with Princhivalle, a mercenary commander of the Florentine army. There are various rumors about Princhivalle: sometimes he is portrayed as cruel and treacherous, sometimes dangerous, but honest and noble. Marco returns. He tells that Princhivalle received him as an honored guest. Marco tells with enthusiasm how he talked with Princhivalle about the dialogues of Plato, how he met the famous scientist Ficino in the camping tent of the Florentine commander, how together they managed to discover the torso of the goddess buried in the sand in the olive grove ...

Guido interrupts his father's story, trying to find out how his negotiations with Princhivalle ended. Marco tries to warn Guido against rash decisions and then reports that Princhivalle, having learned about the fate prepared for him (he is going to be accused of treason against Florence and executed), offers military assistance to the city of Pisa or promises to send three hundred wagons with ammunition and food. But Princhivalle sets a condition (Marco hardly forces himself to pronounce it) that as a sign of humility, as a sign of victory, one should come to him, "come completely naked, so that only a cloak serves as a cover" - Guido's wife, Giovanna. Guido is outraged. He is ready to die himself and destroy the city, but it turns out that Giovanna already knows from Marco about the condition of saving Pisa and is ready to sacrifice herself. Guido is trying to prevent his wife. Realizing that it is useless, he parted with her coldly.

In his camp not far from Pisa, in a tent where weapons, furs, chests with jewelry and shiny fabrics are lying in disorder, Princhivalle awaits the decision of his fate: if his offer is rejected, Marco must return, if accepted, the belfry in the city will light up a fire heralding the arrival of Giovanna, Monna Vanna, the woman Princhivalle has loved since childhood. The beacon lights up. Princhivalle rejoices But before the appearance of Monna Vanna, Princhivalle will meet with Trivulzio, Commissioner of the Florentine Republic. Trivulzio assures Princhivalle of his sincere affection and warns of the intrigues of ill-wishers. He calls on the commander to immediately take Pisa by storm, so that, returning triumphant to Florence, he will win over those who are hostile to him. Princhivalle exposes Trivulzio's duplicity by showing him his own denunciations, as a result of which Princhivalle should have died, because the people of Florence idolized him and could follow him if it suddenly occurred to Princhivalle to rebel against his superiors. Feeling unmasked, Trivulzio throws his dagger at Princhivalla, who manages to deflect the blow and the dagger only grazes his face. Princhivalle does not understand how a person can be killed on suspicion alone, out of fear of an imaginary danger. At the same time, he respects the devotion of Trivulzio to his native Florence, Princhivalle orders Trivulzio to be taken away, but warns that no one should lay a finger on him. Vedio, Princhivalle's adjutant, bandages his wound. A shot is heard in the distance. Princivalle is concerned: what if Monna Vanna was shot? Vedio leaves to find out and, returning, calls out to Princhivalle. He then disappears and Monna Vanna appears in the tent. She is really lightly wounded in the shoulder, but refuses to bandage the wound. Princhivalle shows Vanna how, in payment for her coming to him, wagons with provisions and ammunition are sent to Pisa.

Having seated Vanna on his bed, Princhivalle tells her about his love. The bath is struck by the power of feeling. She does not immediately recognize the blond boy Gianello, with whom she played as a child, in the commander of the enemy army. Father took Gianello to Africa. After long wanderings in the desert, after Turkish and Spanish captivity, he returns to his hometown and learns that Giovanna has married the most powerful and wealthy man in Pisa. He had nothing to offer her. Gianello becomes a hired commander, participates in various wars, his name becomes glorious, and now the case brings him under the walls of Pisa ... Giovanna reproaches him for indecision. "Don't flatter yourself, I don't love you..." she says to Princhivalle. lack of courage in love!" When asked if she loves Guido, Giovanna replies that she is happy with him - how happy a person can be who has abandoned reckless dreams ...

Vannu is embarrassed that for her sake Princhivalle recklessly staked his future, his glory, his very life, and he explains to her that he did not sacrifice anything for her: he is a mercenary and is faithful only as long as they are faithful to him ("Be my homeland , I would not cheat on her for the sake of the most fiery love," he notes). Vedio warns Princivalle about the arrival of the Florentines in the camp, ready to arrest him. Giovanna, in order to save Princhivalle, invites him to go with her to Pisa. Over the city, to which Vanna and Princhivalle are heading, there is a glow of festive lights. Bath is happy and grateful to Princhivalla. She kisses him on the forehead.

In Pisa, in his palace, Guido suffers from shame, from humiliation. He no longer wants to see his father push Giovanna to sacrifice. And he is going to forgive her, but only when her rapist is killed. “It is perhaps impossible to completely forget her offense, but it can go so far into the past that jealousy itself will not find it ...” Marco is ready to leave the city, he only wants to see Giovanna meet Guido. The cheers of the crowd are heard: "Our Monna Vanna!", "Glory to Monna Vanna!" Marco, accompanied by Borso and Torello, goes out onto the terrace, Guido is left alone. Marco's eyes fail to discern where Giovanna is, and Borso tells him of her triumphant approach. Next to her is an unknown person whose face is hidden by a bandage. Marco hugs Giovanna. Guido appears. Vanna wants to speak to him, to throw herself into his arms, but with a sharp movement he stops and pushes Giovanna away. He chases the crowd away from the walls of his palace, then tries to rip the bandage from Princivalle's face to find out who it is. The bath comes between them. She reveals to Guido that this is her savior and calls his name - Princhivalle. Guido decides that Giovanna brought Princhivalle to Pisa to take revenge on him. Running out onto the terrace, Guido loudly shouts that the enemy has been caught. Now he wants the crowd to gather. Guido is eager to hear Vanna's story about how she managed to lure Princhivalle. Vanna urges her husband to believe her and reveals that Princhivalle did not touch her. But Guido's common sense does not allow him to believe his wife. He addresses the crowd with the question, does anyone believe Giovanna? Only Marco believes her. And Guido confronts Giovanna with a choice: either she confesses that Princhivalle possessed her, or, if she insists that he did not touch her, he will be executed. Then Vanna, in order to save Princhivalle, lies that he possessed her, that she lured him into the city with kisses (while she passionately kisses Princhivalle, whispers words of love to him and conjures silence). She demands to be given the key to Princhivalle's dungeon, and Guido promises that the guards will now bring her the key.

Marco understands and accepts Monna Vanna's high deceit. Guido is happy, for him the past is a heavy dream. "Oh yes, you're right," Vanna answers him, "it was a heavy dream ... But now - now a bright one will begin ..."

V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva.

Extravaganza (1908)

Christmas Eve. The woodcutter's children, Tiltil and Mitil, sleep in their beds. Suddenly they wake up. Attracted by the sound of music, the children run to the window and look at the Christmas celebration in the rich house opposite. A knock is heard at the door. An old woman appears in a green dress and a red cap. She is hunchbacked, lame, one-eyed, with a hooked nose, and walks with a stick. This is Fairy Berilyun. She tells the children to go in search of the Blue Bird, She is annoyed that the children do not see the obvious things. "You have to be brave to see the hidden," says Berilyuna and gives Tiltil a green cap with a diamond, turning which a person can see the "soul of things." As soon as Tyltil puts on his cap and turns the diamond, everything around is miraculously transformed: the old sorceress turns into a fairy-tale princess, the poor atmosphere of the hut comes to life. The Souls of the Hours, the Souls of Loaves appear, the Fire appears in the form of a rapidly moving person in a red tights. The Dog and the Cat also take on human form, but remain in the masks of a bulldog and a cat. The dog, having gained the opportunity to put his feelings into words, with enthusiastic cries of "My little deity!" jumps around Tyltil. The cat coyly and incredulously holds out her hand to Mytil. From the tap, water begins to beat with a sparkling fountain, and from its streams a girl appears with loose hair, in seemingly flowing clothes. She immediately comes to grips with Fire. This is the Soul of Water. A pitcher falls from the table, and a white figure rises from the spilled milk. This is the timid and bashful Soul of Milk. From the sugar loaf, tearing the blue wrapper, comes a sugary fake creature in blue and white clothes. This is the Soul of the Sahara. The flame of a fallen lamp instantly turns into a luminous girl of incomparable beauty under a sparkling transparent veil. This is the Soul of Light. There is a strong knock on the door. Tiltil, in fright, turns the diamond too fast, the walls of the hut fade, the Fairy becomes an old woman again, and Fire, Bread, Water, Sugar, the Soul of Light, Dog and Cat do not have time to return back to Silence, the fairy orders them to accompany the children in search of the Blue Bird, predicting their death at the end of the journey. All but the Soul of Light and the Dog do not want to go. However, after promising to find a suitable outfit for everyone, the fairy leads them all through the window. And Mother Til and Father Til, who looked through the door, see only peacefully sleeping children.

In the palace of the Fairy Berilyuny, dressed in luxurious fairy costumes, the souls of animals and objects are trying to plot against children. They are led by a cat. She reminds everyone that earlier, "before the man", whom she calls the "despot", everyone was free, and expresses her fear that, having taken possession of the Blue Bird, a person will comprehend the Soul of Things, Animals and Elements and finally enslave them. The dog protests furiously. With the appearance of the Fairy, children and the Soul of Light, everything calms down. The cat hypocritically complains about the Dog, and he gets hit by Tiltil. Before a long journey, to feed the children, Bread cuts two slices from his belly, and Sugar breaks off his fingers for them (which immediately grow back, so Sugar always has clean hands). First of all, Tyltil and Mytil will have to visit the Land of Remembrance, where they must go alone, unaccompanied. There, Tiltil and Mitil visit the deceased grandfather and grandmother, and there they also see their dead brothers and sisters. It turns out that the dead seem to be immersed in a dream, and when loved ones remember them, they wake up. Having fiddled with the younger children, having dined with the whole family, Tiltil and Mitil are in a hurry to leave so as not to be late for a meeting with the Soul of Light. At the request of the children, grandparents give them a thrush, which seemed to them completely blue. But when Tiltil and Mytil leave the Land of Remembrance, the bird turns black.

In the Palace of the Night, the Cat is the first to warn the mistress of the impending danger - the arrival of Tiltil and Mytil. The night cannot forbid a man to open the gates of her secrets. The cat and the Night can only hope that the man does not catch the real Blue Bird, the one that is not afraid of daylight. Children appear, accompanied by Dog, Bread and Sugar. Night tries first to deceive, then to intimidate Tiltyl and not give him the key that opens all the doors in her palace. But Tiltil opens the doors one by one. Because of one, several fearless Ghosts slip out, because of the other, where the diseases are, the Runny nose manages to run out, because of the third, the wars almost break free. Then Tiltil opens the door, behind which the Night keeps extra Stars, its favorite Aromas, Wandering Lights, Fireflies, Dew, Nightingale Singing. Night does not advise opening the next, large middle door, warning that visions so terrible are hidden behind it that they do not even have a name. Tyltil's companions - all except the Dog - hide in fright. Tiltil and the Dog, struggling with their own fear, open the door, behind which is a garden of marvelous beauty - a garden of dreams and night light, where magic blue birds flutter tirelessly among the stars and planets. Tyltil calls his companions, and, having caught several blue birds each, they leave the garden. But soon the captured birds die - the children failed to find the only Blue Bird that endures the light of day.

Forest. The cat enters, greets the trees, talks to them. Set them on the kids. The trees have a reason not to love the woodcutter's son. And now Tiltil is thrown to the ground, and the Dog is barely freed from the fetters of Ivy, he is trying to protect the owner. Both of them are on the verge of death, and only the intervention of the Soul of Light, which tells Tiltil to turn the diamond on the cap to plunge the trees into darkness and silence, saves them. The cat manages to hide his involvement in the riot.

The children are looking for the Blue Bird in the cemetery. At midnight, Tiltil turns the diamond with fear, the graves open up, and whole sheaves of ghostly, magically beautiful white flowers appear from them. Birds sing enthusiastic hymns to the Sun and Life. "Where are the dead? .. - There are no dead ..." - Tiltil and Mytil exchange remarks.

In search of the Blue Bird, the children and their escort find themselves in the Gardens of Bliss. The Fat Beatitudes almost draw Tyltil and his companions into their orgies, but the boy turns the diamond and it becomes clear how pitiful and ugly the Fat Beatitudes are. Domestic Beatitudes appear, which are amazed that Tyltil is unaware of their existence. This is the Bliss of Being Healthy, the Bliss of Loving Parents, the Bliss of the Blue Sky, the Bliss of Sunny Days, the Bliss of Seeing the Lighting Stars. They send the swiftest Bliss to Run Through the Dew Barefoot to announce the arrival of the Great Joy children, and soon tall beautiful angelic beings in shining robes appear, among them the Great Joy of Being Just, the Joy of Being Kind, the Joy of Understanding and the purest Joy of Mother's Love.

She seems to children like their mother, only much more beautiful ... Maternal Love claims that at home she is the same, but nothing can be seen with closed eyes. Having learned that the children were brought by the Soul of Light, Motherly Love convenes other Great Joys, and they welcome the Soul of Light as their mistress. Great Joys ask the Soul of Light to throw back the veil that still hides the unknown Truth and Bliss. But the Soul of Light, fulfilling the order of its Lord, only wraps itself more tightly in a veil, saying that the hour has not yet come, and promising to come someday openly and boldly. Embracing goodbye, she parted with the Great Joys.

Tiltil and Mytil, accompanied by the Soul of Light, find themselves in the Azure Palace of the Kingdom of the Future. The Azure Children run to them. These are the children who will someday be born on Earth. But you can’t come to Earth empty-handed, and each of the children is going to bring some of their inventions there: the Happiness Machine, thirty-three ways to extend life, two crimes, a car flying through the air without wings. One of the kids is an amazing gardener who grows extraordinary daisies and huge grapes, the other is the King of the Nine Planets, and another is called to destroy injustice on Earth. Two azure children are standing, embracing. These are lovers. They can’t get enough of each other and kiss and say goodbye incessantly, because on Earth they will be separated for centuries. Here, Tiltil and Mitil meet their brother, who will soon be born. Dawn is engaged - the hour when children are born. The bearded old man Time appears, with a scythe and an hourglass. He takes those who are about to be born onto the ship. The ship that takes them to Earth sails and hides. Distant singing is heard - this is sung by Mothers who meet children. Time in amazement and anger notices Tyltil, Mytil and the Soul of Light. They escape him by turning the diamond. Under the veil, the Soul of Light hides the Blue Bird.

At the fence with a green gate - Tiltil does not immediately recognize his home - the children part with their companions. Bread returns to Tyltil the cage for the Blue Bird, which was left empty. "The Blue Bird, apparently, either does not exist at all, or changes color as soon as it is put in a cage ..." - says the Soul of Light. Souls of Objects and Animals say goodbye to children. The fire almost burns them with stormy caresses, the water murmurs farewell speeches, the sugar utters false and sugary words. The dog impetuously rushes to the children, he is horrified by the thought that he will no longer be able to talk with his adored master. Children persuade the Soul of Light to stay with them, but it is not in her power. She can only promise them to be with them "in every gliding moonbeam, in every kindly looking <...> star, in every dawn, in every lit lamp", in their every pure and clear thought. It strikes eight o'clock. The gate opens a little and immediately slams behind the children.

The lumberjack's hut has magically changed - everything here has become newer, happier. The jubilant daylight breaks through the cracks of the closed shutters. Tiltil and Mitil are sleeping sweetly in their beds. Mother Til comes to wake them up. Children begin to talk about what they saw during the trip, and their speech frightens the mother. She sends her father for a doctor. But then Berlengo's Neighbor appears, very similar to the fairy Berilyuna. Tyltil begins to explain to her that he has not been able to find the Blue Bird. The neighbor guesses that the children dreamed something, perhaps when they were sleeping, the moonlight fell on them. She herself talks about her granddaughter - the girl is unwell, does not get up, the doctor says - nerves ... The mother persuades Tyltil to give the girl a turtledove, which she dreams of. Tyltil looks at the dove, and it seems to him the Blue Bird. He gives a cage with a bird to a neighbor. Children see their home with new eyes and what is in it - bread, water, fire, a cat and a dog. There is a knock at the door, and Neighbor Berlengo enters with an unusually beautiful blond Girl. The girl presses Tyltil's turtledove to her chest. To Tiltyl and Mitil, the neighbor's granddaughter seems like a Soul of Light. Tyltil wants to explain to the Girl how to feed the dove, but the bird, taking advantage of the moment, flies away. The girl cries in despair, and Tiltil promises her to catch the bird. Then he addresses the audience: "We ask you very much: if one of you finds it, then let him bring it to us - we need it in order to become happy in the future ..."

V. S. Kulagina-Yartseva

 (Hakon Jarl Hin Ridge)

Tragedy (1805)

Norway at the end of the XNUMXth century Jarl Hakon, who has subjugated the country, dreams of kingship: from a jarl - a free and prominent military leader, he wants to turn into a king, whose power is consecrated by dynastic tradition and popular habit, that is, undeniable. But on the way to the jarl is Olaf, the great-grandson of the first king and unifier of Norway, Harald the Fair-Haired. And although Olaf lives far away - he rules Ireland conquered by the Vikings - as long as he lives, Hakon's power is under threat: both old and young, all Norwegians understand this.

Hakon has already ordered a crown for himself. True, during the fitting it turns out to be large and literally "blinds" his eyes - the blacksmith Bergtor made it according to the model of the royal crown of Harald the Fair-Haired and is not going to change sizes: let the applicant grow up to the crown, otherwise he has the right to wear it no more than a wimp - the slave Mushroom, who managed to try on the crown before Hakon and delivered a very successful throne speech.

The case forces Hakon to act. He learns that Olaf is in Norway, the ruler of Ireland went home with a small retinue. He goes to Gardarike (Rus), where he hurries to the son of the deceased Prince Valdemar (Vladimir) to help him establish himself in the principality. Hakon acts subtly and cautiously: he sends a small embassy to Olaf - his young cousins ​​​​and his closest assistant, the merchant Klake. The latter, catching the master's unspoken desire, provokes Olaf - it is restless in Norway, the people are dissatisfied with Hakon and are ready to rebel at any moment. A worthy descendant of his glorious ancestors, Olaf could have regained the crown of Norway.

Previously not thinking about trouble, Olaf allows himself to be persuaded to speak out against Hakon. The call of the priest Tagenbrand (Olaf carries a team of monks everywhere with him) finally strengthens him in his decision - to baptize Norway, and after it the whole North!

As always, Hakon acts quickly and energetically and very soon lands on the island, where he stands with part of Olaf's squad. Like him, the jarl connects his desire for power with ideological motives - the protection of the pagan faith of his ancestors from Christianity advancing to the North.

The unexpected, but logical, happens - Olaf's cousins ​​come to confess, they report: their deceit turned out to be true, the country revolted. From the very beginning, having achieved power, Jarl Hakon ruled wisely and fairly, but over time, the tyrant won more and more in him, and the arbitrariness and unceremonious womanly love he committed brought his subjects to despair. The last straw was the kidnapping of the blacksmith's daughter (the one who forged his crown) who liked the jarl, right from her wedding feast. If the people knew that Olaf had arrived in the country, they would no doubt join him. Therefore, it is unlikely that Hakon will openly oppose Olaf, he prepared a trap for him: the merchant Klake promised the jarl to lure Olaf into the forest, take his life, and then secretly carry a basket with the severed head of the king into the forest hut to Hakon. Fortunately, the plan of Klake was betrayed to the brothers by the quick-witted slave of the merchant Grib, and they, who previously served the ruler of Norway faithfully, are outraged by such treachery and no longer believe the jarl. And they ask Olaf to punish them for trying to find out his plans, and also for the fact that, having lied, they told him the honest truth!

With true royal generosity, Olaf forgives his brothers. Clacke's plans are destroyed, and he himself is killed by the slave Mushroom, for which Olaf rewards him with freedom and the new name Grif. Wrapped in a cloak and pulling his hat over his eyes, Olaf appears in the hut with a basket (the noble Christian king refuses to put the severed head of his former master in it), Pretending to be a murderous slave, Olaf asks Hakon if Jarl wants to look at the head of your enemy? He refuses and orders to bury it in the ground as soon as possible. The slave insists. He praises the head ("it's just like a living one") and reproaches the jarl for cowardice ("is he afraid of the powerless head taken down from his shoulders?"). For convenience, he further states, he has brought his head on his shoulders - Olaf opens his cloak and takes off his hat. Hakon's resistance is futile, the hut is surrounded, but the noble king does not want to use the too obvious advantage. He offers Hakon a choice: either complete submission, or death in the next battle, if they happen to converge again.

Hakon chooses the latter. On the day of the decisive battle near Trondheim, the messenger informs him of the death of his eldest son - Olaf killed him, mistakenly mistaking his son for his father. Hakon is shocked by the news. What does the death of a beloved son mean? The weakness and decline of the gods (in their opposition to Christ) or Hakon's punishment for lack of faith? The jarl asks the gods of war to forgive him, and just at that moment they bring him a golden horn beaten off from Olaf's squad with runes carved on it: "If you have sinned, / Happiness has turned away - / Sacrifice the best / Almighty Asam." The best thing left for Hakon is his second young son Erling. He sacrifices him, having learned about which even the most faithful and valiant of his warriors Einar leaves Hakon.

We overcome doubts and victorious Olaf. On the night before the battle, he talks in the forest with the one-eyed old man Auden who visited him. The elder defends paganism. Christianity is perhaps good for the pampered and bountiful South, which liberates from the struggle for existence and encourages the arts. But in the harsh North, paganism is necessary, it brings up courage, honor and an active principle. Olaf does not accept the teachings of Auden, but treats his words with respect: from the riddles in his speech, he recognizes in the old man the supreme god of the Scandinavians Odin (Auden is a form of this name), although the priest Tagenbrand assures him that Auden is just sent to them Hakon is a pagan priest. As for the connection between paganism and the nature of the North, the priest continues, this is not so either. Faith in Odin came to these parts from the East.

The army of Jarl Hakon is defeated, but he does not die in battle. After killing his horse and leaving blood-splattered clothes on the battlefield, he hides with the former concubine of Torah. Hakon is doubly guilty before her:

at one time he abandoned her, seduced by the daughter of a blacksmith, but now, in addition, he killed two of her brothers in battle (they wanted to avenge him for the disgrace of his sister). And yet, Thora forgives Hakon - she pities him: in front of her is the shadow of the former Jarl, and if she refuses to help him, he will only have to throw himself on the sword with his chest. The jarl follows Torah to the shelter prepared for him, and it seems to him that it is his ghost that follows the queen of the underworld Hel into her domain.

The jarl is sitting in the underground with his servant - the slave Karker. From above, the cries of people searching for Hakon can be heard. The jarl is exhausted, but is afraid to fall asleep: the slave may well betray his master or kill him. The slave tells Hakon his last dream (and dreams in ancient Scandinavia were sometimes even more important than reality): he and the jarl are sailing in a boat driven by Karker. Hakon interprets the dream: Karker rules the Jarl's fate. Then, in a dream, "a black man grows out of the rock", he notifies the rowers that "all bays are closed" to them. Hakon's verdict is that both of them will not live long, the Jarl is forgotten in a slumber, and the slave sneaks up to him. Suddenly, remembering his terrible sacrifice, the jarl wakes up, jumps up and, unable to endure the torment for longer, puts a knife in Karker's hand, and he kills him.

The slave goes out to the people looking for the jarl: it is necessary to find Hakon - he can cause further confusion in the country. But the killer does not receive the promised reward. Olaf orders him to be hanged. Hakon's body is given to Thora. In the dungeon, she says the last word over his coffin: "A powerful soul / In striving for good, became a victim of fate / And the delusions of time."

B. A. Erkhov

(Axel og Valborg)

Tragedy (1808)

The action of the play from beginning to end takes place in the solemn atmosphere of Trondheim Cathedral in Nidaros, the medieval capital of Norway. On the sides of the stage are burial niches, in the center is the tomb of Harald, the grandfather of the ruling king Hakon the Broad-shouldered. Closest to the audience in the foreground are massive temple columns, on one of them are the monograms "A" and "B" - Axel and Valborg, the names of the heroes of the play, whose love is doomed - they are half-brother and sister, and their mothers are buried right there in the cathedral.

However, Axel and Valborg were teased by the "bride and groom" in early childhood, when later their friendship began to develop into love, Axel was hastened to be removed abroad to the German lands, where he, together with the Bavarian Duke Henry the Lion, successfully fought with the Wends and from the beardless The young man turned into a brave and self-confident warrior.

Axel is an ideal hero, and he, of course, did not forget Valborg. Having become accustomed to victories, he did not back down from his beloved and obtained permission from the Pope Adrian for marriage - the papal bull breaks his blood relationship with Valborg.

Full of bright expectations, Axel returns to his homeland. Appearing to Valborg in the guise of an old man, he checks her feelings and, convinced of her fidelity (Valborg hangs fresh wreaths on a column with monograms every morning), demands from King Hakon to give his beloved to him as his wife. But the king also claims the hand of the beautiful Valborg and considers her his by right, he is her protector and guardian. He considers Axel’s demand unnatural, but having learned about the permission received, he is going to solve the matter by force, but he allows himself to be persuaded by his confessor, the insidious Dominican monk Knud, who promises to prevent Axel’s marriage with Valborg with the help of church chicanery.

In fact, Knud very convincingly proves to Bishop Erland that the papal permission given to Axel is not valid: the bride and groom are brother and sister not only by blood, but also by baptism: Axel was baptized only at the age of five, along with the then born but Valborg, and the pope did not give permission to break this connection. The bishop regretfully has to admit the validity of Knud's arguments - they are documented by entries in the church book. With a heavy heart, he proceeds to a rite other than a wedding ceremony - the ceremony of separating the bride and groom: Axel and Valborg take the opposite ends of the canvas, and it is cut between them with a sword blow, which the monk Knud inflicts.

Axel and Valborg are in despair: a second appeal to the pope is impossible - Pope Adrian has died, and the new head of the church, for political reasons, favors the king more. Fate, thus, again turns against the lovers. Saying goodbye in private in the cathedral, they, like good Christians, resign themselves to their fate, promising each other to be reunited together in heaven.

But such an end to the matter is not pleasing to Bishop Erland, who is full of sympathy for the young. In his youth, he experienced a similar tragedy - he was separated from his beloved, who, against his will, was given for another. Erland's feelings are also shared by Axel's friend Wilhelm, a gloomy-looking young warrior who arrived with Axel from abroad. By Wilhelm's own admission, he is "a cross between a sheep and a wolf": the son of Erland's former lover Eleanor and a certain Rudolf. Wilhelm promised his dead mother to convey the last "forgive me" to her cordial Friend, and therefore ended up in the company of Axel not by chance.

Full of good intentions, Bishop Erland and Wilhelm take revenge on an impersonal and indifferent to the suffering of people fate. They resort to the so-called "pious deception." The bishop gives Wilhelm a golden helmet, a cloak and an iron spear of St. Olaf, buried in Trondheim Cathedral, whose ghost, according to legend, appears from time to time in the church at night. Appearing at the cathedral at midnight in the garb of a dead king, Wilhelm orders the guards bowing before him in reverence to leave from the church, and the monk Knud, who doubted the miracle and suspected deceit, is pierced with a sword for disbelief (before his death, in repentance, the monk actually admits that he does not believe not only in miracles, but even in the immortality of the soul). Valborg, who is to be married the next morning to King Hakon, is thus freed, and Axel can take her away on a boat prepared for flight.

But Axel again challenges the fate prepared for him. He cannot leave King Hakon. Just this morning, the contender for the throne, Erling, enters Nidaros with his considerable retinue. A distant relative of the king, Axel is bound to him by bonds of loyalty and honor, a vassal must protect his master.

King Hakon is struck by the nobility of Axel's deed. In the rag, with which he bandages his wound, Hakon recognizes a piece of cloth cut off during the rite of separation of the bride and groom. But doesn't Aksed want to reward Hakon with good for his evil, thereby humiliating him? Axel reassures the king - he wanted to take Valborg for himself out of a heartfelt desire, Axel knows how great the power of love is, and does not take revenge on the king, his intentions are pure - protecting the king, he fulfills his duty and hopes that he will repay him with good for good.

At this moment, Erling's warriors burst into the cathedral. Under the pretext that the combat helmet of the wounded man is too heavy for him, Axl puts it on his head. He and the king defend themselves from the attackers until help comes to them - the Birkebeiners (warriors-bast shoes, a kind of people's militia). But it's' too late. Mortally wounded Axel (he was still mistaken for a king) dies with the name of his beloved on his lips. Called for the last farewell, Valborg finds Axel already dead, she asks his German friend to sing her a folk ballad, which she herself has never been able to sing because of the tears that choked her. Wilhelm performs a ballad to his own harp accompaniment:

Knight Ore comes to the island to woo his dear Elsa, but exactly one month later, illness brings him to the grave. Else mourns and cries for her fiancé, and the strength of her grief is so great that she raises the dead man lying in the coffin. Heaving the coffin on his shoulders, he knocks on the door of Elsa's house, but she does not let him in, demanding that he first utter the name of the Lord. Ore does not comply with her demands, but promises Elsa that she will remember him in both joy and sorrow. The rooster cries - Ore it's time to go to the grave. Ore disappears, and Else mourns and mourns him, until exactly one month later, the disease brings her to the grave too.

Having sung the song to the end, Wilhelm notices that Axel Valborg, who has clung to the body, is dead. Wilhelm's squire entering the temple announces that King Hakon has just died in battle. Evil fate, therefore, does not bypass anyone in the tragedy.

King Hakon the Broad-shouldered, a real historical person, really died in a battle with Erling in 1162.

B. A. Erkhov

(Forfererens dagbog)

Roman (1842)

"The Seducer's Diary" is part of the most famous book of the Danish philosopher and writer Soren Kierkegaard, "Either - Or", written in the form of a novel, sometimes published separately. In the "Foreword" to the book, its imaginary publisher Victor Eremita explains:

the notes he published were found in an old bureau bought on the occasion. By handwriting and content, he divided them into two volumes: the first contains articles and works of an "aesthetic nature", written, obviously, by one person, whom he conditionally called Mr. A, the second contains edifying and philosophical letters of a certain assessor Wilhelm, addressed to this Mr A.

The "diary" is included in the first "aesthetic" volume attributed to the pen of Mr. A. However, on its very first page, Mr. A refuses authorship: he just found the diary - in the drawer of his friend Johannes, who left Copenhagen for a few days. The contents of the notebook, entitled "Commentarius perpetuus" (meaning "Endless Commentary") by its true author, and several other rough drafts of letters found in the same box, so impressed Mr. A's imagination that he decided to rewrite them: he had considered his friend to be an outstanding nature, half living in a magical world of beauty, separated from reality only by a thin transparent veil, having become acquainted with his diary, he discovered for himself: Johannes' life itself is a series of conscious attempts on his part to fulfill his dream - to live exclusively poetically, and since he has a highly developed ability to find interesting things around him, he makes full use of it, and then poetically reproduces what he experienced on paper.

Most of all, Johannes, as the diary testifies, is interested in love affairs and girls - an undoubted part of beauty. True, the spiritual side that prevails in his nature does not allow him to be content with the base role of an ordinary seducer - that would be too rude - no, in a love, or, as Johannes puts it, "erotic" game, he most of all appreciates precisely the virtuoso possession of it. . In fact, Mr. A judges from the diary of Johannes, most often the ultimate goal of his friend's persistent harassment turned out to be ... just a bow or a smile. However, this is not the case with the main character of the diary, Cordelia (her real name was changed by Johannes), whom Mr. A knows well: she herself gave him the letters sent to her by Johannes, as well as several more addressed to Johannes, but not opened by him and sent back to her. letters - the cry of her loving and rejected soul.

The diary opens with Johannes's entries made in early April. Once his attention was attracted by a girl gracefully jumping from the footboard of the carriage. A few days later, he meets her walking along the street, accompanied by a footman. The footman falls awkwardly and smears himself in the mud, and Johannes gallantly escorts the girl to the carriage. A few days later, he meets her again on the street - this time on the arm of an elderly woman: the beauty of the girl amazes him, but after just a few minutes, Johannes cannot remember her face, and this torments him, for some reason he wants to remember him Necessarily,

Johannes is seriously interested. He is looking for a stranger on the streets and in theaters, at opening days, takes long walks around Copenhagen. And then one day he meets her in the evening immediately after sunset at one of the outposts. The girl stands and looks at the boy fishing in the lake with a bait. The boy is dissatisfied with her attention. The girl laughs and leaves. Johannes hurriedly follows her and, in order to examine her, runs ahead and goes into one of the houses to look at the girl from the window - and just then he loses her.

But a few days later he meets her again. Johannes sees a stranger on the street in the company of other girls: they call her Cordelia. Johannes follows them and finds out: Cordelia visits Mrs. Jansen's house, her parents (father-captain and mother) died long ago, Cordelia lives with her aunt, a virtuous and strict woman. Johannes enters Mrs. Jansen's house and is introduced to Cordelia, but he does not impress the girl, which is to his advantage. From now on, he intends to see her only as if by chance, calculating, for example, the time in such a way as to meet her, entering the house at the moment when she leaves it. His plan is cunning. It is necessary to find a groom for Cordelia - a decent and handsome young man, not too far, however, - in a word, having no chance compared to him, Johannes.

And such a person is quickly found. The son of the businessman Baxter, Edward, is in love with Cordelia with his first and reverent love. To meet Edward and win his friendship for Johannes is a mere trifle. He sincerely advises the young man not to be too dreamy and act more decisively - sigh enough! Soon both of them are regular guests in Aunt Cordelia's house, and Johannes, Edward's adviser and accomplice in matters of the heart, diverts the aunt's attention from the couple, he occupies the mistress of the house with conversations on agricultural topics. Johannes' inattention to Cordelia is defiantly insulting: Johannes behaves like an old man; Cordelia feels that something is wrong here, she is intrigued and ignores the babbling of Edward in love, listening instead to the pseudo-serious conversations of Johannes and her aunt, reeking of "milk poetry" and "cheese dialectics". Although from time to time Johannes injects a word or two into his speech, from which the aunt goes numb, realizing that they are from another world - philosophy and high poetry (however, they are not intended for her hearing). Johannes gradually prepares Cordelia for her future role as a lover: he selects books for her to read, which, of course, Edward brings into the house on his behalf, condescends to talk with her about music.

Finally, Johannes decides: Edward has played his part, he is no longer needed. In the outpouring of his feelings, the young man can lose his measure, break loose, declare his love to Cordelia and thereby complicate and spoil the planned intrigue. Therefore, Johannes "plays ahead": he is the first to propose to Cordelia a marriage proposal, she does not answer him, entrusting the decision to her aunt, and she gladly gives her consent - thus Johannes and Cordelia are engaged, they are the bride and groom. But Johannes is not going to marry, he has other far-reaching plans, he does not doubt for a minute that he will force Cordelia to break off the engagement and at the same time win her love. Although he does not pursue the possession of it - the main thing for him is "enjoyment in the artistic and aesthetic sense." The struggle for love begins: Johannes retreats, promising Cordelia an easy victory over himself: he demonstrates love for her in all its manifestations - in anxiety, passion, longing, hope, impatience. He is sure that by showing Cordelia the power of love that possesses him, he will convince her: love is a great power, and she will want to love ...

Johannes continues the siege: he writes passionate letters filled with romantic passion and frank love languor, but at the same time, each time he meets Cordelia, he behaves with her with underlined self-control and irony,

Does he really love Cordelia? Yes! Sincerely? Yes. With good intentions? Yes, in an aesthetic sense. He wants to awaken love in her. But love seizes Johannes himself, and at the same time so much that for a while he refrains from courting, as usual, several girls at once, and changes his principle, which says that "just in case, a fisherman needs to cast small fishing rods and on the side."

Finally, Johannes is convinced that Cordelia has been awakened, and he redoubles the ardor of the letters: his whole life is presented in them as a myth he created about Cordelia. According to Johannes, the girl quickly learns the lessons of love - now sometimes she sits on his knees, her arms softly wrapping around his neck. "Her passion can be called naive ... when I start to retreat, she will use every effort to keep me, and for this she will have only one means - love." Accordingly, Johannes begins to show coldness: now, when meeting with Cordelia, he assumes the appearance of a man obsessed with an idea and talking about it all the time, without noticing the bride. In his letters, he inspires Cordelia with an idea - the engagement fetters, binds his feelings, true deep love can only be a secret ... And Johannes achieves his goal: Cordelia returns his word to him and breaks off the engagement. Her aunt is somewhat puzzled by this news, but she is too liberal to captivate her niece, and she directly sympathizes with Johannes.

Cordelia is allowed to leave for a few days in the village to visit friends. Johannes continues to write to her, he strengthens (his imaginary or real?) beloved in contempt for the opinion of the world and convinces her of the greatness of the power of love, reproducing a legend in one of his letters:

Alpheus fell in love with the nymph Arethusa while hunting. She did not want to heed his pleas and ran away from him until she finally turned into a source. Alpheus grieved for her so much that he himself became a stream. But even in his new form, he did not forget his beloved and united underground with a dear source ... Doesn't he, Johannes, now that he and Cordelia are separated, rush into the dark depths to unite with her?

Johannes carefully prepares the furnishings for the dacha where Cordelia is to be brought to him. Here is the same tea table as in Aunt Cordelia's house, the same lamp on the table - but everything is much more luxurious. And in the living room there is the same piano as the one on which Cordelia played a Swedish folk song at one of the moments when Johannes was invisibly admiring her view.

The last entry in the "Diary" is dated 25 September. It's all over: Johannes doesn't want to see Cordelia anymore. Once the girl gave herself, she lost everything.

"Alas, the days when a deceived girl could turn from grief into a heliotrope are over!"

Johannes is now interested in the question: is it possible to "poetically get out of the girl's heart" in order to leave in her the proud conviction that it was she who abandoned the seducer, and not he her? ..

B. A. Erkhov

Roman (1880)

The novel is a story of the life and searches of a Danish intellectual, a contemporary of Jacobsen, which the author takes a generation back - about twenty years.

The book opens with a description of the characters of the hero's parents: his mother is an enthusiastic romantic soul living in a world of poetic dreams, and his father, who has seen the largest capitals of Europe, is a person educated enough to understand the importance of education and not take the height of poetic soaring too seriously.

Nils Lühne is friends with the pastor's son Fridtjof and the son of distant relatives, Eric, temporarily placed in the care of his father, who is predicted to have a future as an artist-sculptor. The boys are taught by a home teacher, the theologian and philosopher Bigum, who "did not complete the course" (that is, failed in the exams), considers himself an unrecognized genius, "whose contemporaries have not yet been born." Poor and unattractive, he is hopelessly in love with a relative visiting Lune - the young aunt Nils Edele, a brilliant secular lady sent to the village to improve her health. Beautiful and elegant, accustomed to salon communication, the young woman keeps even relatives at a distance and sharply, although not without inner sympathy, rejects Bigum's love when he finally dares to explain himself. Really, what was the teacher hoping for? Undoubtedly, he knew her answer in advance and in vain fired his imagination. You should not strive for the impossible. But if he wants to suffer, let him suffer! Naturally, she cannot forbid him to suffer. Yes, she doesn't care!

A year later, in early spring, Edele, the object of Niels' first boyish love, dies of consumption. No one found out about her own love for the famous artist, for whom Edele was just one of thousands of fans. Nils passionately experiences her death. At the moment of parting, he asks God to leave Edele alive, but God does not hear him, and the boy rejects God, without ceasing, in essence, to believe in him, because he still does not think about faith.

Soon the friends part. Eric is sent to study with a famous sculptor, and Niels and the pastor's son Fridtjof enter the University of Copenhagen; they are captivated by the intellectual and artistic life of the capital, they enthusiastically perceive new ideas and trends. Niels, among the few chosen ones, becomes a regular in the house of Fru Boye - a brilliant thirty-year-old beauty, a widow, known for her free views and ease of by no means, however, dissolute behavior. A clever and artistic coquette, Fru Boye captivates Nils - she plays with him, enjoys adoration, admiration for her beauty. Niels is painfully in love with her.

A year passes. A young student is urgently called home to Lönborgården, where his father is dangerously ill. Niels does not find him alive, Shocked by the death of her husband, his mother also falls ill. She feels doomed, but gradually her condition gets better so much that she and Niels go on a trip to Italy and Switzerland, which Bartholina has dreamed of all her life. Surprisingly, historical castles, squares and treasuries of art do not cause much enthusiasm for her. Their ideal literary image promised much more. Bartholin Lune is slowly fading away. But she experiences a close, as never before, unity with her son and dies in his arms in Klaran, after which Niels immediately returns to Copenhagen.

After the experience, Niels sees Fru Boye in a different light - the word "bohemian" just asks him to mind. But the unexpected happens:

Frau Boye, who previously preached a free feeling, is engaged, she is getting married: all her previous behavior was a pose; yes, she is the most ordinary woman, and she wants to get into the world again, she needs support. Although Nils is not indifferent to her: she herself, not knowing whether she is playing another “scene” or really wants love, Fru Boye almost gives herself to Nils. But he does not want to destroy the dear illusion of a tender platonic relationship.

Niels is left alone. And he greedily swallows books (“To learn is as wonderful as living in the world!”), engages in aesthetics and philosophy, writes poetry. He reaches such a degree of emancipation that he refuses to believe in God, preaching faith in atheism, about which he frankly tells the free-thinking conservative (there are some!) Dr. Yerril. According to Lune, the streams of love emanating from people to God will return to earth with general atheism. Then they will turn from man to man, the heavens will be empty, and kindness, justice and wisdom will reign on earth.

Meanwhile, Eric is returning from Italy, having gone there as a novice sculptor, and returning as a successful painter. Together with Eric, they visit the estate in Fjordby in the summer, where another aunt of Nils lives with her husband, a landowner and a merchant. Here, in the estate, both friends fall in love with Niels's cousin - young, fairly educated and very natural Fenimore. More cheerful and energetic Eric wins her love, his marriage proposal is accepted, and Niels returns to Copenhagen alone.

He again suffers from loneliness: constantly being in public, he watches them, but he is not with them. Niels feels that he still has not found himself, and all his scientific, philosophical and poetic studies are nothing more than preparation for a jump, which he may never dare to take.

Two years later, a letter arrives from Eric. He is in despair: he and Fenimora live in complete spiritual solitude. They rent a house on the shore of a fjord in the provincial wilderness. There is no intellectual communication here! Eric feels he's exhausted, he's lost his talent, and he can't bring himself to pick up a brush.

Niels immediately sets off - a friend needs him and must help him! But it is impossible to help Eric - Nils understands this at the first meeting. Inspiration appears and disappears inexplicably, and Eric, refusing to be creative, spends all his time in drinking parties and revelry. There was no trace left of their former love with Fenimora. They got fed up with her. Nils feels sorry for Fenimora, he would like to revive her for a new life and save her from humiliation. However, his pity causes Fenimora only embitterment. Although little by little the ice of alienation between them is melting. Until finally what was supposed to happen happens: Nils and Fenimora discover that they love each other. Niels offers Fenimore to run away, but she hesitates to decide, cannot imagine how her loving and very traditional-minded parents will perceive the escape. Hidden love degenerates into vicious passion. One day, during the next spree of Eric, the fenimore waits for Nils, who promised to come running to her on skates on the ice of the fjord (Niels lives on its other side), but receives an urgent notice - Eric died, he crashed in a neighboring city: the horse suffered, the carriage overturned, and Eric hit his head on a stone wall.

Nils is already visible under the moon on the ice, and Fenimore runs barefoot across the snow towards him. She unleashes rude curses on her lover, Eric's death is a punishment for her sin, for betraying her husband! Fenimore sees the recent past in a completely different light.

Niels leaves her with a heavy soul - he scourges himself: "If it was not possible to become anything worthwhile, then you must certainly become Judas."

Almost two years after that, Nils Luhne spends abroad. In Italy, he is friends with the famous singer Madame Odero, they live at one time nearby in a hotel. Oddly enough, but it is communication with Nils that heals the singer - she suffered from a sore throat - and, without waiting for Niels to return to the hotel (he accidentally left at that moment), having tried her voice in the garden, Madame Odero leaves, she can not wait to set foot again to the stage. And Nils Lune once again loses a soul close to him. But at least he helped someone too!

Niels returns home to Denmark to his native estate and is surprised to find that he likes farming and rural work. He marries the modest seventeen-year-old daughter of a landowner neighbor, they have a son, and the couple live happily for three whole years. The wife idolizes Nils and happily passes into his "faith", which he once described with such fervor to Dr. Yerril. But misfortune happens: Gerda falls ill and dies. Before her death, in order to facilitate her departure, Niels, at her request, sends for a priest, and he gives communion to the dying. Thus, as it seems to Nils, Gerda, on the verge of death, still betrays him.

But Nils Lune's misfortunes do not end there - after a few months his son also falls ill - the child convulses, the family doctor does not have time to arrive on time, and Niels, ready for anything to save the boy, betrays himself - he again, as in the days of childhood , cries out to God, he is ready to believe in Him if He performs a Miracle. But the miracle does not happen, and Niels is left alone.

The same 1863. Late autumn. There is a threat of war with Prussia. Nils Luhne enlists in the army. On a gloomy March day, he is mortally wounded and placed in the infirmary. Niels suffers for three days - a bullet hit his lung. Dr. Yerril asks him if he should send for the pastor. Let him take communion before his death. "Dying people," according to the doctor, "do not have any views," and Niels might feel better about this?

But Niels stands his ground to the end. Even if it's pointless. And before his death, he raves in a dream about armor and that he will die standing up.

B. A. Erkhov

Betrothed: a Milanese chronicle of the XNUMXth century found and edited by its publisher.

(I promessi sposi: Storia milanese del secolo XVII scoperta e rifatta dal suo editore)

Historical novel (1st ed. 1821-1823; 3rd ed. 1840)

Don Abbondio, priest of a small village situated in that part of Lake Como, where it turns south between two mountain ranges and is all cut up by ledges and bays, returns home at sunset on November 7, 1628, after a pleasant walk. He is about to turn onto the path leading to the village when two sinister figures block his path. Their attire, appearance, and gimmicks—both heads tied with a green net with a large tassel, long mustaches curled up, a pair of pistols attached to a leather belt, a huge dagger and a broadsword with a brightly polished hilt—leave no doubt as to their occupation. These are the so-called bravos, dashing fellows who are hired for various, including very dubious, assignments. Poor Don Abbondio's soul instantly sinks into his heels and he painfully tries to remember if he was guilty of anything against the powers that be. On behalf of his master, the young and unbridled feudal lord Don Rodrigo, the Bravi demands that Don Abbondio cancel the wedding of the local peasant boy Renzo Tramaglino and his bride Lucia Mondella scheduled for tomorrow. The unfortunate priest is a kind person and does not wish harm to anyone, but does not have the lion's courage at all and therefore avoids any clashes, and since they have touched him, he always takes the side of the strongest, making it clear to the weak that in his soul he is not his enemy. Tormented by remorse and even more acute attacks of fear, he spends an agonizing night. The next morning, Renzo Tramaglino, dressed to the nines, comes to him - a twenty-year-old guy, left without parents from a young age, has a small piece of land and is engaged in silk spinning, which gives him a modest but steady income. He burns with impatience to be united with his beloved Lucia and wants to discuss with Don Abbondio the last details of the upcoming wedding ceremony. But the priest meets the radiant bridegroom without the usual friendliness and embarrassedly and confusedly explains to him that the wedding cannot take place - there are good reasons for that. The wedding is postponed for a week. The talkative servant of Don Abbondio Perpetua, whom the priest entrusted with a terrible secret the day before, places doubts in Renzo's heart. He interrogates Don Abbondio passionately, talks to his fiancee, and finally understands what the catch is: the insolent Don Rodrigo has tender feelings for pretty Lucia. After consulting, Renzo and the mother of the bride, Agnese, decide that the groom should take four capons with him, go to the large village of Lecco and find there a long, skinny, bald lawyer with a red nose and a raspberry mole on his cheek, whom everyone calls Hookworker - he knows everything laws and help find a way out of a difficult situation.

The lawyer readily agrees, but as soon as he hears the mention of the terrible Don Rodrigo, he hurries to get rid of the unlucky client and even returns the living "fee" tied in the legs. Lucia comes up with the idea to seek help from the monk of the neighboring Capuchin monastery, Father Christopher, before whose authority even the most notorious tyrants bow. This already middle-aged monk is known not only for his piety, but also for the strict fulfillment of two duties that he voluntarily assigned to himself: pacifying strife and protecting the offended. Father Christopher boldly goes to the lair of the beast, which he hopes to tame with prayers or a description of the torments that await him in the afterlife. A stormy conversation has absolutely no effect - Don Rodrigo, his equally impudent Milanese cousin Don Attilio and drunken guests laugh at the monk and he leaves the luxurious villa, calling curses on the head of the wicked owner. The last resort remains - to get married without the consent of Don Abbondio, but in his presence. To do this, you need to bring two witnesses. The groom says, "This is my wife," and the bride says, "This is my husband."

Everyone heard everything, the holy sacrament is considered accomplished. The main thing is to take the priest by surprise and not let him escape. God-fearing Lucia barely agrees to her mother and Renzo's dubious offer. She is convinced only by Renzo's threats to kill Don Rodrigo and the appearance of gloomy figures near their house. The next evening, when it is already dark, they try to carry out their intention. The betrothed and witnesses enter the priest's house by deceit, and Renzo utters the proper words, but Don Abbondio hastily throws a tablecloth over Lucia's head, preventing her from finishing the ceremony, and desperately calls for help. General confusion follows, alarmed by the cry of the priest, the sexton, awake, rushes to the bell tower and strikes the largest bell. By a happy coincidence, the frantic ringing also forces a small detachment of bravos, led by the desperate cutthroat Griso, sent by Don Rodrigo to kidnap Lucia, to retreat. The unfortunate betrothed and Agnese, who during the "operation" diverted the attention of the faithful servant of the priest Perpetua, flee to the monastery of Pescarenico to Father Christopher. Under the cover of night, people devoted to him ferry the fugitives to the opposite shore of the lake and take them to Monza, where Lucia is taken under her protection by a high-ranking nun Gertrude. She, the last daughter of a powerful prince, was prepared for a monastic life even before her birth, like all sisters and brothers, except for the eldest, to whom her father wanted to leave a huge fortune intact. Against her will and the boiling of young passions, she becomes a novice about a year before the appearance in the monastery of Lucia, for whom she immediately feels affection.

Renzo, having said goodbye to the women, goes to Milan, where he finds himself in the midst of a hunger riot, when desperate townspeople rob and sack bakeries and storm the house of the food master. Unexpectedly for himself, Renzo becomes a people's tribune and expresses sound peasant thoughts about the social structure. He stops at a tavern for the night, orders dinner and, after drinking one or two bottles of good wine, allows himself too bold judgments about the actions of the authorities. The owner of the tavern considers it his duty to warn the police about the dangerous rebel. The next morning, two policemen and a criminal officer get him out of bed and tell him to follow them. On the way, he is freed by an excited crowd. Fearing once again to get into an unpleasant mess, Renzo leaves Milan and goes to the province of Bergamo (at that time the Duchy of Milan was under Spanish rule, and Bergamo belongs to the Most Serene Republic of Venice - it is worth crossing the Addu River, and you are already abroad). Here in the village lives his cousin Bortolo, from whom Renzo meets with a warm welcome and who gets him a job in his spinning mill. On the same day, November 13, when Renzo comes to Bortolo, a messenger arrives in Lecco with an order to arrest the fugitive criminal Lorenzo Tramaglino and escort him in shackles to Milan, where he will stand trial. Furious Don Rodrigo, from whom the coveted prey has slipped out of his hands, gloats and starts new intrigues. He wants revenge and revenge. With the help of an influential Milanese relative, a member of the Privy Council, he seeks the punishment of the obstinate father Christopher - his transfer from Pescarenico to distant Rimini. The thug Griso learns where Lucia is hiding, and Don Rodrigo plots to kidnap her from the convent. A small predator turns for support to a terrible powerful patron, whose name history has not preserved, so henceforth he will be called Nameless.

The kidnapping goes extremely smoothly: Gertrude submits to the will of the villain Egidio, who once helped her escape from the monastery and has an irresistible dark power over her. She sends Lucia on an errand to a nearby monastery, taking advantage of Agnese's temporary absence. The bravos seize the girl on a deserted road and take her to the gloomy castle of the Nameless One, where they entrust her to the care of an old shrew. It would seem that everything is lost, but the unpredictable and inexplicable happens - after meeting with Lucia, the soul of the Nameless One, tired of endless atrocities, first vague anxiety creeps in, and then ever-growing melancholy. The sleepless night does not bring peace, Lucia's desperate pleas sound in the ears, and especially her words: "God forgives so much for one merciful deed!" The next morning, the ominous character hears the jubilant ringing of bells and learns that Cardinal Federigo Borromeo, known for his mind, piety and scholarship, has arrived in the neighboring village. The nameless one asks for an audience with a high prelate, who never refuses mercy and consolation to anyone. Beneficial conversation brings to the repentant villain the desired cleansing. The miracle happened. The Nameless One becomes a different person and yearns for redemption. On behalf of the cardinal, overwhelmed by constant fears, Don Abbondio, together with the Nameless, goes to the castle for the unfortunate captive. Agnese is reunited with her daughter, but not for long - they again have to part. Upon learning that the cardinal is looking for a safe haven for Lucia, one noble couple - Don Ferrante and Donna Prassede - invites the girl to settle in her Milanese house. Don Rodrigo, killed by the news of the failure of such a well-planned operation, is bile for two days, and departs for Milan on the third. Before parting, Lucia confesses to her mother that in a moment of despair she made a vow to the Madonna never to marry if she manages to avoid the vile claims of Don Rodrigo. The Nameless One dismisses the bravos, accomplices of his atrocities, and gives Agnese one hundred gold skudos as Lucia's dowry. Lucia asks her mother to find Renzo and give him half the money. It takes a long time before she manages to fulfill the request.

Meanwhile, clouds are gathering over the country: in addition to the famine that claimed thousands of lives, in the autumn of 1629, cruel German landsknecht mercenaries, who participate in the redistribution of territories, invade the Duchy of Milan from the north. Rumor has it that cases of plague have been seen in their ranks. Frightened to death, civilians hurriedly gather their belongings, bury what they cannot carry, and flee. Agnese, Perpetua and Don Abbondio find a hospitable shelter in the castle of the Nameless, impregnable for enemies and open to all fugitives. Once the danger has passed, they return to the village and see that everything is looted and defiled. What Don Abbondio buried in the garden also disappeared. The plague enters Milan at the end of October 1629 and rages the following year, 1630. The authorities and the Sanitary Board show criminal slowness in the fight against the epidemic. Don Rodrigo, returning one night at the end of August from another drinking bout, discovers signs of an ominous illness. The "faithful" Griso sends the owner to the infirmary and takes possession of things, which causes his death.

The plague does not bypass Renzo either. Having barely recovered from his illness, he returns to his native village to find out what happened to his loved ones. Don Abbondio is barely alive from the hardships he has endured and still trembles with fear. Perpetua was killed by the plague, Agnese lives with relatives in Pasturo, and Lucia lives in Milan with Don Ferrante. Renzo hurries to Milan and sees desolation, despair and fear everywhere. At his knock on the window of Don Ferrante's house, an alarmed woman appears and informs him that Lucia is in the infirmary. At this moment, an excited crowd surrounds him. There are cries about the mazun - the peddler of infection. Renzo flees in a panic and escapes his pursuers by jumping onto a wagon with corpses. The betrothed meet at last in the infirmary. Father Christopher is also there, who with great patience and courage fulfills his pastoral duty - comforts the afflicted and gives the last communion to the dying. He frees Lucia from her vow of celibacy. Many owe him recovery, but his own life is taken away by a terrible disease. Gradually the plague recedes. She swept through Milan and Lombardy like a giant broom (according to Don Abbondio), which swept out the life of the poor and the rich, honest people and villains - among the last of Don Rodrigo. His possessions pass to another owner. Don Abbondio can now marry happy lovers with peace of mind. The young couple settle in a village near Bergamo, and less than a year later their daughter Maria is born. It will be followed by who knows how many kids of both sexes - all of them, at the request of Renzo, will learn to read and write. Renzo loves to talk about how he learned to avoid trouble. Something in these stories does not satisfy Lucia. They argue, argue, and finally come to the conclusion that caution and good behavior do not help prevent trouble. But, since they collapsed, deservedly or innocently, only faith in God gives strength to overcome them, and the experience teaches how to make your life better.

V. T. Danchenko

(Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre)

Roman (1795-1796)

We meet the young hero when he is completely possessed by two passions - to the theater and Mariana, and he himself is full of happy enthusiasm and enthusiastic plans. His father, a venerable burgher, created his initial capital by selling a collection of his father's paintings, and then made a fortune by successful trading, now he wants his son to increase the family capital in the same field. Wilhelm strongly disagrees with the fate of the merchant prepared for him. The young man is convinced that his vocation is the theater, which he has loved since childhood. True, when he touched the world of urban bohemia, he was somewhat surprised that the actors turned out to be much more earthly creatures than he had previously assumed. They quarrel, gossip, intrigue, settle scores with each other on petty occasions, are envious and capricious. However, all this does not change Wilhelm's decision to devote himself to creativity. His beloved, the actress Mariana, seems to the hero to be perfection itself. Having achieved her reciprocity, Wilhelm spends the evenings in her arms, and in his free time he devotes poetry to her and dreams of new meetings. In vain does his neighbor, the son of his father's companion Werner, warn Wilhelm in every possible way against this pernicious passion. The hero firmly decided to offer Mariana a hand and heart, to go with her to another city and try his luck in a theater directed by his acquaintance Zerlo. As for the cold and prudent Werner, he and Wilhelm are antipodes, although they are close friends. The difference in views and temperament only strengthens their sincere affection for each other.

Mariana, meanwhile, is also warned by her old maid, who believes that Wilhelm is "one of those lovers who can only give their heart as a gift, but claim to know nothing." The old woman convinces the troubled girl not to break with a rich patron, whom Wilhelm is unaware of. And then one evening, when Wilhelm languishes in blissful thoughts about Mariana and covers her silk scarf with kisses, a note falls out of it: “How I love you, fool! Do you want a white negligee to hold a white sheep in your arms? .. "

... The whole being and the whole being of Wilhelm is shaken to the ground after this falling blow. Endless torment ends with a severe fever. Having hardly recovered from it, the young man re-evaluates not only his former love, but also his poetic and acting talent. Werner fails to keep his friend when he throws stacks of written sheets into the oven. Having broken with the muses, the young man with zealous obedience is engaged in his father's affairs. So the years pass in dull monotony. He keeps correspondence and credit books, travels with instructions to debtors. On one of these trips, Wilhelm stays for a few days to get some rest. By that time, his spiritual wound had already healed slightly. Now his conscience is tormenting him more and more - isn’t he leaving the girl too abruptly, never meeting her again? What if everything turned out to be a slight misunderstanding?

Nevertheless, the young man was already healed enough to open up to new impressions and hobbies. At the inn where he stayed, a motley company soon formed - mainly from actors who wandered here, left without an engagement. Gradually, Wilhelm draws closer to the comedians, driven by a long-standing love for the theater. His new friends are the frivolous coquette Filin, the husband and wife Melina, the bearded and unsociable old harpist and other bohemian ministers. In addition, he becomes the patron of the thirteen-year-old savage Mignon, a rope dancer in boyish attire. For a few thalers, Wilhelm frees the girl from her evil master. Here, at the inn, from the lips of a random visitor, he learns that Mariana, after their separation, left the theater, was in poverty, gave birth to a child, and later her trace was lost.

One day, noble gentlemen come to the inn, who are preoccupied with how to entertain the prince who is expected to visit. They invite the whole troupe to the baron's castle nearby. By this time, with the money borrowed from Wilhelm, Melina had already bought out the props and scenery of the local ruined theater. Everyone is full of hopes to become an independent team.

Staying in the castle allows comedians to take a break from worries about their daily bread. Wilhelm meets here with people who will play an important role in his fate. First of all, this is the assistant to the baron, a certain Jarno, a man of extensive knowledge and a sharp skeptical mind. It is he who introduces Meister to the world of Shakespearean dramaturgy. The young man is also patronized by the charming countess, who is visiting the castle with her husband, the count. She willingly listens to the poems and poems of Wilhelm, of those that miraculously survived. It's time to leave the hospitable shelter. Richly awarded and hopeful comedians are heading to the city. Benevolent to all, Wilhelm is now their kind genius and the soul of the troupe. But this is not for long. The journey is interrupted by a meeting with an armed detachment, which attacks the actors. All their belongings are stolen from them, and Wilhelm is seriously wounded.

He wakes up in a clearing, seeing only an owl, a Mignon and a harpist nearby. The rest of the friends fled. After some time, a beautiful rider unfamiliar to him leans over the wounded young man. She gives him first aid, sends for a doctor, gives him money. Her servant delivers Wilhelm and his companions to the nearest village, where the rest of the actors are waiting. This time they fall upon the recent idol with abuse, reproaching him for all sins, but Wilhelm steadfastly and meekly answers their ingratitude. He vows not to leave them until the position of the troupe becomes completely prosperous. After some time, the actors, having taken letters of recommendation from Meister, leave him to get a job at the Zerlo Theater, located in the nearest city. Wilhelm stays with the old harpist and Mignon, who looks after him. He is gradually recovering. The image of a beautiful Amazon lives in his soul. He is covered with some kind of almost mystical haze, he seems to double, at times reminiscent of the dear countess with whom Wilhelm was friends in the castle, and at such moments it seems to the young man that he is delirious. In the end, Wilhelm "in the strange company of Mignon and the old man hurried to flee from inactivity, in which fate tormented him again and for too long."

They get to the Zerlo Theatre, and here Wilhelm feels at home again. At the first meeting with the director of the theater, he offers to stage Shakespeare's Hamlet, "expressing the worldly hope that excellent Shakespearean plays will constitute an era in Germany." Immediately, in front of Zerlo and his sister, the theater actress Aurelia, Wilhelm passionately develops his understanding of tragedy. He quotes the lines: "The course of life is disordered, and I will be thrown into this hell so that everything goes smoothly," explaining that they give the key to the whole behavior of Hamlet. “It’s clear to me what Shakespeare wanted to show: a great deed weighing on a soul that cannot afford such an act ... Here the oak is planted in a precious vessel, which was assigned to cherish only delicate flowers in its bosom; the roots grow and destroy the vessel ... "

Aurelius soon becomes a friend of Wilhelm and one day reveals her secret about an unhappy love for a certain Lothario, a noble nobleman. Filina had already informed Wilhelm earlier that the three-year-old Felix, who lives in the Zerlo house, is the son of Aurelius, and Wilhelm mentally believes Lothario is the father of the boy, not daring to ask about it directly. Felix's old nanny is still sick, and the baby becomes attached to Mignon, who is happy to work with him and teach him her lovely songs. Like the old half-mad harpist, the girl has a bright musical talent.

During this period, Wilhelm overtakes the sad news - after a sudden illness, his father died. "Wilhelm felt himself free at a time when he had not yet had time to come to terms with himself. His thoughts were noble, his goals were clear, and there seemed to be nothing reprehensible in his intentions." However, he lacked experience, and he still followed "the light of other people's ideas, like a guiding star." In such a state of mind, he receives an offer from Zerlo to sign a permanent contract with him. Zerlo promises, if Wilhelm agrees, to give work to his actor friends, whom he had not favored before. After some hesitation, the young man agrees to accept the offer. “He was convinced that only in the theater he could complete the education he wanted for himself,” only here he could realize himself, that is, “achieve the full development of himself, such as he is,” which he vaguely aspired to from a young age. In a detailed letter to Werner, to whom he entrusts the care of his inheritance for the time being, Wilhelm shares his innermost thoughts. He complains that in Germany only a noble person, a nobleman, has access to all-round personal development. The burgher, which Wilhelm is by birth, is forced to choose a certain path in life and sacrifice integrity. "A burgher can acquire merit and, at best, educate his mind, but he loses his personality, no matter how clever he is." And only on the stage, Wilhelm concludes, "an educated person is the same full-fledged personality as a representative of the upper class ...".

Wilhelm signs a contract with Zerlo, after which the entire unlucky troupe is accepted into the theater. Work begins on "Hamlet", the translation of which was carried out by Wilhelm himself. He plays the role of the prince, Aurelius - Ophelia, Zerlo - Polonius. In joyful creative excitement, the premiere is approaching. She is a huge success. The scene of the meeting between Hamlet and the Ghost makes a special impression on everyone. The public is unaware that none of the actors knows who played the role of the Phantom. This hooded man came just before the start of the performance, did not take off his armor on stage and quietly left. In this scene, Wilhelm experienced a true shudder, which was transmitted to the audience. After this episode, inspiration and confidence did not leave the actors. The performance's success is celebrated with a bohemian feast. And from the Ghost that disappeared without a trace, only a piece of smoky fabric with the inscription: "Run, young man, run!" remains in Wilhelm's hands, the meaning of which remains unclear to the hero.

A few days after the premiere, a fire breaks out at the Zerlo Theatre. The troupe with difficulty restores the destroyed scenery. After the fire, Filina disappears with her admirer, Aurelius falls seriously ill, and the old harpist is almost completely damaged in his mind. Wilhelm is busy taking care of the weak and takes care of the children - Mignon and Felix. He entrusts the harpist to the local doctor. While he is busy with these chores, the style of management is changing in the theater, so to speak. Now Zerlo and Melina are in charge. The latter laughs at "Wilhelm's ... claims to lead the public, and not follow its lead, and both unanimously agreed among themselves that it is only necessary to rake in money, grow rich and live happily." Wilhelm is uncomfortable in such an atmosphere. And then there is an excuse to leave the theater for a while. Aurelius dies. Before her death, she hands Wilhelm a letter to Lothario, adding that she has completely forgiven him and wishes him every happiness. She asks the Maester to personally convey her message to Lothario.

At the bedside of the dying Aurelius, the doctor gives Wilhelm a certain manuscript - these are the notes of one of his patients, who has already died. But in fact, this is the story of a beautiful female soul, a woman who managed to gain extraordinary spiritual independence and defend her right to the chosen path. She was able to overcome secular conventions, reject temptations and devote herself entirely to love for her neighbors and God. Along the way, she found like-minded people in a certain secret society. The manuscript introduces Wilhelm into the world of amazing noble and beautiful relationships of a noble family. He learns about the uncle of the deceased, a man of extraordinary intelligence and nobility, about her younger sister, who died, leaving four children in her and uncle's care. He learns that one of the two nieces of the memoirist, Natalia, was distinguished by an amazing innate propensity for active good ... These "Confessions of a Beautiful Soul" make a huge impression on Wilhelm, as if preparing him for the next round in his own self-knowledge.

And here he is at Lothario, in an ancient castle with towers. Examining the portraits in the living room, Wilhelm discovers in one of them a resemblance to a beautiful Amazon, about whom he never ceases to dream. The news of Aurelius' death causes Lothario to grieve, but he explains to Wilhelm that he never loved Aurelius. Wilhelm passionately reminds the owner of little Felix, but this strikes Lothario even more. He claims that the boy could not be his child. So whose son is he, feeling some kind of anxiety, Wilhelm wonders. In the castle near Lothario, he meets his old friend Yarn and the abbot, who once crossed his path. Everyone treats the Maester with warm friendliness and persuades him to stay longer on the estate. He returns briefly to the theater to pick up Mignon and Felix. An amazing discovery awaits him. In Felix's recovered nurse, he recognizes the old maid of his first love, Mariana. And she says that Felix is ​​his son, the child of poor Mariana. They prove that the girl remained faithful to Wilhelm and forgave him. She wrote to him a lot, but Werner intercepted all her messages - out of good intentions. Wilhelm is shocked to the core. He showers Felix with kisses, praying God not to deprive him of this treasure. He takes the children with him and again goes to the Lothario estate. It was decided to give the minion to his sister Lothario, who lives nearby, as she created something like a boarding school for girls.

Soon, new friends solemnly accept Wilhelm into the Tower Society. This is an order of people who have devoted themselves entirely to the moral improvement of life. So, Lothario reflects on ways to alleviate the fate of the peasants. Jarno, as if warning Wilhelm against unbearable, "Hamletian" messianism, notes that a person, "having reached a certain degree of spiritual development ... wins a lot if he learns to dissolve in the crowd, if he learns to live for others, working on what he recognizes as his duty." In the cramped tower hall, the Maester is solemnly presented with a scroll of his fate, kept among similar scrolls. Wilhelm finally realizes that he is not alone in this world, that his life is not an accidental phenomenon, that it is woven into other destinies and into the fate of mankind. He comprehends that life is wider and more than art. Jarno and the abbot seriously explain that his talent, in which the young man relied so much, is relative and it is more important to realize himself in the endless field of human relations. "The years of your teaching have passed," concludes the abbot. It turns out that it was he who played the role of the Phantom in a memorable performance, which helped Wilhelm then. But its true purpose is still not theater, but life, reflection and direct action.

Wilhelm is about to learn other amazing things. It turns out that Lothario has two sisters - one of them is a countess, with whom Wilhelm once became friends, and the other, who brings up Mignon, turns out to be ... a beautiful Amazon. Moreover, this is the same girl Natalia, which was discussed in "Recognition of a beautiful soul." They meet when news arrives that Minion is seriously ill. In the house of Natalia - and this is the house of her late uncle - Wilhelm suddenly discovers a collection of paintings of his grandfather, which he remembered from early childhood. This is how some important threads of destinies are connected. Mignon dies in his arms. And after her death, another secret is revealed - it turns out that the girl belonged to a noble Italian family, and her father is an old harpist who, by force of insurmountable circumstances, was separated from his beloved and therefore lost his mind. Bitter events bring Wilhelm closer to Natalia, for whom he has a reverent feeling. They do not dare to explain themselves, but their brother helps - not Lothario, but the second, cheerful windmill Friedrich. Wilhelm recognizes in him an admirer of an owl. Now Friedrich, happy with Filina, arranges Wilhelm's engagement to his most perfect sister. The hero finds happiness that he could not even dream of.

V. A. Sagalova

(Die wahlverwandtschaften)

Tale (1809)

A baron and a baroness live in an old castle on the shore of the lake. There seems to be no limit to their happiness, especially since they found it already in adulthood. Edward loved Charlotte from his youth, but he was forced by his parents to marry a rich woman who was much older than him. Charlotte also married, obeying the circumstances. When their spouses died, Edward and Charlotte were finally able to reunite. Then they decided to move away from the courtyard, where both had previously shone, to the countryside, to settle in nature and live for each other. (For this purpose, Charlotte even sent her daughter from her first marriage, Lucian, and with her the orphan niece Ottilie to a boarding school.)

They filled their days with many activities - reorganization of the neglected park, improvements in the economy. They had endless conversations, Edward mastered the flute, and Charlotte, who played the piano beautifully, accompanied him. We still had to sort out Edward's travel notes, which he kept in his wanderings of past years. In a word, the life of a happy couple proceeded in harmony and harmony.

A light shadow fell on this idyll only when the heroes thought about their loved ones. Edward was worried about the fate of an old friend, the captain, who was left out of work. He, not without timidity, suggested to his wife that they invite the captain to the castle so that he could show his building talents here. Charlotte, after some hesitation, agreed to this, realizing that their life would inevitably become more complicated. However, she herself was just as worried about Ottilie. Letters from the boarding school from the teacher and her assistant confirmed that if Luciana reigned there and did well in all subjects, then the meek and original Ottilie suffered among the lively peers and mastered school wisdom with difficulty. Unfortunately, Luciana teased and teased her more than others. Charlotte was inclined to the idea of ​​taking the pupil from the boarding school and entrusting her with the duties of the housekeeper in the castle. When Luciana left the school walls to plunge into social life, Ottilie could return to the boarding school and finish her education.

The captain becomes the first guest of the spouses. His appearance brings a pleasant revival, but also entails a certain distance between Edward and Charlotte. Now old friends are busy reminiscing, hunting, exploring the land, buying horses, etc. Nevertheless, all three get along well, striving to maintain an atmosphere of love, friendship and peace. Among the conversations with which they accompany reading aloud - and Edward is a great fan of this activity - one turns out to be prophetic for their future. We are talking about the mutual attraction and repulsion of chemical elements, their ability to combine, and then to decay and form new combinations with even closer ones. This phenomenon is defined by the conditional scientific term "selective affinity".

The day comes when Ottilie, whom Edward remembered as a child, arrives at the castle. Now she is a charming girl, radiating cordiality and in a benevolent atmosphere quickly overcoming her former stiffness. Some more time passes - in the hearts of four heroes, complex underlying movements are made, leading to an indisputable result: Edward is seized by a fiery - and mutual - passion for Ottilie, and the captain and Charlotte are just as deeply in love with each other. However, the situation is far from a happy resolution. Charlotte does not yet allow the thought of destroying her marriage and her whole way of life. The captain, who has just received a lucrative job offer, leaves the castle at her insistence. She is inclined to have Ottilie leave in her turn, but this is categorically opposed by Edward. He himself leaves the castle to settle in the distance in a small house of his own and experience lovesickness in gloomy loneliness. There he finds the news, striking a blow to the hopes of sooner or later uniting with Ottilie: Charlotte reports that she is expecting a child from him. In desperation, relying on fate, Edward goes to war. "He longed for death, for life threatened to become unbearable for him <...>" Ottilie, when Charlotte's secret became known to her, was astonished just like Edward, even more, and all went into herself, trusting only the diary.

While Edward "entrusted himself to the changeable happiness of war", peace in the castle was disturbed by a two-month invasion of Luciana with her fiancé and a whole horde of retinues. The rising whirlwind of secular amusements pulls Ottilie out of her concentration and, as it were, awakens her. After Luciana's departure, new worries come: Charlotte has a baby. Miracle! - the baby looks like Edward, the captain and Ottilie at the same time! Maybe because on the night of their last intimacy, the couple secretly dreamed of their beloved and seemed to give themselves to them, and not to each other? .. The more dear the boy is to both Charlotte and Ottilie. A sad incident overshadowed his baptism - right in the process of the ceremony, the old pastor died. Those present were destined to "see and realize in such a close proximity birth and death, the coffin and the cradle <...>. This episode is in a series of symbolic scenes, conversations, details that permeate the entire fabric of the novel and remind the reader of the main problems of being, of eternity, God , the innermost nature of man and his purpose. The main characters treat life as a sacrament and a gift, they feel themselves part of nature - but endowed with creative will and reason. Hence their moral strength, which allows them to overcome the petty, selfish in themselves and become even nobler in suffering spirit and responsive to others. Among the secondary characters of the novel there are people close to them - for example, a young architect or a teacher from a boarding school, and there are deeply alien, like some kind of count and baroness, living in a "free union" and not weighed down by a sense of moral duty, or selfish Luciana and neighbor Mitler, a specialist in settling other people's affairs of the heart.

Edward returns from the war refreshed and determined to unite with Ottilie. He invites the captain (already a major) to his place, convinces him to marry Charlotte and, to the general happiness, resolve the situation. Both friends go to the castle. And here is Edward's first meeting after parting with Ottilie, whom he finds walking with a child across the lake. After their conversation, hope returns to Ottilie. But that same evening, tragedy strikes; the girl hurries home, the boat capsizes and the child dies. Shocked by what happened, Ottilie in her heart refuses Edward. She intends to return to the boarding school and devote herself to teaching. They pick her up on the road. She will spend the night in a small roadside hotel. Edward rushes there to beg her to change her mind. The second date turns out to be all the more fatal, the more sudden it is for the fragile Ottilie. To cope with herself at this moment, she takes a vow of silence - and since then she has not uttered a word. She falls asleep dressed, and in the morning by signs asks to return her to the castle. Edward accompanies the carriage, almost mad with grief.

The last pages of the novel are covered with light sadness. Heroes under one roof again. The Major also comes from time to time. Charlotte promised him her hand as soon as Ottilie decided to marry Edward. Ottilie is cheerful and calm. However, she does not touch the food - this becomes known later, as she asks for food to be brought to her room. Edward is constantly near her, not daring to touch her and feeling awe. “Yes, and she continued to experience the same feeling, was unable to give up this blissful necessity <…>. Life was a mystery for them, the solution of which they found only together.” A quiet autumn holiday of nature sets off their farewell happiness.

Forces leave Ottilie on the eve of Edward's birthday, for which she was preparing so much. The last straw is the tactlessness of Mitler, who discussed the commandment of adultery in her presence. She quietly goes to her room, and soon the cry of her maid is heard. Friends find the girl dying. Before her last breath, she turns to Edward with words full of "unearthly tenderness", asking him to live. However, a few days after the funeral, it fades away. "Charlotte gave him a place near Ottilie and forbade anyone to be buried in this crypt."

V. A. Sagalova

(Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre oder die Entsagenden)

Roman (1821-1829)

The novel is a continuation of "The Years of the Teachings of Wilhelm Meister". The hero, who at the end of the previous book became a member of the Tower Society (or Forsaken, as they call themselves), receives a task from his comrades to go on a journey. At the same time, a condition is set for him not to linger under one roof for more than three days and each time to move away from his former refuge for at least a mile - in order to avoid "the temptation of settling down." In his wanderings, Wilhelm must better comprehend the world, find his final life calling and, as far as possible, contribute to the establishment of noble, moral relations between people. He is accompanied by his son Felix. The hero is temporarily separated from Natalia, but he "belongs to her forever" and confides his experiences in regular letters.

The novel begins with the fact that on the way Wilhelm meets a completely unusual family - a husband, wife and children. The man was leading a donkey, and in the saddle "a quiet, pretty woman rode, wrapped in a blue cloak, under it she pressed a newborn baby to her chest and looked at him with unspeakable tenderness." This easily guessed picture of the holy family immediately denotes the universal, deeply generalized nature of the material that constitutes the essence of the novel. If in the "Years of study ..." the plot developed around the fate of Meister, the characters were alive and full-blooded, and the action took place in modern Goethe Germany with its specific signs, then this time the whole story is much more conditional. The novel is devoid of a single plot and is a series of short stories, almost unrelated.

This free form - which at first seems careless and almost crude - gave the writer the opportunity to put into the novel his dearest, deepest and most complex reflections on what worried him throughout his life. A free composition interspersed with prose, poetry, pages of direct aphorisms, an open ending - the book ends with the remark "To be continued" - this is not so much an underdevelopment as a harbinger of a new type of novel of the XNUMXth century.

The worldview of the protagonist is now devoid of that tragedy and Hamlet egocentrism that distinguished young Wilhelm. Knowing personal happiness, finding a son and like-minded friends, the Meister in the Years of Wanderings appears as a person wise by experience and accepting reality in all its infinite fullness and diversity. Now he is not a fighter with the whole world, but a fighter for this world, for its rational and human structure. He discerns elements of deep intelligence in the very foundations of being, and this is the most important idea of ​​the book, giving it deep optimism. Here, for example, are the reflections that Wilhelm evokes when he meets an astronomer who, from his observatory, showed the hero the starry sky. “What am I compared to the Universe?” Wilhelm said to himself. “How can I oppose myself to it or put myself in its center? scattered in all directions ... "He further develops this idea, noting that the main miracle is in the person himself, his ability to experience the impressions of life and melt them into deeds useful to people.

The characters of the novel, the stories told in it, the traced destinies - this is a figurative expression of how, in Goethe's understanding, the careful construction of a more perfect way of life should be carried out. The image of the clairvoyant Macarius runs through the entire narrative - a woman who has a beneficial effect on others, transferring her spiritual strength and altruism to them. Just like Maester's friends in the Tower Society, she renounced selfishness and selfishness. The goal and meaning of the life of Goethe's favorite heroes becomes serving humanity, helping people and affirming moral principles.

Some stories evoke the "new people" of Chernyshevsky - the characters are free from selfishness, able to rise above momentary passions and overcome the boundaries of seemingly hopeless situations. These are the heroes of the novel "The Fifty-Year-Old Man". Its essence is that Gilaria, who from childhood was intended as a bride to her cousin Flavio, realized that in reality she did not love the groom at all, but his father, her uncle, a widower major. Perhaps the girl was affected by the fact that her mother was always enthusiastic about her brother. And so, at the next meeting, my uncle also felt passionate love for Gilaria. When the father, embarrassed, went to explain himself to his son, it turned out that the son, in turn, was in love with a certain young widow and did not at all seek to marry Gilaria. However, having met the major, this young widow begins, like Gilaria, to have very tender feelings for him. The Major is also impressed by meeting this charming woman. After a quarrel with her, a distraught Flavio arrives at Gilaria's house, where he becomes very ill. The girl begins to care for him. And right now, true love wakes up in her, which meets reciprocity ... It is important that with these unpredictable intricacies of feelings, the characters do not give power to anger or jealousy, retain nobility and deep delicacy towards each other, as if challenging standard approaches to the complexities of life.

Another short story - "New Melusina" - tells about a fantastic or fabulous story. Once the narrator of this story met a beautiful stranger in a rich carriage. She asked him for one favor - that he would carry her casket with him. For this, the lady lent the young man money and gave her crew. After a while, the narrator spent all the money and became sad. The stranger again suddenly appeared before him and again gave him a purse of gold, warning him to be frugal. Finally, the young man persuaded the beautiful lady not to leave him. She actually became his wife. And one day he found out her secret - it turns out that the beauty was an elf princess, she belonged to a tribe of tiny men, her life passed in a chest, and only sometimes she took on an ordinary human form. The lady needed a knight, loyal and loving, to save her dying people. The narrator at first, in the heat of his feelings, agreed to become a tiny elf too. However, he soon could not stand the test and fled from the magical forest ... He himself recalls this in the novel with a feeling of deep remorse, and it is clear that the past has changed his whole life and attitude towards the world.

In general, the image of a magical chest, closed for some time from prying eyes, and a key capable of opening this chest, is present throughout the entire novel. It is an expressive symbol of wisdom, life, the human soul and nature, which are revealed only with skillful handling and appropriate preparation.

One of the aphorisms of the clairvoyant Macaria, with a selection of which the novel ends, is this: "What are tragedies, if not transcribed into verses of the passions of those who, out of external circumstances, do God knows what?"

A special place in the book is occupied by the theme of education. Felix is ​​assigned to study at a special school, more precisely, in the Pedagogical Province. It is a social utopia invented by Goethe. The pedagogical province is an ideal example of a beneficial effect on a young person. The principle of the teachers here is the desire to contribute to the education of a social person, with a strong sense of dignity and respect for the world around. "Wise mentors imperceptibly push the boys to what suits their nature, and shorten the detours in which it is so easy for a person to get lost and deviate from his calling."

Thus, in the novel, two themes constantly interact and echo, making up a harmonious unity - the theme of the moral self-improvement of an individual and the idea of ​​educating a collective consciousness, developing social skills and a sense of universal unity.

"There is nothing more precious than one day" - this is also an important aphorism from the Macarius Archive. The characters of the novel strive to realize their destiny as fully as possible, actively and at the same time carefully, wisely intrude into life. An example of such decisive action is the intention of several of Wilhelm's comrades to emigrate to America at the head of a group of weavers, who are threatened with ruin by the new industrial relations. First, Wilhelm is also going to leave the country. However, then he stays at home to create something like a model labor colony for the workers here. Before us is again a utopia, which marks Goethe's stubborn search in the sphere of social world order.

And of course, we perceive as a pattern the fact that the protagonist of the novel, after a long search for a calling, settled on the profession of a surgeon - in order to create a "miracle without miracles", based on experience and knowledge of human nature.

Later, he says that one sculptor played a big role in his mastery of the craft. It was difficult for Wilhelm to dissect human tissues and organs, studying anatomy, but "this feeling came into conflict with the requirement that every person striving for knowledge sets himself ...". Having made friends with the sculptor, he heard from him deep judgments that "more can be learned by building than dismembering, connecting than by separating, reviving the dead, rather than further killing it." These principles became the most important for Wilhelm, symbolizing his attitude to nature, including human nature.

An exciting episode is described in the last chapters - Felix fell from the steep into the river along with his horse. The rowers who arrived in time on the boat pulled the young man out and carried him to the shore, but Felix showed no signs of life. “Wilhelm immediately grabbed a lancet to open a vein on his arm, blood splashed with a copious current <…>. Life returned to the young man, and the sympathetic surgeon barely had time to finish the dressing, when he cheerfully got to his feet, threw a piercing look at Wilhelm and exclaimed:

- If you live, so with you!

V. A. Sagalova

Tragedy (1808-1832)

The tragedy opens with three introductory texts. The first is a lyrical dedication to the friends of youth - those with whom the author was associated at the beginning of work on Faust and who have already died or are far away. "I again thankfully recall everyone who lived that radiant noon."

Then follows the "Theatrical Introduction". In the conversation of the Theater Director, the Poet and the Comic Actor, the problems of artistic creativity are discussed. Should art serve the idle crowd, or be true to its lofty and eternal purpose? How to combine true poetry and success? Here, as well as in the Initiation, the motif of the transience of time and the irrevocably lost youth that feeds creative inspiration sounds. "In this wooden booth, you can, as in the universe, go through all the tiers in a row, descend from heaven through the earth to hell."

The problematics of "heaven, earth and hell" outlined in one line develops in the "Prologue in Heaven" - where the Lord, the archangels and Mephistopheles are already acting, the Archangels, singing the glory of the deeds of God, fall silent when Mephistopheles appears, who from the very first remark - "To you I, God, got to the reception ... "- as if bewitching with his skeptical charm. For the first time in the conversation, the name of Faust is heard, whom God cites as an example as his faithful and diligent servant. Mephistopheles agrees that "this Aesculapius" "is eager to fight, and loves to take on obstacles, and sees a target beckoning in the distance, and demands stars from the sky as a reward and the best pleasures from the earth," noting the contradictory dual nature of the scientist. God allows Mephistopheles to subject Faust to any temptations, to bring him down into any abyss, believing that his instinct will lead Faust out of the impasse. Mephistopheles, as a true spirit of denial, accepts the dispute, promising to make Faust crawl and "eat <..-> dust from a shoe." A grand struggle of good and evil, great and insignificant, sublime and base begins.

... The one about whom this dispute is concluded spends a sleepless night in a cramped Gothic room with a vaulted ceiling. In this working cell, for many years of hard work, Faust comprehended all earthly wisdom. Then he dared to encroach on the secrets of supernatural phenomena, turned to magic and alchemy. However, instead of satisfaction in his declining years, he feels only spiritual emptiness and pain from the futility of what he has done. “I mastered theology, pored over philosophy, hammered jurisprudence and studied medicine. However, at the same time, I was and remained a fool in everything,” he begins his first monologue. Unusual in strength and depth, Faust's mind is marked by fearlessness before the truth. He is not deceived by illusions and therefore sees with ruthlessness how limited the possibilities of knowledge are, how incommensurable are the mysteries of the universe and nature with the fruits of scientific experience. He laughs at the praises of Wagner's assistant. This pedant is ready to diligently gnaw at the granite of science and pore over parchments, without thinking about the fundamental problems that torment Faust. "All the beauty of the spell will be dispelled by this boring, obnoxious, limited scholar!" - the scientist speaks in his hearts about Wagner. When Wagner, in presumptuous stupidity, pronounces that man has grown to know the answer to all his riddles, an irritated Faust stops the conversation.

Left alone, the scientist again plunges into a state of gloomy hopelessness. The bitterness of realizing that life has passed in the ashes of empty studies, among bookshelves, flasks and retorts, leads Faust to a terrible decision - he is preparing to drink poison in order to end the earthly share and merge with the universe. But at the moment when he raises the poisoned glass to his lips, bells and choral singing are heard. The night of Holy Easter is coming, Blagovest saves Faust from suicide. "I am returned to the earth, thank you for this, holy hymns!"

The next morning, together with Wagner, they join the crowd of festive people. All the surrounding residents revere Faust: both he and his father tirelessly treated people, saving them from serious illnesses. The doctor was not frightened by either the pestilence or the plague, he, without flinching, entered the infected barracks. Now ordinary townspeople and peasants bow to him and make way. But even this sincere confession does not please the hero. He does not overestimate his own merits. On a walk, a black poodle is nailed to them, which Faust then brings to his home. In an effort to overcome the lack of will and discouragement that have taken possession of him, the hero takes up the translation of the New Testament. Rejecting several variants of the initial line, he stops at interpreting the Greek "logos" as "deed" and not "word", making sure: "In the beginning was the deed," the verse says. "However, the dog distracts him from his studies. And finally she turns around Mephistopheles, who for the first time appears to Faust in the clothes of a wandering student.

To the host's wary question about his name, the guest replies that he is "a part of the power of that which does good without number, wishing evil to everything." The new interlocutor, in contrast to the dull Wagner, is Faust's equal in intelligence and power of insight. The guest condescendingly and caustically chuckles at the weaknesses of human nature, at the human lot, as if penetrating into the very core of Faust's torments. Having intrigued the scientist and taking advantage of his drowsiness, Mephistopheles disappears. The next time, he appears smartly dressed and immediately invites Faust to dispel the melancholy. He persuades the old hermit to put on a bright dress and in this "clothes characteristic of rake, to taste after a long fast, which means fullness of life." If the proposed pleasure captures Faust so much that he asks to stop the moment, then he will become the prey of Mephistopheles, his slave. They seal the deal with blood and go on a journey - right through the air, on the wide cloak of Mephistopheles ...

So, the scenery of this tragedy is earth, heaven and hell, its directors are God and the devil, and their assistants are numerous spirits and angels, witches and demons, representatives of light and darkness in their endless interaction and confrontation. How attractive in his mocking omnipotence is the main tempter - in a golden doublet, in a hat with a rooster feather, with a draped hoof on his leg, which makes him slightly lame! But his companion, Faust, is a match - now he is young, handsome, full of strength and desires. He tasted the potion brewed by the witch, after which his blood boiled. He knows no more hesitation in his determination to comprehend all the secrets of life and the pursuit of the highest happiness.

What temptations did his lame-legged companion prepare for the fearless experimenter? Here is the first temptation. She is called Marguerite, or Gretchen, she is fifteen years old, and she is pure and innocent, like a child. She grew up in a wretched town, where gossips gossip about everyone and everything by the well. They buried their father with their mother. The brother serves in the army, and the younger sister, whom Gretchen nursed, recently died. There is no maid in the house, so all household and garden chores are on her shoulders. "But how sweet is the eaten piece, how dear is the rest, and how deep is the sleep!" This artless soul was destined to confuse the wise Faust. Having met a girl on the street, he flared up with an insane passion for her. The procurer-devil immediately offered his services - and now Margarita answers Faust with the same fiery love. Mephistopheles urges Faust to finish the job, and he cannot resist it. He meets Margaret in the garden. One can only guess what kind of whirlwind is raging in her chest, how immeasurably her feeling is, if she - up to that very righteousness, meekness and obedience - not only gives herself to Faust, but also puts her strict mother to sleep on his advice so that she does not interfere with dates.

Why is Faust so attracted to this particular commoner, naive, young and inexperienced? Maybe with her he gains a sense of earthly beauty, goodness and truth, which he previously aspired to? For all her inexperience, Margarita is endowed with spiritual vigilance and an impeccable sense of truth. She immediately discerns in Mephistopheles the messenger of evil and languishes in his company. "Oh, the sensitivity of angelic guesses!" - drops Faust.

Love gives them dazzling bliss, but it also causes a chain of misfortunes. By chance, Margarita's brother Valentine, passing by her window, ran into a couple of "boyfriends" and immediately rushed to fight them. Mephistopheles did not back down and drew his sword. At a sign from the devil, Faust also got involved in this battle and stabbed his beloved brother to death. Dying, Valentine cursed his sister-reveler, betraying her to universal disgrace. Faust did not immediately learn about her further troubles. He fled from the payback for the murder, hurried out of the city after his leader. And what about Margarita? It turns out that she unwittingly killed her mother with her own hands, because she once did not wake up after a sleeping potion. Later, she gave birth to a daughter - and drowned her in the river, fleeing worldly wrath. Kara did not pass her by - an abandoned lover, branded as a harlot and a murderer, she was imprisoned and awaiting execution in stocks.

Her beloved is far away. No, not in her arms, he asked for a moment to wait. Now, together with the inseparable Mephistopheles, he rushes not somewhere, but to Broken itself - on this mountain on Walpurgis Night, the witches' sabbath begins. A true bacchanalia reigns around the hero - witches rush past, demons, kikimors and devils call to each other, everything is embraced by revelry, a teasing element of vice and fornication. Faust does not feel fear of the evil spirits swarming everywhere, which manifests itself in all the many-voiced revelation of shamelessness. This is a breathtaking ball of Satan. And now Faust chooses a younger beauty here, with whom he starts dancing. He leaves her only when a pink mouse suddenly jumps out of her mouth. "Give thanks that the mouse is not sulfur, and do not grieve so deeply about it," Mephistopheles condescendingly remarks on his complaint.

However, Faust does not listen to him. In one of the shadows, he guesses Margarita. He sees her imprisoned in a dungeon, with a terrible bloody scar on her neck, and grows cold. Rushing to the devil, he demands to save the girl. He objects: was it not Faust himself who was her seducer and executioner? The hero does not want to delay. Mephistopheles promises him to finally put the guards to sleep and break into the prison. Jumping on their horses, the two conspirators rush back to the city. They are accompanied by witches who sense imminent death on the scaffold.

The last meeting of Faust and Margarita is one of the most tragic and heartfelt pages of world poetry.

Having drunk all the boundless humiliation of public shame and suffering from the sins she committed, Margarita lost her mind. Bare-haired, barefoot, she sings children's songs in prison and shudders at every rustle. When Faust appears, she does not recognize him and cowers on the mat. He listens in desperation to her crazy speeches. She babbles something about a ruined baby, begs not to lead her under the axe. Faust throws himself on his knees before the girl, calls her by name, breaks her chains. At last she realizes that before her is a Friend. “I don’t dare to believe my ears, where is he? Hurry on his neck! Hurry, hurry on his chest! Through the darkness of the dungeon, inconsolable, through the flames of hellish pitch darkness, and hooting and howling ... "

She does not believe her happiness, that she is saved. Faust frantically urges her to leave the dungeon and run. But Margarita hesitates, plaintively asks to caress her, reproaches that he has lost the habit of her, "has forgotten how to kiss" ... Faust again pulls at her and conjures to hurry. Then the girl suddenly begins to remember her mortal sins - and the artless simplicity of her words makes Faust go cold with a terrible foreboding. "I lulled my mother to death, drowned my daughter in a pond. God thought to give her to us for good luck, but gave her for trouble." Interrupting Faust's objections, Margaret proceeds to the last testament. He, her desired one, must necessarily stay alive in order to dig three holes with a shovel on the slope of the day: for the mother, for the brother and the third for me. Margarita again begins to be haunted by the images of those who died through her fault - she imagines a trembling baby whom she drowned, a sleepy mother on a hillock ... She tells Faust that there is no worse fate than "staggering with a sick conscience", and refuses to leave the dungeon. Faust tries to stay with her, but the girl drives him away. Mephistopheles, who appeared at the door, hurries Faust. They leave the prison, leaving Margarita alone. Before leaving, Mephistopheles throws out that Margarita is condemned to torment as a sinner. However, a voice from above corrects him: "Saved." Preferring martyrdom, God's judgment and sincere repentance to escape, the girl saved her soul. She refused the services of the devil.

At the beginning of the second part, we find Faust, forgotten in a green meadow in an uneasy dream. Flying forest spirits give peace and oblivion to his soul, tormented by remorse. After a while, he wakes up healed, watching the sunrise. His first words are addressed to the dazzling luminary. Now Faust understands that the disproportion of the goal to the capabilities of a person can destroy, like the sun, if you look at it point-blank. He loves the image of the rainbow, "which, with the play of the seven-colored variability, elevates it to constancy." Having gained new strength in unity with beautiful nature, the hero continues to climb the steep spiral of experience.

This time, Mephistopheles brings Faust to the imperial court. In the state where they ended up, discord reigns due to the impoverishment of the treasury. No one knows how to fix things, except for Mephistopheles, who pretended to be a jester. The tempter develops a plan to replenish the cash reserves, which he soon brilliantly implements. It puts securities into circulation, the pledge of which is declared to be the content of the earth's interior. The devil assures that there is a lot of gold in the earth, which will be found sooner or later, and this will cover the cost of papers. The fooled population willingly buys shares, "and the money flowed from the purse to the vintner, to the butcher's shop. Half the world was drunk, and the other half sews new clothes at the tailor." It is clear that the bitter fruits of the scam will sooner or later affect, but while euphoria reigns at the court, a ball is arranged, and Faust, as one of the sorcerers, enjoys unprecedented honor.

Mephistopheles hands him a magic key that gives him the opportunity to penetrate the world of pagan gods and heroes. Faust brings Paris and Helen to the emperor's ball, personifying male and female beauty. When Elena appears in the hall, some of the ladies present make critical remarks about her. "Slender, large. And the head is small ... The leg is disproportionately heavy ..." However, Faust feels with his whole being that he has before him a spiritual and aesthetic ideal cherished in its perfection. He compares the blinding beauty of Elena with a gushing stream of radiance. "How dear the world is to me, how complete, enticing, authentic, inexpressible for the first time!" However, his desire to keep Elena does not work. The image blurs and disappears, an explosion is heard, Faust falls to the ground.

Now the hero is obsessed with the idea of ​​finding the beautiful Elena. A long journey awaits him through the depths of epochs. This path runs through his former working workshop, where Mephistopheles will take him in oblivion. We will meet again with the zealous Wagner, waiting for the return of the teacher. This time, the learned pedant is busy creating an artificial man in a flask, firmly believing that "the former survival of children is an absurdity for us, handed over to the archive." Before the eyes of a grinning Mephistopheles, a Homunculus is born from a flask, suffering from the duality of his own nature.

When at last the stubborn Faust finds the beautiful Helen and unites with her and they have a child marked by genius - Goethe put Byron's traits into his image - the contrast between this beautiful fruit of living love and the unfortunate Homunculus will come to light with special force. However, the beautiful Euphorion, the son of Faust and Helen, will not live long on earth. He is attracted by the struggle and the challenge of the elements. “I am not an outsider, but a participant in earthly battles,” he declares to his parents. He rushes up and disappears, leaving a luminous trail in the air. Elena hugs Faust goodbye and remarks:

“The old saying comes true on me that happiness does not get along with beauty ...” Only her clothes remain in Faust’s hands - the bodily disappears, as if marking the transient nature of absolute beauty.

Mephistopheles in seven-league boots returns the hero from harmonious pagan antiquity to his native Middle Ages. He offers Faust various options on how to achieve fame and recognition, but he rejects them and tells about his own plan. From the air, he noticed a large piece of land, which is annually flooded by the sea tide, depriving the land of fertility, Faust has the idea to build a dam in order to "recapture a piece of land from the abyss at any cost." Mephistopheles, however, objects that for now it is necessary to help their familiar emperor, who, after deceiving with securities, having lived a little to his heart's content, faced the threat of losing the throne. Faust and Mephistopheles lead a military operation against the enemies of the emperor and win a brilliant victory.

Now Faust is eager to begin the implementation of his cherished plan, but a trifle prevents him. On the site of the future dam stands the hut of the old poor - Philemon and Baucis. Stubborn old people do not want to change their home, although Faust offered them another shelter. In irritated impatience, he asks the devil to help deal with the stubborn. As a result, the unfortunate couple - and with them the guest-wanderer who dropped in on them - suffers a ruthless reprisal. Mephistopheles and the guards kill the guest, the old people die of shock, and the hut is occupied by a flame from a random spark. Experiencing once again bitterness from the irreparability of what happened, Faust exclaims: "I offered me change with me, and not violence, not robbery. For deafness to my words, curse you, curse you!"

He is feeling tired. He is old again and feels that life is coming to an end again. All his aspirations are now focused on achieving the dream of a dam. Another blow awaits him - Faust goes blind. It is enveloped in the darkness of the night. However, he distinguishes the sound of shovels, movement, voices. He is seized by violent joy and energy - he understands that the cherished goal is already dawning. The hero begins to give feverish commands: "Get up to work in a friendly crowd! Scatter in a chain where I indicate. Picks, shovels, wheelbarrows for diggers! Align the shaft according to the drawing!"

Blind Faust is unaware that Mephistopheles played an insidious trick with him. Around Faust, not builders are swarming in the ground, but lemurs, evil spirits. At the behest of the devil, they dig a grave for Faust. The hero, meanwhile, is full of happiness. In a spiritual outburst, he utters his last monologue, where he concentrates the experience acquired on the tragic path of cognition. Now he understands that it is not power, not wealth, not fame, not even the possession of the most beautiful woman on earth that bestows a truly supreme moment of existence. Only a common deed, equally needed by everyone and realized by everyone, can give life the highest fullness. This is how the semantic bridge is stretched to the discovery made by Faust even before the meeting with Mephistopheles: "In the beginning there was a deed." He understands that "only he who has experienced the battle for life deserves life and freedom." Faust utters intimate words that he is experiencing his highest moment and that "a free people on a free land" seems to him such a grandiose picture that he could stop this moment.

Immediately his life ends. He falls down. Mephistopheles looks forward to the moment when he will rightfully take possession of his soul. But at the last minute, the angels carry away Faust's soul right in front of the devil's nose. For the first time, Mephistopheles loses his temper, he goes on a rampage and curses himself.

Faust's soul is saved, which means that his life is ultimately justified. Beyond the edge of earthly existence, his soul meets the soul of Gretchen, who becomes his guide to another world.

... Goethe finished "Faust" just before his death. "Formated like a cloud", according to the writer, this idea accompanied him all his life.

V. A. Sagalova

(Heinrich von Ofterdingen)

Roman (1802)

The work is based on the legend of the famous minnesinger of the XNUMXth century. Heinrich von Ofterdingen. The external event canvas is only a necessary material shell for depicting the deep inner process of the poet's formation and Heinrich's comprehension of the ideal of life, allegorically depicted by Novalis in the form of a "blue flower". The main semantic load is carried by Henry's dreams, parables, fairy tales and myths told to him.

The novel consists of two parts. The first, completed, is called "Waiting". Twenty-year-old Heinrich, a chaplain's apprentice, has a dream that he wanders through a dark forest, goes out to the mountains and finds a blue flower of indescribable beauty in a cave. The blue flower is a symbol of German romantic poetry, in other words, pure poetry and perfect life. He is not able to watch his dream to the end, because his mother comes into his room and wakes him up.

A little later, Heinrich leaves Thuringia, his father's home, and travels with his mother to Augsburg, her homeland. They travel accompanied by merchants who are also heading to South Germany. Heinrich, who is destined to become a great poet, listens with trepidation to the stories of his fellow travelers about poets and their power over the souls of all living beings. Merchants introduce him to two legends. One of them tells how once, in ancient times, one famous poet and singer was threatened with death at the hands of the owners of the ship on which he sailed the sea, greedy for his treasures. However, his songs shocked the sea animals so much that they saved his life and returned the treasures taken from him. In another legend, we are talking about the court of an enlightened king who patronizes poetry and his daughter, who once left her parents' house and hid from her father for a whole year, living in the forest with her beloved. A year later, her lover, with his songs and playing the lute, captured the heart of her father so much that he granted them both forgiveness and took them and his newborn grandson into his arms.

A few days later, travelers stop at the old warrior's castle and witness the preparations for a new crusade. In his own possessions, Heinrich meets a young captive, Zuleima, brought from the East. She languishes away from her homeland and mourns her bleak fate.

Leaving the castle, Heinrich and his companions soon stop in a foothill village, where he meets an old miner. He tells them about his life, about the metals and minerals hidden in the bowels of the earth. Under his leadership, they visit a whole gallery of caves in the mountains, where they find the remains of prehistoric animals and get acquainted with the hermit von Hohenzollern, who, after a glorious and full of military exploits, retired from people for relaxation, knowledge of the inner life of his soul and study of history. The hermit shows them his books. In one of them, Heinrich sees a cave, himself, and next to him - a hermit and an old man, but everyone is dressed in unusual clothes and the inscriptions are made in a language he does not understand. Gradually, he finds on other pages an oriental woman, his parents and many other people known to him.

Having familiarized himself with some of the secrets of history and the bowels of the earth during his travels around the country, Heinrich von Ofterdingen finally arrives in Augsburg, to his grandfather old Schwaning. In his grandfather's house, Heinrich meets the poet Klingsor, a majestic man, whose image he has already seen in the hermit's book, and his daughter Matilda. Love is born between young people at first sight, and soon they become a bride and groom.

Klingsor directs the spiritual maturation of young Heinrich. He talks with him about poetry, about his inner world and about the most expedient and natural "use" of his spiritual powers. Calls on him to develop his mind, as well as to comprehend the pattern of events taking place in the world and the "essence" of any business, any phenomenon, so that his soul eventually becomes attentive and calm. It is also necessary that the soul be sincere, and a sincere soul is like light, it is as penetrating, powerful and imperceptible as light.

Heinrich tells Klingsor about his journey, and all his speech, its structure and imagery indicate that the young man was born to be a poet.

According to Klingsor, there is nothing unusual in poetry, it is "the main property of the human spirit." In the evening, during the feast, Klingsor, at the request of Heinrich, tells the guests a symbolic tale about the victory of poetry over rationality and its other enemies. This story anticipates what was to be discussed in the second part of the novel. The tale speaks of the kingdom of Arcturus and the beautiful Freya, his daughter, Eros and his foster sister Fable, as well as their godmother Sophia.

The second part of the novel (Novalis did not have time to finish it) is called "Accomplishment". It begins with the fact that Henry, in the guise of a wanderer, in a state of indifferent despair, into which he fell after the death of Matilda, wanders through the mountains. Before him, Augsburg spreads below, in the distance the mirror of a terrible mysterious stream glistens. To the side, he seems to see a monk kneeling in front of an oak tree. It seems to him that this is an old court chaplain. However, coming closer, he realizes that in front of him is just a cliff, over which a tree is leaning. Suddenly, the tree begins to tremble, the stone begins to ring dully, and joyful singing is heard from under the ground. A voice is heard from the tree, which asks Heinrich to play the lute and sing a song and promises that then a girl will appear, whom he must take with him and not let go of him. Heinrich recognizes in him the voice of Matilda. In the foliage of a tree in front of him there is a vision of his beloved, who looks at him with a smile affectionately. When the vision disappears, all suffering and worries leave his heart with it. There is nothing left but quiet languor and sadness. Pass the pain of loss and the feeling of emptiness around. Heinrich begins to sing and does not notice how a girl approaches him and takes him away with her. She introduces him to an old man, whose name is Sylvester, he is a doctor, but it seems to Henry that an old miner is standing in front of him.

It turns out that a long time ago the father of Heinrich also visited the old man, in whom Sylvester saw the makings of a sculptor and introduced him to the precious heritage of the ancient world. However, his father did not heed the call of his true nature, and the surrounding reality took root in him too deeply. He became simply a skilled craftsman.

The old man wishes Heinrich to return to his hometown. However, Heinrich says that he gets to know his homeland better by traveling to different countries, and in general, people who travel a lot differ from others in a more developed mind and other amazing properties and abilities. They are talking about the importance of the predominance of a single force, the power of conscience over all that exists; about the cause of evil, which, according to the old man, is rooted in general weakness; about the interpenetration and single "essence" of all worlds and feelings in the universe.

Novalis did not have time to complete this second part, in which he wanted to express the very essence of poetry. He did not have time to formalize his idea that everything in the world: nature, history, war, everyday life - everything turns into poetry, since it is the spirit that animates everything that exists in nature. In the second part, Henry had to become more fully acquainted with the world around him. He was supposed to go to Italy, take part in hostilities, meet with the son of Frederick II at the court of the emperor and become his close friend, visit Greece, travel to the East, all the way to Jerusalem, then return to Turingia and, together with Klingsor, take part in famous poetry tournament. The continuation of the novel was to turn into a mythological and symbolic narrative in which everything - animals, plants and stones - had to talk and undergo magical transformations. Matilda, already after her death, in the guise of various women had to often meet Heinrich, who at last in reality had to pluck the "blue flower" from his dream.

E. V. Semina

Roman (1798-1799, not completed)

Julius tries to find Lucinda where he is used to seeing her - in her room, on their couch - and, not finding her, begins to conduct a strange conversation with her, devoid of a definite content, now surrendering to the will of fantasies that attract him, then resorting to help the sheets he once wrote, preserved by her caring hands. In this influx of images, he wants, first of all, to find words and colors to describe the joy and love that binds him to her, that harmony, into the depths of which they plunge together without breaking their arms. “I can no longer say “my love” or “your love,” he writes, “they are both the same and merged together, being equally love and reciprocity.”

One of his "waking dreams" he calls "The Allegory of Insolence". In a skillfully cultivated garden, he manages to overcome a disgusting monster that suddenly jumped on him; defeated, it turns into an ordinary frog, and someone standing behind him calls him the name of the phantom. “This is Public Opinion,” he says, “and I am Wit.” Following his new companion, Julius sees amusing and instructive scenes in which, apart from four young men, Insolence participates, at first frightening Julia with her defiant and bold appearance, Delicacy , propriety, modesty; they roam the green meadows created by the great sorceress fantasy, and they themselves are called into being by her will. They either change masks or reveal their true faces; but it is Audacity with its independence and insight that attracts our wanderer more and more. He begins to call himself "the beloved son of Wit," just as a knight wandering in search of adventure says to himself: "I am the beloved son of happiness."

“Society,” he says to Lucinda in one of their further conversations, “is a chaos that must be harmonized, perhaps only with the help of wit, but if you don’t joke and fool around with the elements of passion, then it condenses into impenetrable masses and obscures all". Julius' youthful years would serve as an excellent illustration both of the fidelity of this thesis, and of his own constancy in following it. In those years, his thought was in constant fermentation; every moment he was ready to meet something extraordinary. Nothing could strike him, least of all his own doom. Without work and without purpose, he wandered between things and people, like a man who is waiting with trepidation for something on which his happiness depends. Everything could seduce him, and at the same time nothing could satisfy him.

At the same time, none of the manifestations of debauchery could turn into an integral habit for him, for there was as much contempt in him as frivolity. In the end, this contempt turned him away from his current companions; he remembered the friend of his boyhood, a tender, sublime and innocent girl; hurrying back to her, he found her already formed, but as noble, thoughtful and proud as before. He decided to possess her, with disgust rejecting the slightest considerations of morality; but, when he had almost reached his goal, the sudden flood of her tears cooled him and aroused in his soul something like repentance. After that, he again plunged for a time into his former way of life; but soon, in this whirlwind of entertainment, he met another girl whom he wanted to possess completely, despite the fact that he found her among those who almost openly belong to everyone; she was almost as depraved as she was innocent, and usually in her relations with men, doing what she considered her duty, remained completely cold; but Julius had the good fortune to please her, and she suddenly became attached to him more than words can express. Perhaps for the first time she no longer liked the environment that had hitherto satisfied her. Julius felt this and rejoiced in this, but he could not completely overcome the contempt that her profession and her depravity inspired in him. When she told him that he would be the father of her child, he considered himself deceived and left her. Her servant called him to her; after much persuasion, he followed him; it was dark in her office, he clung to her - and heard a deep sigh, which turned out to be the last; looking at himself, he saw that he was covered in blood. In a fit of despair, she inflicted numerous wounds on herself, most of which were fatal ... This incident filled him with horror and disgust for social prejudices. He suppressed repentance through pride, which was only intensified by that feeling of a new, more enduring contempt for the world that he felt in himself.

However, time passed, and he met a woman who saved him from this disease. She combined courtesy and artistry with self-control and courage; deifying her, he did not consider himself entitled to try to violate her family happiness; the feeling for her became for his spirit the firm center and foundation of the new world. He again realized in himself a vocation for divine art; he devoted his passion and his youth to the sublime work of the artist, and gradually the sea of ​​inspiration swallowed up the stream of his loving feeling.

It happened, however, that he met a young artist who, like him, passionately worshiped beauty. They spent only a few days together, and Lucinda gave herself to him forever, revealing to him the whole depth of her soul and all the strength, naturalness and sublimity that lurked in it. For a long time he called passion what he felt for her, and tenderness what she gave him; more than two years passed before he realized that he was infinitely loved and he loved with no less force. Love, he realized, is not only a secret inner need for the infinite; it is at the same time the sacred enjoyment of shared intimacy. Only in the answer of its "You" can each "I" fully experience its infinite unity.

The highest manifestation of reason is not to act according to one's intention, but to indulge in fantasy with all one's soul and not interfere with the amusements of a young mother with her baby. Let a man idolize his beloved, mother - a child, and everything - an eternal person. And the soul will comprehend the complaint of the nightingale and the smile of the newborn and understand the meaning of everything that is inscribed in secret letters in flowers and stars; the sacred meaning of life, as well as the eternal language of nature. She will never be able to leave this magical circle, and everything she creates or utters will sound like an amazing romance about the wonderful secrets of the children's world of the gods, accompanied by enchanting music of the senses and adorned with a flowering of sweet life full of deep meaning.

V. V. Prorokova

(Franz Sternbalds Wanderungen)

Roman (179 8)

The novel is stylized as an old German story. The story begins around 1521. Franz Sternbald, an artist, a young student of Albrecht Dürer, the famous German painter, leaves Nuremberg and sets out on a long journey to reach Italy and learn from Italian artists. Franz is accompanied by his friend Sebastian, like himself, a student of Dürer. Then, after a touching farewell, Sebastian returns back to Nuremberg, to the studio of his teacher.

On the way, Franz accidentally meets a blacksmith's apprentice. He, having learned that Franz is a painter, shows great interest in his art and promises that in Nuremberg he will go to Dürer and Sebastian and observe the process of their work.

In the next city, Franz delivers a letter from Dürer to the manager of a large factory, Herr Zeuner. He invites him to dinner. In the evening, Sternbald is led into the hall, where the brilliant assembly pays no attention to him and carries on frivolous, down-to-earth conversations. After dinner, Zeuner persuades Franz to take the place of an overseer at his factory with a good salary and tempts him with the opportunity to secure a comfortable life for himself in the near future. Franz resists temptation and stays true to his dream. He rejects his offer and continues on his way.

A young man makes a detour to visit the village on the banks of the Tauber where his parents live. He finds his father near death. Franz learns from him that he is his adopted son, but his father dies and does not have time to name his real parents. His adoptive mother does not know who he is, for when she married his father, he already had a two-year-old boy. Franz stays for a few days in this village and paints the picture "The Good News to the Shepherds". As Franz walks through the fields, he remembers how once as a child he wandered through the meadow and picked flowers. Suddenly, a carriage stopped next to him, from which a little girl got out and asked to give her a bouquet he had collected. He gladly complied with her request and has kept a magical memory of this meeting ever since. At the moment when his picture is being hung in the church instead of the old one, a carriage stops near the open door of the cathedral, from which the wheel flies off. Franz rushes to the frightened girl sitting in the carriage and calms her down. Near the church, the girl loses her album, and Franz finds it already when the carriage is far away. He opens the album, sees in it a dry bouquet of wildflowers and realizes that this is the same stranger he met in childhood. He wants to find her again no matter what. He refuses his foster mother's offer to stay in the village and lead a decent and prosperous life, and resumes his journey.

He goes to the Netherlands to see the famous painter Luke of Leiden. He is still quite a young man and an entertaining conversationalist. Franz tells him about his timidity in painting and about too much impressionability. Luke sets him on the right path and advises him not to travel to Italy, but to confine himself only to the German school of painting and depict northern nature in a manner familiar to the Germans, because the Latin roots of Italian art allegedly do not agree with the inner world of the Germans. However, soon Durer himself visits Luke of Leiden. He still finds his student at Luke's, and he manages to re-inspire in him the shaky confidence in the correctness of the path he had chosen.

From Leiden, Franz travels to Antwerp with several fellow travelers. Among them, Franz most likes Rudolf Florestan, a poet, singer, Italian, heading home from England. Young people decide to make a further journey together. Before Antwerp, Rudolph briefly parted with Franz to visit an acquaintance who lives near the city. Franz, on the other hand, settles in an inn and often visits another of his fellow travelers, the merchant Vansen, who, having learned that Sternbald is an artist, imbued him with boundless respect. At Vansen's request, Franz paints a portrait of his daughter, a very sad girl. She begins to trust him and informs him of the reason for her sadness. It turns out that she has a lover, but he is poor, and her father, as she believes, will never agree to marry her to him. Vansen swore to himself that he would give his daughter in marriage only to an artist, and invites Franz, although he is poor, to become his son-in-law. Franz meets with his daughter's fiancé and recognizes him as his blacksmith friend. He, having visited Dürer's workshop, fell in love with painting, completely abandoned blacksmithing, and now he is dying from longing for his beloved and from the fact that he does not know which life path to choose: painting or blacksmithing. Franz convinces him to turn to art and talk to Vansen. He manages to happily arrange the fate of Vansen's daughter, and, together with Rudolf Florestan, who has already joined him, he goes on.

On the way, the friends meet Bolz, a sculptor returning from Italy to Germany, and a monk accompanying him. The first repels friends with harsh judgments about German art and exaltation of Italian painters, while the second will captivate with its softness and warmth. Franz and Rudolf say goodbye to the travelers and move on. They meet a beautiful hunter and visit her in the castle. The young countess shows Franz a portrait of her lover, who ran away from her before the wedding. In the portrait, Franz recognizes the monk he met shortly before.

After some time, Sternbald visits a hermit living nearby. He is also a painter. Among his works, Franz accidentally finds a portrait of his stranger. He brings it to the castle and, talking about the hermit, shows it to the countess. The countess assures that it depicts her sister, who died less than a year ago. Franz is inconsolable. It's like the ground is slipping from under his feet. However, he soon meets a lovely girl with whom he begins an affair, stormy and sensual. It is hard for him to part with her, but he still leaves the castle to continue his journey.

Soon, Franz and Rudolf see a wounded knight in the forest and a pilgrim trying to help him. All together they spend the night in the hut of a hermit who retired from the vain world because of unhappy love. Healing herbal decoction helps the wounded knight, in which Franz and Rudolf recognize the recently met monk, the countess's beloved, to recover. Roderigo, that is the name of the knight, tells young people about his friend Ludovico, a cheerful and reckless man whom he has not seen for more than a year, as well as about his beloved countess, from whom he ran away, but for whom he misses very much. Great is his surprise when, after a while, he sees his beloved Ludovico enter the hermit's hut. His violent temperament and love of danger captivate Rudolf, who has not left him a single step since then, Ludovico explains his overly free and indomitable temper by the fact that in childhood he did not have a brother he desired so much and he did not learn to love anyone, except yourself.

The young people all together leave the hermitage and, after a long and tiring journey, enter the garden adjoining the castle. The castle, as it later turns out, belongs to a relative of the countess. Here Roderigo accidentally meets his beloved and reconciles with her.

Franz keeps the further path alone. In the next city, he paints a picture in a monastery and helps Ludovico, who arrived there, kidnap his bride, whom her relatives force to take the veil as a nun.

In Florence, Sternbald meets many Italian artists, leads an idle and frivolous lifestyle, which, however, does not suit him very much. Then he goes to Rome, where in one of the houses where the countess recommended him to go, he meets his beloved stranger. It turns out that her name is Maria and she also loves Sternbald for a long time. The girl's mother takes Franz extremely favorably.

In the third part, which Tieck never wrote, he intended to tell that in Florence, in a rich country house, Franz meets his father, while Ludovico turns out to be his brother. He planned to successfully complete Sternbald's wanderings in Nuremberg at the grave of Albrecht Dürer, who had already died by that time.

E. V. Semina

(Der golden Topf)

Tale story (1814)

On the Feast of the Ascension, at three o'clock in the afternoon, at the Black Gate in Dresden, the student Anselm, due to his eternal bad luck, overturns a huge basket of apples - and hears terrible curses and threats from the old merchant woman: "You will fall under glass, under glass!" Having paid for his oversight with a skinny purse, Anselm, instead of drinking beer and coffee with liquor, like other good citizens, goes to the banks of the Elbe to mourn his evil fate - all his youth, all collapsed hopes, all sandwiches that fell butter down ... From elderberry branches, under which he sits, marvelous sounds are heard, as if the ringing of crystal bells. Raising his head, Anselm sees three lovely golden-green snakes twined around the branches, and the cutest of the three looks at him with tenderness with large blue eyes. And these eyes, and the rustle of leaves, and the setting sun - everything tells Anselm about eternal love. The vision dissipates as suddenly as it appeared. Anselm in anguish embraces the trunk of an elderberry, frightening both with his appearance and wild speeches of the townspeople walking in the park. Fortunately, his good friends turn out to be nearby: the registrar Geerbrand and the secretary Paulman with their daughters, inviting Anselm to take a boat ride along the river with them and finish the festive evening with dinner at Paulman's house.

The young man, by common judgment, is clearly not himself, and his poverty and bad luck are to blame for everything. Geerbrand offers him a job as a scribe for the archivist Lindgorst for decent money: Anselm has a talent for calligraphy and draftsman - just such a person is looking for an archivist to copy manuscripts from his library.

Alas: the unusual atmosphere in the archivist's house, and his outlandish garden, where flowers look like birds and insects - like flowers, and finally, the archivist himself, who appears to Anselm either in the form of a thin old man in a gray cloak, or in the guise of a majestic gray-bearded king - all this plunges Anselm even deeper into the world of his dreams. The knocker pretends to be an old woman, whose apples he scattered at the Black Gate, again uttering ominous words: "You should be in glass, in crystal! .."; the cord of the bell turns into a snake, wrapping itself around the poor fellow until the bones crunch. Every evening he goes to the elderberry bush, hugs it and cries: "Ah! I love you, snake, and I will die of sadness if you do not return!"

Day after day passes, and still Anselm does not get to work. The archivist, to whom he reveals his secret, is not at all surprised. These snakes, according to the archivist Anselm, are my daughters, and I myself are not a mortal person, but the spirit of the Salamanders, overthrown for disobedience by my master Phosphorus, the prince of the country of Atlantis. Whoever marries one of the daughters of the Salamander-Lindhorst will receive the Golden Pot as a dowry. A fiery lily sprouts from a pot at the moment of betrothal, the young man will understand its language, comprehend everything that is open to incorporeal spirits, and with his beloved will begin to live in Atlantis. The Salamander, having finally received forgiveness, will return there.

Cheer up for work! The payment for it will be not only chervonets, but also the opportunity to see the blue-eyed snake Serpentina every day!

... Veronika, the daughter of Con-Rector Paulman, who had not seen Anselm for a long time, with whom they used to play music almost every evening, is tormented by doubts: has he forgotten her? Have you cooled off towards her at all? But she already painted a happy marriage in her dreams! Anselm, you see, will get rich, become a court adviser, and she - a court adviser!

Having heard from her friends that an old fortune-teller Frau Rauerin lives in Dresden, Veronica turns to her for advice. "Leave Anselm," the girl hears from the sorceress. "He is a bad man. He trampled on my children, my bulk apples. He got in touch with my enemy, the evil old man. He is in love with his daughter, the green snake. He will never be a court adviser." In tears, Veronika listens to a fortune-teller - and suddenly recognizes her nanny Lisa in her. The kind nanny consoles the pupil: "I will try to help you, heal Anselm from the enemy's spells, and you - to please the court advisers."

On a cold rainy night, the fortune-teller leads Veronica into the field, where he makes a fire under a cauldron, into which flowers, metals, herbs and animals fly from the old woman's bag, and after them - a curl from Veronica's head and her ring. The girl stares intently into the boiling brew - and from there the face of Anselm appears to her. At the same moment, a thunderous sound is heard above her head: "Hey, you bastards! Get away, hurry!" The old woman falls to the ground with a howl, Veronica faints. Having come to her senses at home, on her couch, she discovers in the pocket of her soaking raincoat a silver mirror - the one that was cast by a fortune teller last night. From the mirror, as just now from a boiling cauldron, her lover looks at the girl. "Ah," he lamented, "why do you sometimes want to squirm like a snake!.."

Meanwhile, Anselm's work in the archivist's house, which did not go well at first, is becoming more and more controversial. He easily manages not only to copy the most intricate manuscripts, but also to comprehend their meaning. As a reward, the archivist arranges for the student a date with Serpentina. "You have, as they say now, a 'naive poetic soul,'" Anselm hears from the sorcerer's daughter. "You are worthy of both my love and eternal bliss in Atlantis!" The kiss burns Anselm's lips. But strange: in all the following days he thinks about Veronica. Serpentina is his dream, a fairy tale, and Veronica is the most alive, real thing that has ever appeared to his eyes! Instead of going to the archivist, he goes to visit Paulman, where he spends the whole day. Veronica is gaiety itself, her whole appearance expresses love for him. An innocent kiss completely sobers up Anselm. As a sin, Geerbrand appears with everything that is required to make a punch. With the first sip, the oddities and wonders of the last weeks rise again before Anselm. He dreams aloud of the Serpentine. Following him, unexpectedly, both the owner and Geerbrand begin to exclaim: "Long live the Salamander! May the old woman perish!" Veronica convinces them that old Liza will certainly defeat the sorcerer, and her sister runs out of the room in tears. Crazy House - and only! ..

The next morning, Paulmann and Geerbrand are surprised at their rampage for a long time. As for Anselm, he, having come to the archivist, was severely punished for his cowardly renunciation of love. The sorcerer imprisoned the student in one of those glass jars that are on the table in his office. In the neighborhood, in other banks, there are three more scholars and two scribes who also worked for the archivist. They vilify Anselm ("The madman imagines that he is sitting in a bottle, while he himself stands on a bridge and looks at his reflection in the river!") and at the same time the crazy old man who showers them with gold because they draw scribbles for him.

From their mockery, Anselm is distracted by the vision of a mortal battle between a sorcerer and an old woman, from which the Salamander emerges victorious. In a moment of triumph, Serpentina appears before Anselm, announcing to him the granted forgiveness. The glass breaks - he falls into the arms of a blue-eyed snake ...

On the day of Veronica's name day, the newly-made court adviser Geerbrand comes to Paulman's house, offering the girl a hand and a heart. Without thinking twice, she agrees: at least in part, yes, the old fortuneteller's prediction came true! Anselm - judging by the fact that he disappeared from Dresden without a trace - found eternal bliss in Atlantis. This suspicion is confirmed by a letter received by the author from the archivist Lindhorst with permission to publicize the secret of his wonderful existence in the world of spirits and with an invitation to complete the story of the Golden Pot in the very blue palm hall of his house, where the illustrious student Anselm worked.

M. K. Pozdnyaev

(Klein Zaches genaimt Zinnober)

Story (1819)

In a small state ruled by Prince Demetrius, each inhabitant was given complete freedom in his undertaking. And fairies and magicians value warmth and freedom above all, so under Demetrius, many fairies from the magical land of Dzhinnistan moved to a blessed little principality. However, after the death of Demetrius, his heir Paphnutius decided to introduce enlightenment in his fatherland. He had the most radical ideas about enlightenment: any magic should be abolished, fairies are busy with dangerous witchcraft, and the ruler's first concern is to grow potatoes, plant acacias, cut down forests and instill smallpox. Such enlightenment dried up the flowering land in a matter of days, the fairies were sent to Jinnistan (they did not resist too much), and only the Rosabelverde fairy managed to stay in the principality, who persuaded Paphnutius to give her a canoness position in a shelter for noble maidens.

This kind fairy, the mistress of flowers, once saw on a dusty road a peasant woman, Liza, asleep on the side of the road. Lisa was returning from the forest with a basket of brushwood, carrying in the same basket her ugly son, nicknamed little Tsakhes. The dwarf has a disgusting old muzzle, twig legs and spider arms. Taking pity on the evil freak, the fairy combed his tangled hair for a long time ... and, smiling mysteriously, disappeared. As soon as Lisa woke up and set off again, she met a local pastor. For some reason, he was captivated by the ugly baby and, repeating that the boy was wonderfully good-looking, decided to take him up. Liza was glad to get rid of the burden, not really understanding how her freak began to look to people.

Meanwhile, the young poet Balthazar, a melancholy student, is studying at Kerepes University, in love with the daughter of his professor Mosh Terpin, the cheerful and charming Candida. Mosch Terpin is possessed by the ancient Germanic spirit, as he understands it: heaviness combined with vulgarity, even more unbearable than the mystical romanticism of Balthazar. Balthazar strikes at all the romantic eccentricities so characteristic of poets: he sighs, wanders alone, avoids student feasts; Candida, on the other hand, is the embodiment of life and gaiety, and she, with her youthful coquetry and healthy appetite, is a very pleasant and amusing student admirer.

Meanwhile, a new face invades the touching university reserve, where typical burches, typical enlighteners, typical romantics and typical patriots personify the diseases of the German spirit: little Tsakhes, endowed with a magical gift to attract people to him. Having wormed his way into the house of Mosh Terpin, he completely charms both him and Candida. Now his name is Zinnober. As soon as someone reads poetry in his presence or expresses himself wittily, everyone present is convinced that this is the merit of Zinnober; if he meows vilely or stumbles, one of the other guests will certainly be guilty. Everyone admires the grace and dexterity of Zinnober, and only two students - Balthazar and his friend Fabian - see all the ugliness and malice of the dwarf. Meanwhile, he manages to take the place of a freight forwarder in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and there a Privy Councilor for Special Affairs - and all this is a deception, because Zinnober managed to appropriate the merits of the most worthy.

It so happened that in his crystal carriage with a pheasant on the goats and a golden beetle on the backs, Dr. Prosper Alpanus, a magician wandering incognito, visited Kerpes. Balthasar immediately recognized him as a magician, but Fabian, spoiled by enlightenment, doubted at first; however, Alpanus proved his power by showing Zinnober to his friends in a magic mirror. It turned out that the dwarf is not a wizard or a dwarf, but an ordinary freak who is helped by some secret power. Alpanus discovered this secret power without difficulty, and the Rosabelverde fairy hurried to pay him a visit. The magician told the fairy that he had made a horoscope for a dwarf and that Tsakhes-Zinnober could soon destroy not only Balthazar and Candida, but the whole principality, where he became his man at court. The fairy is forced to agree and refuse Tsakhes her patronage - all the more so since Alpanus cunningly broke the magic comb with which she combed his curls.

The fact of the matter is that after these combing, three fiery hairs appeared in the head of the dwarf. They endowed him with witchcraft power: all other people's merits were attributed to him, all his vices to others, and only a few saw the truth. The hairs were to be pulled out and burned immediately - and Balthazar and his friends managed to do this when Mosh Terpin was already arranging the engagement of Zinnober with Candida. Thunder struck; everyone saw the dwarf as he was. They played with him like a ball, they kicked him, he was thrown out of the house - in wild anger and horror he fled to his luxurious palace, which the prince gave him, but the confusion among the people grew unstoppably. Everyone heard about the transformation of the minister. The unfortunate dwarf died, stuck in a jug where he tried to hide, and as a last blessing, the fairy returned to him the appearance of a handsome man after death. Nor did she forget the unfortunate mother, the old peasant woman Lisa: in Liza's garden grew such wonderful and sweet onions that she was made the personal supplier of the enlightened court.

And Balthazar and Candida lived happily, as a poet should live with a beauty, whom the magician Prosper Alpanus blessed at the very beginning of his life.

D. A. Bykov

(Lebensansichten des Katers Murr)

Roman (1820-1822, unfinished)

While preparing for printing the notes of Murr, a descendant of the famous Gintz von Ginzenfeld (better known to the world as Puss in Boots), the publishers drew attention to the presence in the manuscript of clearly extraneous fragments - excerpts from the previously published story about Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler and his friend Maestro Abraham. These pages ended up in Murr's manuscript for the simple reason that the Cat used them - gutting a book from the library of his master Abraham - as blotting paper. By a strange coincidence, many episodes of Kreisler's biography supplement the events described by Kot Murr - but this is a mere accident, since Murr adhered to strict chronology, and pages from the book were torn out by him arbitrarily. Nevertheless, the publisher left everything as it is - on the grounds that Maestro Abraham entrusted Kreisler with the care of Cat Murra, moving away from the court of Prince Iriney.

The prince once had a miniature, but his own principality, which he lost after the dissolution of the Prussian administration in Poland by Bonaparte (some people, however, believed that the principality simply fell out of his pocket on a walk). The most influential persons at the court were the adviser, the widow Benzon (in her youth, the prince's favorite) and maestro Abraham, reputed to be a magician and alchemist. An organ maker and piano tuner, he gained fame as an illusionist and organizer of fireworks and park allegories, was treated kindly by the old prince, after his death he wandered around Europe, but then was again called to serve at the court of Irenaeus, who settled in Sighartsweiler.

Another influential - but in a completely different way - person at court, arousing the most conflicting feelings in the retinue, is Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler, who gives music lessons to the prince's daughter Princess Hedwig and her friend Julia, the daughter of the widow Benzon. Orphaned at an early age, Kreisler was raised and taught musical notation by maestro Abraham, who became his best friend for life.

Kot Murr owes his life and spiritual aspirations to Abraham. He believes that he was born in the maestro's house, and not otherwise than in the attic (where else could the loftiness of his mind and spirit come from); meanwhile, as a blind kitten, along with his brothers and sisters, he was subjected to drowning in the river and, miraculously not choking, was pulled out of the water by the scruff of Abraham passing along the bridge. An upbringing in the tradition of Rousseau, along with a craving for the maestro's desk and books on the table, led to the fact that Murr very soon learned to read (comparing what the owner read aloud with the words in the book), and then write. Kot's first literary experiments were the didactic novel "Thought and Sense, or the Cat and the Dog" (created not without the influence of Ponto the poodle), the political treatise "On the Question of Mousetraps" and the tragedy "Kavdallor the Rat King". alas, the notebook with Murra's poems, given to Ponto for reading, fell into the hands of the owner of the poodle, professor of aesthetics Logario, and he (obviously out of envy) snitched on the phenomenally gifted Cat, maestro Abraham. The maestro is concerned that the pussycat is more concerned with belles-lettres than with mice, and shuts Murr down to read, "What can hurt a genius more than seeing himself unrecognized and even ridiculed!" - Murr complains, but consoles himself with the fact that as a result, his own mind began to create even more freely.

Kapellmeister Kreisler experiences similar experiences. He is burdened by his role at court, secular etiquette and hypocrisy. "Only music flows through this young man's veins," he paraphrases the description of some ancient instrument in the musical lexicon. Kreisler is comforted by the company of the dear Fraulein Julia, whose soul, like his, is open to divine sounds. Princess Hedwig also joins their secluded music lessons, who at first had a dislike for the Kapellmeister, as it seemed to him. The princess confesses to Kreisler the reason for her dismay at his appearance at court: her heart is tormented by the memory of the court painter who went mad with love for her dead mother; many marvelous portraits of the princess adorn the walls of the castle to this day, instilling in Hedwig the idea that a person was born for a better life than the one she leads. "The love of an artist!" Hedwig exclaims. "Oh, this is a beautiful, heavenly dream - but only a dream, only a vain dream! .."

The story told by Princess Hedwig deeply moved Kreisler. Unearthly music and unearthly love - that's all that has true value, is not subject to doubts and ridicule, with which he looks at everything around. Conversing confidentially with maestro Abraham, he finds in him a complete ally. There were two moments of happiness in the life of the maestro: when he listened to the sounds of an old organ in an abbey remote from the bustle of the world, and when his young assistant Chiera, his young assistant in focus with the Invisible Girl, was with him, and then his wife. Thanks to her prophetic gift and magnetic influence on people, even at a great distance, the conjurer and mechanic Abraham was close to the court of the old prince. Bliss did not last long: shortly after the death of the prince, Kiera disappeared without a trace. This heart wound has not healed to this day.

... The hour of love has also struck for Cat Murr: the ides of March have come - and on one of the night walks on the roof he meets a charming cat named Mismis. The first love date is interrupted and overshadowed by her two disgusting cousins: they brutally beat Murr and throw him into the gutter. The image of Mismis haunts him, he composes hymns and madrigals in her honor. The fruits of his inspiration paid in full! Murr and Mismis meet again under the moonlight, no one prevents them from singing a duet (she is extremely musical). The cat decides to use a radical remedy for subsequent amorous torments: he offers his paw and heart to his Beautiful Lady. Oh Gods! She agrees!.. However, in the life of any poet, the hours of bliss are fleeting: Mismis cheats on Murra with a motley cat-womanizer. The spouses' explanation proceeds remarkably calmly; both confess to each other their heartfelt cooling - and decide to go further each in their own way. Murr returns to the sciences and fine arts with even more zeal than before meeting Mismis...

Meanwhile, Prince Hector, a descendant of a noble and wealthy family, arrives in Sieghartsweiler from Italy, for whom Prince Irenaeus planned to marry his daughter. At the ball, Hedwig behaves more than strangely, shocking the whole court: she dances a dashing Italian dance with the prince three times in a row, which is not at all characteristic of her nature. The prince is not at all nice to her - but he has some kind of demonic effect on her. The prince also makes a strong impression on Julia: in a conversation with her mother, she likens his gaze to the fiery gaze of a basilisk. Counselor Benzon laughs: to two girls at once, the cute prince seems like a monster - what nonsense! No, this is the voice of the heart, Yulia's mother assures. After the ball, she dreamed of a prince, under the guise of Kapellmeister Kreisler, who embraced her with the words: "You have already been killed - and from now on you must be mine!" From these encroachments, she is saved in a dream by the true, and not the imaginary Kreisler - the beneficent spirit of the castle, designed to protect both her and Princess Hedwig from evil spells. Councilor Benzon interprets this dream in her own way: Johannes Kreisler is a man who brings discord into life at the prince's court. Maestro Abraham is not enough for her - now this musician is also! She must intervene in the development of events! ..

Needless to say, Kreisler also harbors a dislike for Prince Hector. Abraham agrees: this is a real snake-tempter. He is ready to conclude a marriage with Hedviga only by calculation, in reality he has views on Julia. Of course, Kreisler must stand up for her honor, but conventional weapons are out of place here. Maestro Abraham hands a friend a miniature portrait of a certain face, the sight of which will terrify Hector and put him to flight. The prediction comes true exactly. But the bandmaster suddenly disappears from the castle. In the park they find his hat with traces of blood. It is clear that someone - most likely Hector's adjutant - tried to kill him. But did he kill? There is no answer: the adjutant that night also caught a cold ...

Murr's new friend, the black cat Mucius, reproaches him: "You have rushed from one extreme to another, you are about to turn into a disgusting philistine, whose actions depend on incidental circumstances, and not on the voice of honor. Your solitude will not console you, but even more will you hurt!" Mucius recommends Murr to his friends - feline burshes, who accept him as a brother, singing "Gaudeamus igitur" and other hymns. Their circle breaks up after several rehearsals on the roof: the inhabitants of the house poison the bursha with vile dogs, as a result of which the glorious Mucius gives his soul to God. At the feast, Murr meets the lovely little cat Mina. He is ready to rush to storm her heart - and suddenly he sees Mismis in the distance, about whom he forgot to even think. Mismis stops Murr: "Mina is your daughter!" The cat returns to his stove, marveling at the quirks and vicissitudes of fate ...

Kreisler - about which he announces in a letter to Maestro Abraham - found shelter in a monastery. While turbulent events take place in Sieghartsweiler in his absence (the illness and miraculous healing of Hedwig, the secret return of Prince Hector, the discovery of the corpse of his adjutant, and finally the entry of the hussar regiment from the capital - there was a rumor that there was a conspiracy in the castle of Prince Irenaeus and almost not a revolution), the culprit of all this for the first time experiences peace of mind and devotes himself to music. In a dream, he sees Julia - an angelic maiden singing "Agnus Dei" of unheard-of beauty; waking up, Kreisler writes down this music, not fully believing that he is its author. He is preparing to take monastic vows - but then a new rector, Father Cyprian, appointed by the Pope himself, arrives at the abbey from Italy. A gloomy ascetic, he decisively changes the way of life in the monastery. Kreisler sees clearly: in the new circumstances, the music in his soul will die out. At night, a funeral service is held in the abbey - in the deceased, Kreisler recognizes the adjutant of Prince Hector, whom he killed while defending himself from his attack in Sieghartsweiler Park ... The Kapellmeister guesses that he was involved in some kind of terrible secret, to which Father Cyprian is directly related, - about which without prejudice and announces to the new abbot. The stern monk instantly transforms and, filled with the spirit of meekness and love, tells Kreisler the story of his life, shedding light on many things concerning the inhabitants of the castle, where our musician recently sought inspiration.

In their youth, Father Cyprian, heir to a powerful sovereign, and his younger brother were in military service in Naples. The future abbot led the most dissolute life, not missing a single beauty.

Once, on the street, some old gypsy woman suggested that he meet a lady not only the most beautiful, but also equal to the prince in origin. Antonio (that was his name then) considered the old woman to be an ordinary bawd. What was the astonishment of the prince when, a few days later, he met the old woman in the company of the most wonderful lady he had ever seen. The young lady's name was Angela Benzoni, she was born from an extramarital affair between two very noble persons and - the fruit of criminal love - was determined to live away from home, until special orders, under the supervision of her caring gypsy nurse, taken by the prince for a pimp. Angela reciprocated Antonio's feelings, and they were secretly married in the San Filippo Chapel. Revealing this secret and seeing the wife of his older brother, Prince Hector was inflamed with passion for her. Soon Antonio caught him in Angela's chambers. There was a stormy explanation; Antonio poured poison into Angela's glass, but he himself fell dead from Hector's dagger. Miraculously healed, Antonio made a vow to atone for his sin in the monastery. About that time, maestro Abraham appeared in Italy, under the guise of a magician Severin, looking for dear Chiara. The old gypsy woman handed him a miniature double portrait, where, between the images of Antonio and Angela, a written certificate of a double murder was kept. All of the above, as we see, also explains the trembling of Prince Hector at the moment when Kreisler showed him this irresistible weapon received from the hands of Maestro Abraham; and the influence enjoyed at the court of the prince by the adviser Bentzon, the mother of his illegitimate daughter; and her guesses that the old magician knows something important about her ... and much, much more.

Right now, when, it would seem, all the most important things in the story should happen, it suddenly breaks off. Unexpectedly - like the decision of Princess Hedwig to marry Hector, who is not dear to her. Unexpectedly - like the return of Kapellmeister Kreisler to the castle, his refusal to serve God and music for the sake of Julia's love. Unexpectedly - like Maestro Abraham's departure abroad, it looks like a new search for the "Invisible Girl" ...

Unexpectedly - like the death of Cat Murr, who was just entering the threshold of glory and even more amazing accomplishments.

M. K. Pozdnyaev

(Der zerbrochene Krug)

Comedy (1807)

The play takes place at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. in the Dutch village of Guizum, near Utrecht, in January. The place of action is the judgment room. Adam, the village judge, is sitting and bandaging his leg. Licht, the clerk, comes in and sees that Adam has bruises all over his face, a purple bruise under his eye, and a piece of meat has been pulled out of his cheek. Adam explains to him that in the morning, getting out of bed, he lost his balance, fell headlong into the stove and, in addition, sprained his leg. The clerk Licht informs him that a member of the court, councilor Walter, is coming to Guizum from Utrecht with an audit. He checks all the courts in the county. The day before, he visited the village of Hall, neighboring Guizum, and, after checking, dismissed the local judge and clerk from their posts. The judge was found early in the morning in a barn hanging from the rafters. He hanged himself after being placed under house arrest by Walter. However, somehow managed to bring him back to life. Advisor Walter's servant appears and announces that his master has arrived in Guizum and will soon appear in court.

Adam is alarmed and orders his clothes to be brought. It turns out that the wig is nowhere to be found. The maid states that the wig is currently at the hairdresser's, and the second one was already yesterday, when Judge Adam returned home at eleven o'clock in the evening, he was not on his head. The head was covered in abrasions, and the maid had to wipe the blood from it. Adam refutes her words, says that she mixed up that he returned home in a wig, and at night a cat pulled him out of his chair and nestled in him.

Walter enters and, after a greeting, expresses his desire to start legal proceedings. Adam leaves the hall for a while. The plaintiffs enter - Martha Rull and her daughter Eva, and with them Faith Tümpel, a peasant, and his son Ruprecht. Martha screams that her favorite jug has been broken and that she will make the offender Ruprecht pay for it. Ruprecht declares that his wedding with Eva will not happen, and calls her a dissolute girl. Returning and seeing all this company, Adam begins to worry and thinks to himself whether they will complain about him himself? Eva trembles and begs her mother to leave this terrible place as soon as possible. Adam says that the wound on his leg makes him sick and he cannot judge, but rather go and lie down in bed. Licht stops him and advises him to ask the adviser for permission. Then Adam quietly tries to find out from Eve why they came. When he finds out that only about the jug, he calms down a little. He persuades Eve not to say too much and threatens that otherwise her Ruprecht will go to the East Indies with the army and die there. Walter intervenes in their conversation and declares that it is impossible to conduct conversations with the parties, and demands a public interrogation. After much hesitation, Adam nevertheless decides to open the meeting.

The first to testify is the plaintiff - Martha. She states that Ruprecht broke the jug. Adam is quite happy with this, he declares the guy guilty, and the meeting is adjourned. Walter is extremely dissatisfied and asks to deal with all the formalities. Then Martha begins to tell in detail about the merits of this jug, about its history, which, in the end, drives everyone crazy. She then proceeds to describe the events of the previous evening. She says that at eleven o'clock she was about to turn off the night light, when suddenly she heard men's voices and noise from Eva's room. She was frightened, ran there and saw that the door to the room had been broken down and abuse was coming from it. Going inside, she saw that Ruprecht was breaking Eve's arms like a madman, and a broken jug was lying in the middle of the room. Martha called him to account, but he began to claim that the jug was broken by someone else, the one who had just escaped, and began to insult and vilify Eve. Then Marta asked her daughter who was really there, and Eva swore that only Ruprecht. At the trial, Eva says that she did not swear at all. The current situation begins to disturb Adam, and he again gives Eve his instructions. Walter stops them, expresses his dissatisfaction with the behavior of the judge and expresses his confidence that even if Adam himself broke the jug, he could not more diligently blame all suspicions on the young man.

It is Ruprecht's turn to testify. Adam delays this moment in every way, talks about his sick chicken, which he is going to treat with noodles and pills, which completely infuriates Walter. Ruprecht, having finally received the word, declares that there is not a word of truth in the accusation against him. Adam begins to divert everyone's attention from him, so that Walter already intends to put the clerk Licht in the judge's seat. Adam, frightened, gives Ruprecht the opportunity to continue his testimony. The young man says that in the evening, at about ten o'clock, he decided to go to Eva. In the courtyard of her house, he heard the creaking of the gate and was glad that Eve had not yet left. Suddenly he saw his girlfriend in the garden and someone else with her. He could not see him because of the darkness, but he thought that this was Lebrecht, the shoemaker, who had tried to recapture Eve from him back in the fall. Ruprecht crawled through the gate and hid in the hawthorn bushes, from where he heard chatter, whispers and jokes. Then they both went into the house. Ruprecht began to pound on the door, which was already bolted. Leaned in and knocked her out. It thundered, a jug flew from the eaves of the stove, and someone hastily jumped out the window. Ruprecht ran to the window and saw that the fugitive was still hanging from the bars of the stockade. Rupprecht hit him on the head with the door latch that was left in his hand, and decided to run after him, but he threw a handful of sand into his eyes and disappeared. Then Ruprecht returned to the house, scolded Eva, and a little later Martha entered the room with a lamp in her hand.

Eve should speak next. Before giving her the floor, Adam again intimidates her and convinces her not to say too much. To her mother's attacks about her debauchery, Eva assures everyone that she did not disgrace her honor, but that neither Lebrecht nor Ruprecht broke the jug. Adam begins to assure Walter that Eva is not capable of testifying, she is stupid and too young. Walter, on the contrary, analyzes the desire to get to the bottom of the truth in this matter. Eva swears that Ruprecht did not break the jug, but refuses to name the real culprit and hints at some other secret. Then Martha, resenting her daughter for her secrecy, begins to suspect her and Ruprecht of a more terrible crime. She suggests that on the eve of taking the military oath, Ruprecht, together with Eva, were going to flee, betraying their homeland. She asks to call Ruprecht's aunt Brigitte as a witness, who supposedly at ten o'clock, before the jug was broken, saw young people arguing in the garden. She is sure that her testimony will fundamentally refute the words of Ruprecht, who claims that he broke into Eva at eleven. Send for Brigid. Licht leaves. Adam invites Walter to freshen up a bit during the break, drink wine, and have a snack. Walter, suspecting something, begins interrogating Judge Adam in detail about where he hit. Adam still replies that at home about the stove. The wig, as he now claims, burned down when he dropped his glasses and bent low after them, touching the candle. Walter asks Martha if Eve's windows are high from the ground, Ruprecht asks whether he hit the fugitive in the head and how many times, Adam asks whether he often visits Martha's house. When both Adam and Martha answer that it's very rare, Walter is a bit confused.

Enter BRIGITTE, wig in hand, and Licht. Brigitte found the wig on the palisade of Martha Rull in front of the window where Eva sleeps. Walter asks Adam to confess everything and asks if the woman is holding his wig in her hand. Adam says that this is the wig that he gave Ruprecht eight days ago, so that Ruprecht, going to the city, would give it to the master Mel, and asks why Ruprecht did not do this. Ruprecht answers that he took it to the master.

Then Adam, furious, declares that it smells of treason and espionage. Brigitte, on the other hand, declares that Eva had Not Ruprecht in the garden, since the girl talked to her interlocutor as if she were an unwanted guest. Later, already closer to midnight, returning from the farm from her cousin, she saw how in the linden alley near Martha's garden, someone bald with a horse's hoof had grown in front of her and rushed past, he smelled of sulfur and tar smoke. She even thought it was the devil himself. Then, together with Licht, she traced where this footprint of a human foot, alternating with a horse's footprint, leads. He led straight to Judge Adam. Walter asks Adam to show his leg. He shows his healthy left leg, not his lame right one. Then an inconsistency emerges in the judge's words about where his wig went. He said one thing to Licht and another to Walter. Ruprecht guesses that yesterday the judge himself was with Eva, and attacks him with insults. Adam declares Ruprecht guilty and orders him to be imprisoned. Then Eve cannot stand such injustice and admits that yesterday Adam himself was with her and harassed her, threatening, if she did not agree, to send her fiancé to war. Adam runs away. Walter reassures Eva, convincing that Adam deceived her and that the soldiers are recruited only in the internal troops. Ruprecht, having learned that Eve was with Adam, ceases to be jealous and asks the bride for forgiveness, Faith offers to schedule a wedding for Trinity. Walther removes Adam from his post and appoints Licht, a clerk, to take his place. Martha, still not calmed down, asks her adviser where she can find a government in Utrecht in order to finally "get the truth about the jug."

E. V. Semina

(Prinz Friedrich von Homburg)

Arama (1810, publ. 1821)

In the center of the drama is the Battle of Fehrbellin (1675), which largely determined the fate of Germany.

Prince Friedrich Arthur of Homburg, a cavalry general, sits in a sleepy stupor under a tree in the castle garden at night and weaves a laurel wreath. Elector of Brandenburg, Friedrich Wilhelm; Elector, Princess Natalia of Orange and Count von Hohenzollern from the retinue of the Elector leave the castle and look at the prince from the balustrade. While the prince is half asleep, they decide to play a trick on him. The elector takes the wreath from the prince, wraps it around his neck with a chain and hands it to the princess. The prince rises, and the elector with the princess, who raises her wreath high, step back. Everyone goes up the stairs. The prince seems to be still asleep. The elector and the princess enter the castle and slam the door in front of him, but he manages to rip off the glove from Natalia's hand. The prince, in extreme surprise, looks at the door and at the glove, then, having gone downstairs, at the shout of Hohenzollern, he falls as if knocked down. The Hohenzollern speaks to the prince, and the prince slowly begins to realize where he is. He tells the count his dream, and the count, by agreement with the elector, does not let him know that everything that happened to him was in reality. The prince, however, does not remember what kind of girl was with the Elector, and is surprised that the glove has not disappeared after waking up.

The next morning, the Elector, Field Marshal Derfling, the Prince of Homburg with a glove behind a tunic and other officers gather in the castle hall. The Elector and Princess Natalia sit down to one side. The field marshal dictates to the officers the battle plan drawn up by the elector. Everyone except the prince is taking notes. The prince only pretends to write, he himself thinks about who owns the glove hidden behind his tunic. He soon figures out with the help of a trick that the glove belongs to Princess Natalia. By that time, it turns out that the field marshal has already finished dictating the order, and the prince realizes that he has listened to almost everything. The elector, in the order, especially emphasized that before his signal, no one should move the troops into a decisive offensive. The prince is still under the impression of his prophetic, as he believes, dream.

On the battlefield, seeing how a cannonball hits the elector and dies, the prince, seized with rage and a thirst for revenge, leads his troops on the offensive before the general signal and forces the Swedes to flee. His maneuver contributes to the victory over the enemy.

A little later, the elector, having learned about the death of her husband, mourns his death. Princess Natalia is trying to support the elector, but she herself is very upset, because she has long been an orphan, and now she has lost her last relative and patron. The Prince of Homburg, who arrived in time by this time, offers her his hand and heart and swears that he will forever be a support for her. Natalia accepts his proposal and becomes his bride.

Suddenly, the sergeant-major enters and reports that the elector is alive. Instead, one of the officers was killed, who exchanged a horse with the elector. Friedrich Wilhelm himself is currently in Berlin and orders to put on trial the one who, although he won the victory, but at the same time showed disobedience, violating the order and speaking ahead of schedule. He does not want random victories and believes that the guilty are worthy of execution.

The Prince arrives in Berlin, where he is arrested and taken to prison back in Fehrbellin. His friend Count von Hohenzollern enters the prince's dungeon and reports that the court has sentenced him to death. The prince is not at all disturbed by this news, since he does not believe that the elector, who has treated him like a son since childhood, will allow this sentence to be carried out. However, when he learns that the elector has already signed the court order, he loses his presence of mind, Hohenzollern leads the prince to the idea that he may have violated some plans of Friedrich Wilhelm. He suggests that the elector's discontent is caused by the unwillingness of Princess Natalia, who is engaged to the Prince of Homburg, to marry the Swedish King Charles, who makes this a condition for signing a peace treaty. Hohenzollern advises the prince to ask the elector for intercession, because the care of the prince, as of his own son, was bequeathed to her by his late mother. The prince leaves the prison on parole and goes to the elector and Natalia. The elector says that she has already asked for him before the elector, but to no avail. Then Natalia, having learned that, perhaps, she herself was to blame for the discontent of Friedrich Wilhelm, goes to her uncle to intercede for the Prince of Homburg. The elector advises him to arm himself with courage.

Natalia goes to the office of Frederick of Brandenburg, falls on her knees before him and begs to spare the prince. She describes the miserable condition of the once brave warrior Prince of Homburg, and says that he does not want to die and asks for mercy. The embarrassed Elector confesses that he believed that the prince agreed with the verdict of the court and was aware of his guilt. If this is not so, then he will never dare to go against the opinion of the prince and writes him a letter, where he says that if the prince does not approve of the verdict of the court, then let him write a confirmation of this and be free. Natalia takes the elector's message, thanks him in tears and agrees to hand over the envelope to the prince with her own hands.

An officer enters the room to the princess, who is also the chief of the dragoon regiment. He hands over a package with a petition from her entire regiment in defense of the prince and asks Natalia to add her signature to the others. The princess willingly does this. In addition to this, on behalf of the elector, he draws up an order instructing the commander of her dragoons, Colonel Kottwitz, to bring them from their quarters in Arnstein to Fehrbellin, closer to the rest of the army, and send a petition to all the regiments in order to increase the number of signatures and make it more significant.

After that, Natalia goes to prison to the Prince of Homburg with the good news that now his freedom is in his own hands. The prince carefully rereads the Elector's message and tries several times to write an answer. However, in the end he declares that he does not need mercy at the cost of bickering. Natalia kisses him and admits that such an answer is to her heart. She calls the officer who came with her and gives him the final order to inform Kottwitz that the regiment is waiting until night in Fehrbellin.

The next morning, the elector was surprised to find a regiment of dragoons under the command of Kottwitz in the square, which was supposed to be quartered in Arnstein. In addition to this, information reaches him that a meeting has been held in the town hall by the generals of Brandenburg. The field marshal says that the officers are drawing up a petition addressed to the elector in favor of the prince, but if he does not relent, they threaten to release the prince by force.

Officers enter with a petition, and Kottwitz informs the elector, surprised by his presence in the city, that the day before he received an order signed by Natalia and allegedly drawn up at the behest of Prince Friedrich. He swears that the prince knows nothing about the initiative of the officers, and also reveals that he justifies and supports the behavior of the prince during the battle.

Count von Hohenzollern enters and declares that the elector himself is to blame for the behavior of the prince, since, as a result of a night joke played on his initiative, the next morning the prince was absent-minded and listened to half of the order dictated by the field marshal. The Elector ponders over what his courtiers have told him. Meanwhile, the prince of Homburg, summoned by the elector, is brought in. He says that he is ready to accept death for disobedience, and asks to fulfill his last request: not to buy peace with Sweden at the cost of the hand of the princess. The elector promises to fulfill his request. The prince is taken back to prison.

Next, the prince is taken out of prison in full view of the courtiers and the elector. The latter gazes after the prince intently, then takes the death warrant and vomits him.

The Prince of Homburg is seated in the garden, as at the beginning of the drama, blindfolded. The bandage is removed from him, and he sees how the elector leads the princess, holding a laurel wreath, down the stairs. She lays a wreath on the prince and puts on a chain. The prince falls unconscious. He is roused by blank cannon shots. It seems to him that this is still his dream.

E. V. Semina

(Michael Kohlhaas)

Historical tale (1810)

The action dates back to the middle of the XNUMXth century, to the period of the Reformation. Michael Kohlhaas, the protagonist of the story, earns his living by breeding and selling horses. This is a simple and fair person, highly appreciating his honor and dignity.

One day he is heading to Leipzig and, crossing the border, he sees a barrier on the Saxon side near the knight's castle. He is surprised. He had already crossed the border seventeen times, but not once did a barrier block his way. It turns out that the old baron, the owner of the castle, has died and his successor Junker Wenzel von Tronka has come to take his place. It was he who introduced these innovations. Michael Kohlhaas pays the border fee and drives his herd to Saxon soil. However, when he approaches the barrier, a voice calls him from the castle tower and orders him to stop. The caretaker comes out of the castle and demands a pass from Michael, without which supposedly not a single horse-dealer can be allowed to cross the border. Juncker confirms the words of the caretaker and offers to go for a pass, and leave a pair of blacks in his stables as a pledge. Michael is outraged by such violence, but there is nothing left for him to do but leave his servant Gerze with the crows, go with the rest of the herd to Leipzig to the fair, and along the way, in Dresden, get a pass. In the Dresden town hall, he learns from familiar advisers that the story of the pass is pure fiction, and receives written confirmation of this. Having sold the herd, he returns to Tronkenburg a few days later to fetch his ravens. There he learns that his servant has been beaten and expelled from the castle. In the stable, instead of his well-groomed horses, he sees a pair of skinny, exhausted nags. Kohlhaas refuses to take the horses in this state and demands that his blacks be returned to him in the form in which he left them. Juncker leaves, slamming the door in his face. Kohlhaas leaves his horses where they are and rides off with the threat that he will get justice.

Arriving home, he learns that his servant Gerze returned all beaten up two weeks ago, but still has not recovered. Gerze informs Kohlhaas that his horses were mercilessly exploited, driven to unbearable arable work for them, instead of a stable they were transferred to a pigsty, and when Gerze led them to bathe outside the castle gate, the caretaker and the manager with servants flew at him, threw him off the horse into the mud, beaten half to death, took away the horses and drove out of the castle.

Michael Kohlhaas promises his servant that he will avenge him and achieve justice. He goes to Dresden to file a complaint with the court. With the help of a familiar lawyer, he draws up a lawsuit in which he describes in detail the violence committed by Junker Wenpel von Tronka, and demands that the perpetrator compensate him for the damage, and he himself suffers the deserved punishment. After endless delays that lasted for a year, he learns that his case was lost, because the junker found two relatives endowed with high power: Ginz and Kunz von Tronck, of whom one is a kravchim under the sovereign, and the other is a chamberlain.

Kohlhaas does not lose hope of achieving justice and personally conveys his complaint to the Elector of Brandenburg. He is very upset when he learns that the elector has forwarded it to his chancellor, Count Calheim, who is in the property with the house of Tronck. Kohlhaas again receives a refusal and an order to no longer disturb the higher authorities with his gossip and squabbles. Then, from a passerby, he learns that his blacks are still used in the Trockenburg for field work, along with other horses.

Then Kohlhaas invites the headman, his neighbor, who has long been planning to expand his land holdings, and offers him to buy all his property in Brandenburg and Saxony, with the exception of horses. The elder accepts his offer. The wife of Michael Kohlhaas is confused by his plans to seek recognition of his rights by illegal means. She offers him her help, wants to go to Berlin and petition the sovereign herself, because she believes that a woman is more likely to attract attention. This idea turns out to be even less successful than all the previous ones. Lisbeth returns with a dangerous chest wound. Obviously, she made her way to the sovereign with such persistence that she received a blow from a pike in the chest from one of the guards. A few days later, she dies in the arms of a grief-stricken Michael.

Returning home after the funeral, Kohlhaas draws up a letter in which he instructs the junker to deliver him his fattened ravens, then gathers his seven servants, arms them and goes to attack the castle. He sets the castle on fire, and arms the servants who are dissatisfied with their master and joins his detachment. Junker Wenzel himself manages to escape. For some time he hides in a monastery, where his aunt is the abbess. However, when Kohlhaas arrives at the monastery with a detachment, it turns out that Wenzel von Tronck again eluded him and headed for Wittenberg.

In Wittenberg, realizing that with his detachment of ten people he would not be able to cope with the whole city, Kohlhaas draws up an appeal in which he sets out everything that happened to him, and calls on every good Christian to take his side. His squad is growing, the number of supporters is also increasing. He avoids direct confrontation with the troops sent against him by the government and hides in the woods. From time to time he returns to the city and sets it on fire again and again. An even stronger than before detachment of 500 men under the command of the Prince of Meissen comes out to defend Wittenberg. The Junker, who had taken refuge in the city, was transported under guard to Leipzig.

Around Kohlhaas by that time there were already 300 people. He breaks the prince's squad. Gerze dies in this battle. Soon Kohlhaas approaches Leipzig and sets it on fire from three sides. Then Martin Luther undertakes to return Kohlhaas to the boundaries of "the order established by people." He sends out an appeal throughout the electorate, in which he calls him an apostate and a rebel. Kohlhaas, after reading this leaflet, signed by the most respected name of Martin Luther, orders the horse to be saddled and, under an assumed name, goes to the author of the message. In a conversation with Luther, Kohlhaas informs him that he only wants the legal punishment of Wenzel von Tronk and that he himself be compensated for the losses and return the horses in their original form. Martin Luther undertakes to intercede for him before the elector of Saxony. The next morning, he sends a message to the elector, in which he points out the unworthy actions of von Tronck's gentlemen, demands an amnesty for Michael Kohlhaas and the opportunity to continue the trial. The elector, having learned that the gang of the hawker has already grown to 400 people and the people are on his side, decides to follow the advice of Dr. Luther and allows Kohlhaas free passage to Dresden to review his case, provided that within three days he disbands the gang and surrenders weapons. If the court decides that his claim is legitimate, then he and his accomplices will be granted amnesty.

Kohlhaas arrives at his house in Dresden, and the Prince of Meissen immediately orders guards to be placed near him, supposedly to protect him from the people gathered around him. Unrest continues everywhere, but it is no longer the fault of Kohlhaas, Johann Nagelschmit, one of the members of the hawker's gang, with the remnants of his detachment, continues the work begun by Michael Kohlhaas, and hides behind his name. Enemies of Kohlhaas arrange a trap for the horse dealer, as a result of which he writes a letter to Nagelschmit and says that he allegedly wants to join him. The letter is intercepted by the prince's servants, and on the basis of this paper, the prince asks the emperor to conduct a strict investigation of Kohlhaas in Berlin. The court decides to return to Kohlhaas everything that was taken from him. His well-fed ravens are returned to him, the money left by Gerze in the castle when he was expelled, and Junker Wenzel is sentenced to two years in prison. Michael Kohlhaas is pleased with the result, but he has to answer with his death for disturbed peace in the country.

E. B. Semina

(Peter Schlemihis Wundersame Geschichte)

Roman (1814)

Germany, early XNUMXth century After a long voyage, Peter Schlemiel arrives in Hamburg with a letter of recommendation to Mr. Thomas John. Among the guests, he sees an amazing man in a gray tailcoat. Surprising because this man, one by one, takes out of his pocket objects that, it would seem, cannot fit in there - a telescope, a Turkish carpet, a tent, and even three riding horses. There is something inexplicably eerie about the pale face of the man in gray. Schlemil wants to hide unnoticed, but he catches up with him and makes a strange offer: he asks Schlemil to give up his shadow in exchange for any of the fabulous treasures - mandrake root, shifter pfennigs, self-collected tablecloth, Fortunato's magic purse. No matter how great Shlemil's fear, at the thought of wealth, he forgets about everything and chooses a magic wallet.

So Schlemil loses his shadow and immediately begins to regret his deed. It turns out that without a shadow it is impossible to appear on the street, because, "although gold is valued on earth much more than merit and virtue, the shadow is respected even more than gold." His main

??? ...???

But. The wedding has been played. Minna became Rascal's wife. Leaving his faithful servant, Shlemil mounted his horse and, under cover of night, moved away from the place where he "buried his life." Soon a stranger joins him on foot, who distracts him from his sad thoughts by talking about metaphysics. In the light of the coming morning, Schlemil sees with horror that his companion is a man in gray. He laughingly offers Shlemil to lend him his shadow for the journey, and Shlemil has to accept the offer, because people are coming towards him. Taking advantage of the fact that he is riding while the man in gray is walking, he tries to escape with the shadow, but she slips off the horse and returns to her rightful owner. The man in gray mockingly declares that now Shlemiel cannot get rid of him, because "such a rich man needs a shadow."

Shlemiel continues on his way. Everywhere honor and respect await him - after all, he is a rich man, and his shadow is beautiful. The man in gray is sure that sooner or later he will achieve his goal, but Schlemil knows that now that he has lost Minna forever, he will not sell his soul to "this trash."

In a deep cave in the mountains, a decisive explanation takes place between them. The Evil One again draws tempting pictures of the life that a rich man, of course, possessing a shadow, can lead, and Shlemil is torn "between temptation and strong will." He again refuses to sell his soul, drives away the man in gray. He replies that he is leaving, but if Shlemil needs to see him, then let him just shake his magic wallet. The man in gray is associated with the rich in close relationships, he provides them with services, but Schlemiel can return his shadow only by pawning his soul. Schlemiel remembers Thomas John and asks where he is now. The man in gray pulls Thomas John himself out of his pocket, pale and haggard. His blue lips whisper: "I was judged by the righteous judgment of God, I was condemned by the righteous judgment of God." Then Shlemil with a decisive movement throws the purse into the abyss and says: "I conjure you in the name of the Lord God, perish, evil spirit, and never again appear before my eyes." At the same instant, the man in gray gets up and disappears behind the rocks.

So Schlemil remains without a shadow and without money, but the burden falls from his soul. Wealth no longer attracts him. Avoiding people, he moves to the mountain mines to get a job underground. Boots wear out on the road, he has to buy new ones at the fair, and when, having put them on, he sets off again, he suddenly finds himself on the ocean, among the ice. He runs and after a few minutes he feels a terrible heat, sees rice fields, hears Chinese speech. Another step - he is in the depths of the forest, where he is surprised to find out that it becomes a concern to return the shadow. He sends Bendel's faithful servant to search for the culprit of his misfortune, and he returns saddened - no one can remember the man in the gray tailcoat with Mr. John. True, some stranger asks me to tell Mr. Schlemil that he is leaving and will see him exactly in a year and one day. Of course, this stranger is the man in gray. Shlemil is afraid of people and curses his wealth. The only one who knows about the cause of his grief is Bendel, who helps the owner as best he can, covering him with his shadow. In the end, Schlemil has to flee from Hamburg. He stops in a secluded town, where he is mistaken for a king traveling incognito, and where he meets the beautiful Minna, the daughter of a forester. He shows the greatest caution, never appears in the sun and leaves the house only for the sake of Minna, and she responds to his feelings "with all the ardor of an inexperienced young heart." But what can the love of a man without a shadow promise a good girl? Shlemil spends terrible hours in thought and tears, but he does not dare either to leave or to reveal his terrible secret to his beloved. There is a month left until the deadline set by the man in gray. Hope glimmers in Schlemil's soul, and he informs Minna's parents of his intention to ask for her hand in a month. But the fateful day comes, the hours of painful expectation drag on, midnight approaches, and no one appears. Shlemil falls asleep in tears, having lost his last hope.

The next day, his second servant Rascal takes the calculation, stating that "a decent person does not want to serve a master who has no shadow," the forester throws the same accusation in his face, and Minna confesses to her parents that she has long suspected this, and sobs at mother's breasts. Shlemil wanders through the forest in despair. Suddenly, someone grabs his sleeve. It's the man in gray. Shlemil miscalculated for one day. The Man in Gray reveals that Rascal betrayed Schlemil in order to marry Minna himself, and offers a new deal: in order to get the shadow back, Schlemil must give him his soul. He is already holding a piece of parchment at the ready and dipping his pen into the blood that has come out on Schlemil's palm. Schlemiel refuses, more out of personal disgust than morality, and the man in gray pulls his shadow out of his pocket, throws it at his feet, and it obediently, like his own, repeats his movements. To complete the temptation, the man in gray reminds that it is not too late to wrest Minna from the hands of the scoundrel, one stroke of the pen is enough. He relentlessly pursues Schlemil, and finally the fateful moment arrives. Schlemiel no longer thinks of himself. Save your beloved at the cost of your own soul! But when his hand is already reaching for the parchment, he suddenly falls into oblivion, and when he wakes up, he realizes that it is already too late. The wedding has been played. Minna became Rascal's wife. Leaving his faithful servant, Shlemil mounted his horse and, under cover of night, moved away from the place where he "buried his life." Soon a stranger joins him on foot, who distracts him from his sad thoughts by talking about metaphysics. In the light of the coming morning, Schlemil sees with horror that his companion is a man in gray. He laughingly offers Shlemil to lend him his shadow for the journey, and Shlemil has to accept the offer, because people are coming towards him. Taking advantage of the fact that he is riding while the man in gray is walking, he tries to escape with the shadow, but she slips off the horse and returns to her rightful owner. The man in gray mockingly declares that now Shlemiel cannot get rid of him, because "such a rich man needs a shadow."

Shlemiel continues on his way. Everywhere honor and respect await him - after all, he is a rich man, and his shadow is beautiful. The man in gray is sure that sooner or later he will achieve his goal, but Schlemil knows that now that he has lost Minna forever, he will not sell his soul to "this trash."

In a deep cave in the mountains, a decisive explanation takes place between them. The Evil One again draws enticing pictures of the life that a rich man, of course, possessing a shadow, can lead, and Shlemil is torn "between temptation and strong will." He again refuses to sell his soul, drives away the man in gray. He replies that he is leaving, but if Shlemil needs to see him, then let him just shake his magic wallet. The man in gray is associated with the rich in close relationships, he provides them with services, but Schlemiel can return his shadow only by pawning his soul. Schlemiel remembers Thomas John and asks where he is now. The man in gray pulls Thomas John himself out of his pocket, pale and haggard. His blue lips whisper: "I was judged by the righteous judgment of God, I was condemned by the righteous judgment of God." Then Shlemil with a decisive movement throws the purse into the abyss and says: "I conjure you in the name of the Lord God, perish, evil spirit, and never again appear before my eyes." At the same instant, the man in gray gets up and disappears behind the rocks.

So Schlemil remains without a shadow and without money, but the burden falls from his soul. Wealth no longer attracts him. Avoiding people, he moves to the mountain mines to get a job underground. Boots wear out on the road, he has to buy new ones at the fair, and when, having put them on, he sets off again, he suddenly finds himself on the ocean, among the ice. He runs and after a few minutes he feels a terrible heat, sees rice fields, hears Chinese speech. Another step - he is in the depths of the forest, where he is surprised to recognize plants that are found only in Southeast Asia. Finally Schlemil understands: he bought seven-league boots. A person who is inaccessible to the company of people is granted nature by the grace of heaven. From now on, the goal of Shlemil's life is the knowledge of its secrets. He chooses a cave in the Thebaid as a refuge, where the faithful poodle Figaro is always waiting for him, travels all over the earth, writes scientific works on geography and botany, and his seven-league boots do not know wear and tear. Describing his adventures in a message to a friend, he conjures him to always remember that "first of all, the shadow, and only then the money."

I. A. Moskvina-Tarkhanova

Poem (1843)

This poem by Heinrich Heine is about a bear named Atta Troll. The action begins in 1841 in the small resort town of Coteret in the Pyrenees, where the lyrical hero was resting with his wife Matilda, whom he affectionately calls Juliet. Their balcony overlooked the city square, and every day they could watch how two bears danced on a chain near a bear cub - Atta Troll and his wife Mumma.

But this did not last long. One fine day, the bear Atta Troll broke free from the chain and ran into the mountains, to the den of his cubs - four sons and two daughters. He told them about his acting life and how bad people are. Once Atta Troll brought his youngest son to the Stone of Blood - the ancient altar of the Druids, and there took from him an oath of eternal hatred for people.

But in the meantime, the lyrical hero is going on a bear hunt together with a certain Lascaro, the son of the witch Uraki, who actually died a long time ago, but the witch instilled the appearance of life into his dead body. Wandering for several days in the mountains, they reached the hut of Uraki, which stands on a steeper side, above the "Gorge of Spirits". Officially, it was believed that Uraka was engaged in the sale of mountain herbs and stuffed birds. There was a stench from the herbs in the shack, and the heads of dead birds on the walls terrified the lyrical hero. And at night, to get rid of this horror, he opened the window, because he wanted to get some fresh air. And what did he see?

It was a full moon, the night of St. John, when the spirits rush through the gorge to hunt. This picture was observed by the lyrical hero from the window. In the cavalcade, he saw three beauties: the hunting goddess Diana, the fairy of the North Abunda and the wife of King Herod Herodias with the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Herodias liked the lyrical hero the most, because, flying past him, she looked at him languidly and suddenly nodded. Three times the cavalcade flew past him through the gorge, and three times Herodias nodded to him. Know for a reason! And then the lyrical hero fell asleep on the straw, because the witch had no feather beds in the house.

The next morning, the lyrical hero, together with Lascaro, went for a walk in the valley, and while Lascaro studied the tracks of the bear, he himself was immersed in thoughts about the three beauties of the night. All day long they darted through the mountains like Argonauts without Argo. A terrible downpour began, and at night, tired and angry, they returned to Uraki's house. She, sitting by the fire, scratched the pug, but immediately stopped doing it, as soon as she saw the exhausted travelers. She undressed the lyrical hero and laid him to sleep on straw, and then she undressed her son Lascaro and laid him, half-naked, on her knees. A pug stood on its hind legs in front of her and held a pot of potion in its front paws. Uraka took fat from the pot and smeared her son's chest and ribs. And the lyrical hero was again frightened of the dead Lascaro, the smell of potions and stuffed birds hanging here and there on the walls. He fell asleep from fear. And he dreamed of a ball of bears and ghosts.

He woke up at noon. Uraka and Lascaro went hunting for a bear, and the lyrical hero was left alone in the hut with a fat pug. The pug stood on its hind legs by the hearth and cooked something in a pot, and then spoke to itself in the Swabian language. He told himself that in fact he was an unfortunate Swabian poet, enchanted by a witch. Hearing about this, the lyrical hero asked him how it could happen that the witch bewitched him. It turned out that while walking in the mountains, he accidentally ended up in a shack with a witch who immediately fell in love with him, and when she realized that he did not return her feelings because of his notorious Swabian morality, she immediately turned him into a pug. But it can be disenchanted if some virgin can read the poems of the Swabian poet Gustav Pfitzer alone on New Year's Eve and not fall asleep. The lyrical hero told the pug that it was impossible.

At the same time, when the lyrical hero was talking with a pug, Atta Troll was sleeping in his lair among the children. Suddenly he woke up, anticipating his imminent death, and told his children about it. Suddenly he heard the voice of his beloved wife Mumma and ran to her call. It was then that Lascaro, who had hidden not far away, shot him down. The fact is that the witch lured the bear out of the den, very skillfully imitating the grumbling of the bear, Thus Atta Troll died, and his last breath was about Mumma.

The body of the bear was dragged to the city hall, where the assistant to the mayor spoke. He told the audience about the problems of the sugar beet, and also praised the heroism of Lascaro, which made the dead Lascaro even blush and smile.

And the skin was removed from the bear, and once the wife of the lyrical hero Matilda, whom he affectionately calls Juliet, bought it. The hero himself often walks barefoot on the skin at night.

As for the she-bear Mumma, she now lives in the Paris Zoo, where she indulges in endless amorous pleasures with a hefty Siberian bear.

E. N. Lavinskaya

(Deutschland. Ein Wintermarchen)

Poem (1844)

The action of the poem takes place in the autumn - winter of 1843. This is a political poem. It is devoted mainly to eating omelettes with ham, geese, ducks, cod, oysters, oranges, etc. and drinking Rhein wine, as well as healthy sleep.

The lyrical hero of the poet leaves cheerful Paris and his beloved wife in order to make a short trip to his native Germany, which he misses very much, and to visit his old sick mother, whom he has not seen for thirteen years.

He entered his native land in a gloomy November sometimes and involuntarily shed a tear. He heard his native German speech. A little girl with a harp sang a mournful song about a mournful earthly life and heavenly bliss. The poet also suggests starting a new joyful song about heaven on earth, which will soon come, because there will be enough bread and sweet green peas for everyone and more love. He sings this joyful song because the life-giving juice of his native land has drunk his veins.

The little one continued to sing a heartfelt song in a false voice, while the customs officers dug into the poet's suitcases, looking for forbidden literature there. But in vain. He prefers to transport all forbidden literature in his brain. Arrives - then write. Outwitted the customs officers.

The first city he visited was Aachen, where the ashes of Charlemagne rest in an ancient cathedral. Spleen and blues reign on the streets of this city. The poet met the Prussian military and found that in thirteen years they had not changed at all - stupid and well-trained dummies. At the post office, he saw a familiar coat of arms with a hated eagle. For some reason he doesn't like the eagle.

Late in the evening the poet reached Cologne. There he ate an omelet with ham. Washed it down with rhine wine. After that, I went to wander around the night Cologne. He believes that this is a city of vile saints, priests who rotted in dungeons and burned the color of the German nation at the stake. But the matter was saved by Luther, who did not allow the completion of the disgusting Cologne Cathedral, but instead introduced Protestantism into Germany. And then the poet talked with the Rhine.

After that, he returned home and fell asleep like a child in a cradle. In France, he often dreamed of sleeping in Germany, because only native German beds are so soft, cozy, fluffy. They are equally good for dreaming and sleeping. He believes that the Germans, unlike the greedy French, Russians and British, are dreamy and naive.

The next morning the hero set off from Cologne to Hagen. The poet did not get into the stagecoach, and therefore had to use the mail coach. We arrived in Hagen at about three o'clock, and the poet immediately began to eat. He ate fresh lettuce, chestnuts in cabbage leaves and gravy, cod in oil, smoked herring, eggs, fatty cottage cheese, sausage in fat, blackbirds, a goose, and a suckling pig.

But as soon as he left Hagen, the poet immediately got hungry. Here a nimble Westphalian girl brought him a cup of steaming punch. He remembered the Westphalian feasts, his youth, and how often he ended up under the table at the end of the feast, where he spent the rest of the night.

Meanwhile, the carriage drove into the Teutoburg Forest, where the Cherusian prince German in 9 BC. e. dealt with the Romans. And if he had not done this, Latin morals would have been planted in Germany. Munich would have had its Vestal Virgins, the Swabians would have been called Quirites, and Birch-Pfeifer, a fashionable actress, would have drunk turpentine like noble Roman women, who had a very pleasant smell of urine from it. The poet is very glad that Herman defeated the Romans and all this did not happen.

The carriage broke down in the forest. The postman hurried to the village for help, and the poet was left alone in the night, and he was surrounded by wolves. They howled.

In the morning the carriage was repaired, and it dejectedly crawled on. At dusk we arrived at Minden, a formidable fortress. There the poet felt very uncomfortable. The corporal interrogated him, and inside the fortress it seemed to the poet that he was in prison. In the hotel, he didn’t even get a piece down his throat at dinner. So he went to bed hungry. Nightmares haunted him all night. The next morning, with relief, he got out of the fortress and set off on his further journey.

In the afternoon he arrived in Hanover, had lunch and went sightseeing. The city was very clean and sleek. There is a palace there. The king lives in it. In the evenings, he prepares an enema for his elderly dog.

At dusk, the poet arrived in Hamburg. Came to my home. His mother opened the door for him and beamed with happiness. She began to feed her son with fish, goose and oranges and ask him sensitive questions about his wife, France and politics. The poet answered everything evasively.

The year before, Hamburg had experienced a great fire and was now being rebuilt. It lost many streets. There was no house in which, in particular, the poet first kissed the girl. There was no printing house in which he printed his first works. There was no town hall, no senate, no stock exchange, but the bank survived. And a lot of people died too.

The poet went with the publisher Campe to the cellar of Lorenz to taste excellent oysters and drink rhine wine. Campe is a very good publisher, according to the poet, because a rare publisher treats his author with oysters and rhine wine. In the cellar, the poet got drunk and went for a walk through the streets. There he saw a beautiful woman with a red nose. She greeted him, and he asked her who she was and why she knew him. She replied that she was Gammonia, the patron goddess of the city of Hamburg. But he did not believe her and went after her to her attic. There they had a pleasant conversation for a long time, the goddess prepared tea with rum for the poet. He, lifting up the goddess's skirt and putting his hand on her loins, swore to be modest both in word and in print. The goddess blushed and carried complete nonsense, like the fact that the censor Hoffmann would soon cut off the poet's genitals. And then she hugged him.

About the further events of that night, the poet prefers to talk with the reader in a private conversation.

Thank God, the old prudes rot and gradually die. A generation of new people with a free mind and soul is growing. The poet believes that the youth will understand him, because his heart is immeasurably in love and immaculate, like a flame.

E. N. Lavinskaya

(Maria Magdalena)

Petty-bourgeois tragedy (1844)

The play takes place in a small German town in the first half of the last century. In the house of carpenter Anton, known for his diligence and frugality, there are two women, a mother and a daughter. They began the morning by trying on and discussing an old wedding dress, and ended by talking about illness and preparing for death. The mother has just recovered from a serious illness, for which she thanks God. She does not know any sins behind herself, but all the same, she must adequately dress up for the "heavenly crown" while she has time. She worries about her son Karl, who leaves for work earlier than everyone else, and comes home from work later than everyone else, but he doesn’t know how to save money and spend it properly, he always asks his mother. And she only has enough money for a modest household.

A mother goes to church to pray for her daughter, who is about to get married. Clara watches her mother through the window and guesses who will be the first to get in her way. Ominous dreams completely tortured Clara, she feels guilty before her parents. The first is a gravedigger, crawling out of a freshly dug grave.

At this time, her fiancé Leonhard comes to the girl, whom she saw for the last time two weeks ago, and this meeting turned out to be fatal for her. Then Friedrich returned to the town, Clara's first love, who was leaving to study as a "secretary". At one time, her mother forbade Clara to dream of Friedrich, and she got engaged to another, so as not to "stay up in the girls." Leonhard became jealous of Friedrich and, in order to drown out his old love, he tried to “tie his most precious treasure to himself,” which he did rather rudely. When Clara, feeling defiled, came home, she found her mother in a sudden attack of a fatal illness. Now the girl knows that she "cannot live in this world" if Leonhard does not urgently marry her so that no one finds out about her sin. But the father, according to his principles, will give his daughter to someone who not only loves her, but also "has bread in the house." Leonhard reassures Clara, he came to ask for her hand, as he had just received, by hook or by crook, the enviable position of treasurer, which means that he will be able to feed his wife. He boasts to the bride how deftly and shamelessly, having pushed away and deceived another, more worthy, he achieved this place. Straightforward Clara does not hide her indignation, but from now on she is "chained" to this man by the morality of respectable burghers. But Clara does not know all the true motives for the arrival of the groom. Leonhard heard that master Anton had invested a lot of money in the business of his former master and teacher, and he went bankrupt and died, leaving behind a large family. Leonhard needs to find out if "the money has really flown away", whether Clara is becoming a dowry.

The father already knows about the new service of the groom and shows complete frankness in the presentation of his financial affairs, checking him. Master Anton realized long ago that he had lost his money, but he made a decision for himself not to collect them from the sick old man, who taught him a good craft free of charge. At the funeral, the master tore up the IOU and imperceptibly put it into the coffin - let him "sleep peacefully." The shocked Leonhard nevertheless shows his complete readiness to marry without a dowry, and the honest master holds out his hand to him.

Meanwhile, the whole family gathers in the house, with the exception of Carl. His father is always unhappy with him, especially if he plays cards somewhere with hard-earned money. Mother, as usual, stands up for her son. And Leonhard, having fenced himself off from everyone with a newspaper, is feverishly thinking how not to make a fool out of his marriage. Suddenly, bailiffs appear in the house, announcing that Karl has been imprisoned on charges of stealing jewelry from a merchant's house. The mother drops dead. Taking advantage of the commotion, Leonhard runs away. Only master Anton can hardly keep his composure. He is waiting for new blows of fate. And here is a letter with a courier from the daughter's fiancé - with a break in the engagement. The father advises his daughter to forget the "scoundrel", but, noticing her despair, begins to suspect something was wrong. He makes the daughter swear at her mother's coffin that she is "the way she should be." Hardly in control of herself, Clara swears that she will never dishonor her father.

The master curses the criminal son, vilifies the whole world and himself. He is sure that in the eyes of "all honest people" he now looks like a loser and a deceiver. The master is afraid to look into the future, but he hopes that his daughter will become a woman worthy of her mother, then people will forgive him for his son who has gone astray. If not, if people point fingers at Clara, she should know that her father will commit suicide, he will not be able to live in a world where "people just out of pity do not spit in his direction." The daughter, no worse than her father, knows the customs of her environment and is also defenseless before her. Therefore, she is tormented by transgressing her laws. Clara herself is ready to die, if only her father would live the entire period allotted to him by God.

In the absence of her father, Clara suddenly learns that her brother was accused by mistake, he is released. The first thought of the unfortunate - now the sin lies on her alone.

Then the secretary Friedrich comes to the house, still yearning for his girlfriend. He does not understand that he can connect her with a very unenviable groom. And she rushes to Leonhard, there is no other way, "he or death." The stunned secretary tries to restrain her. Then Clara opens her heart to him, because she did not stop loving Friedrich all these years, but now she must bind herself to another. Inspired by her confession, the secretary immediately asks Clara to become his wife, the rest will be settled. When the ingenuous girl confesses her sin to him, he, retreating, says that he will not be able to cross "through this". With determination to settle accounts with the scoundrel for the honor of Clara, the secretary leaves.

Spurred on by a faint hope, Clara goes to Leonhard. By all means, she must become his wife, so as not to bring her father to the grave. Although marriage to Leonhard is a grief for her, so may God help her in this; if not in happiness, then at least in grief, if fate so commands.

Leonhard is already preparing approaches for marrying the burgomaster's daughter. He feels sorry for Clara, but everyone has to "bear their own cross". He does not expect the arrival of the girl. Clara returns his letter to him, because his brother is justified, and there are no obstacles to marriage. She begs him to marry, otherwise the father will find out about the dishonor of his daughter and kill himself. Here Leonhard asks her a terrible question - can she swear that she loves him the way "a girl should love a man who will forever tie the knot with her?" As an honest and very direct person, Clara cannot give him such an oath. But she swears to him something else, that, whether she loves him or not, he will not feel this, for he will find in her complete sacrifice and obedience. Clara promises that she will not live long, and if he wants to get rid of her earlier, he can buy her poison, she will drink it herself and make sure that the neighbors do not guess anything.

Clara's impassioned entreaty is met with a cold refusal. This is followed by condescending exhortations, accusations against the father, who gave away the dowry to his daughter. Clara no longer wants to listen to this. She thanks Leonhard for allowing her to look into his soul - to "the very bottom of the underworld", now she can die in peace. Clara made a decision and on the same day she "leaves this world".

Friedrich rushes in to Aeongard, who is in complete indecision, with two pistols - to fight for the honor of Clara. The villain dies in a duel.

Released from prison, Karl comes home and shares his dream with his sister. He wants to go to sea from these philistine everyday life, where he is only allowed to "knock, saw, nail, eat, drink and sleep." Clara is glad for her brother, but she is preparing to die and turns to God with the words: "... I am coming to you, only to save my father!" She throws herself into the well, hoping that people will mistake it for an accident. But one girl saw Clara jump herself. The father, who learned about this, perceives the act of his daughter as his shame. Frederick, who has vainly avenged Clara, explains to him the reasons for his daughter's suicide. He does not relent, because the daughter who sinned was not able to hide her sin and protect her father from condemning rumors. Immersed in his thoughts, he says: "I can no longer understand this world!"

A. V. Dyakonova

(Agnes Bernauer)

Drama (1851, publ. 1855)

The action takes place between 1420 and 1430. The population of the free city of Augsburg is looking forward to the knightly tournament, in which Duke Albrecht of Bavaria himself, the son of the ruler of Munich, Ernst of Bavaria, takes part. Everyone strives to get to this spectacle, they take their places in advance. Agnes, the daughter of the famous barber and doctor Kaspar Bernauer in the city, is going to the tournament without any desire.

She had already visited one of her friends, who was sent by her confessor to apologize for the stupid gossip about Agnes. But the girlfriend does not want to apologize, "it's better with her knees on the peas", because the attention of all the knights will belong only to the barber's daughter. At the same time, everyone knows that Agnes always keeps her eyes downcast, like a "nun" or a "saint" - yes, "not really." It is clear that every guy wants such a girl "to take away from the Lord from under his nose." Agnes is not in the mood to spoil the holiday for her friends, but her father insists: don't "go over the rosary" while sitting at home. Kaspar stays, preparing to receive all the crippled after the tournament, they are still being carried to him.

Agnes goes to the tournament accompanied by her godparents. There, Duke Albrecht sees her and falls in love at first sight. Invited by the burgomaster to the evening celebration, he drained the goblet in honor of the city, where "such a star shines, such beauty." He had already forgotten that he ordered his three faithful knights to go in pursuit of the kidnapper of his bride, the Countess of Württemberg, in order to demand a large ransom from the father of the bride. The knights guess that their master abandons his plan because of the one who, according to rumors, has driven half the city crazy with her beauty, she is called the "Augsburg Angel".

A lot of nobility and city artisans gather at the festival. Albrecht forces his knights to find a girl whose face is framed by golden curls. Agnes appears, accompanied by her father, and in response to the duke's refined and pompous address to her, she resourcefully remarks to her father that the duke has prepared a speech for his bride, and here he is rehearsing it, referring to the barber's daughter. The Duke manages to exchange a few words with the girl in the absence of her father. He caught her eye at the tournament and she can't deny that she was worried about him.

A few minutes later, Albrecht already declares his love to Agnes and asks for her hand in Kaspar. He reminds the duke that fifty years ago, for the mere appearance of a tournament, a girl would have been whipped as the daughter of a man from the lower class. The situation has changed, but the class gap exists. The duke assures that in another fifty years every angel like Agnes "will be honored with a throne on earth", and he himself is the first to set an example. Kaspar takes away his exhausted daughter.

In the morning, the knights discuss a situation that, for a three-part Bavaria, could turn into a serious political problem. Albrecht is the only heir to Duke Ernst (on the side branch, however, he has a nephew, but young and sickly). Children from the marriage between Albrecht and Agnes, by their origin, will not be able to claim the throne. Discord and a new division of the country will become inevitable. The knights remind Albrecht of his father, for whom the state dynastic interests are above all, he can deprive his son of the throne. But the duke can no longer be stopped.

Realizing that his daughter loves the duke, Kaspar does not object to marriage, he counts on the prudence of Agnes and the nobility of Albrecht. Agnes wants to make sure that Albrecht will be happy with her, even if Duke Ernst curses him. But Albrecht is already happy, he "looked" into the eyes and heart of Agnes. The three knights of Albrecht also swear eternal allegiance. However, they, like Agnes, do not leave bad premonitions.

They find a priest ready to marry the couple. The wedding takes place that same evening in a small chapel, secretly. The next morning, the Duke takes Agnes away to his castle in Voburg, given to him by his dead mother.

And in Munich Castle, Duke Ernst bitterly recalls the former greatness of his country, lost by the madness of some Bavarian princes. Ernst found out about the flight of his son's bride and had already calculated which of the mortgaged cities he could redeem with the money that the bride's father would pay as a ransom. He heard rumors about the events in Augsburg, so he, without taking it seriously, immediately engaged his son to "the most beautiful bride in Germany", Anna of Brunswick. Consent has already been received, and the duke is very pleased with this alliance, beneficial to Bavaria, which will put an end to bloody strife. When Chancellor Preising reports to him about his son's "secret engagement", he condescendingly remarks that "whether willingly or not, right away or not right away," the son will agree with his father. Ernst sends Preising to Albrecht to announce his decision and invite him to a tournament in Regensburg, where his engagement to Anna will be publicly announced.

The happy lovers accidentally find the jewels of Albrecht's mother in their castle. Against Agnes' wishes, the son puts on her a golden diadem - she looks like a real queen in it! But Agnes is embarrassed and ashamed, because she appeared here uninvited and feels like a "spot" on their master in the eyes of the old servants.

Preising tells Albrecht about the significance of the marriage alliance with Princess Anna. The duke himself knows this, as well as the fact that his father's plans cannot be destroyed, so as not to immediately "alarm half the world." He considers himself entitled, like any mortal, to choose a girlfriend himself. Preising remarks that whoever rules over millions of people "one day" must make a sacrifice to them. But for Albrecht, "once" is "every hour", he does not want to give up happiness.

Albrecht goes to the tournament, reassuring Agnes that only death can separate them. Before the tournament, the father once again asks his son whether to order the engagement to Anna to be announced. Albrecht refuses, noticing to his father that he was in vain kneeling before him. He publicly announces that he has tied the knot with "the pure and kind daughter of a citizen of Augsburg." In response, Duke Ernst loudly announces that he is depriving his son of the crown and ducal mantle, which he left "at the altar", and declares the young Adolf as heir to the throne.

Three and a half years pass. Adolf's parents die. And now the funeral bell sounds for the prince himself. The servant informs Preising that the city is blaming "the witch from Augsburg" for everything. The Chancellor understands that hard times have come. He falls into the hands of a document prepared immediately after the tournament in Regensburg by three judges. It says that Agnes, guilty of entering into an "anti-conditional" marriage, in order to avoid the gravest troubles, "is worthy of execution." Ernst's signature is missing. The Duke discusses this document with the Chancellor. Both understand that if the order of inheritance is violated, then sooner or later an internecine war is coming. Thousands of people will die, the people will curse the duke and the very memory of him. The Chancellor is looking for ways out. But the duke calculated everything, not excluding suicide attempts by his son, and a possible attempt to raise a sword against his father. Both feel - it's terrible that "a beautiful and virtuous woman" should die. But there is no way out, "the Lord wants it this way, and not otherwise." The Duke signs the document...

Albrecht leaves for another tournament. Upon learning of the death of the heir, he hopes that his father now has an "honorable way to retreat", and cheerfully says goodbye to his wife. She is tormented by vague forebodings.

In the absence of Albrecht, Ernst's numerically superior warriors managed to defeat the castle guards. Agnes, surrounded by frustrated servants, is taken by force to prison. Preising comes to her, who is trying to save the unfortunate. He convinces Agnes to abandon Albrecht and "take a vow", otherwise death, which is waiting outside the cell, "knocks on the door." Agnes is afraid of death, but she considers the refusal of her husband to be a betrayal. Albrecht prefers to "mourn the deceased" - and Agnes goes to her death, confident in her rightness. The executioner refused to carry out the execution, and by order of the judge, one of the servants pushes Agnes off the bridge into the waters of the Danube.

Burning villages burned by Albrecht, who fights with his father's soldiers, avenging the death of Agnes. His knights bring the captured Ernst and Preising. Ernst replies to all the accusations of his son that he did his duty. Albrecht orders not to touch his father, because Agnes is gone, and he has no one else to kill. Albrecht himself is already enticing the soldiers to burn down Munich. He is stopped by the words of his father, that even then the Bavarians will definitely curse the name of Agnes, but they could even mourn. The father begs his son to look into his own soul, admit his sin and atone for his guilt. And Agnes will be publicly recognized as his wife and "the purest of sacrifices ever made on the altar of necessity."

Terrible are Albrecht's last hesitation. But still he accepts the duke's baton from the hands of his father. Duke Ernst goes to the monastery.

A. V. Dyakonova

(Dantons Tod)

Drama (1835)

Georges Danton and Herault-Sechelle, his colleague in the National Convention, play cards with the ladies, among them Julie, Danton's wife. Danton apathetically talks about women, their charm and deceit, about the impossibility of knowing and understanding each other. To the soothing words of Julie Danton melancholy remarks that he loves her, as they love the "grave", where you can find peace. Ero flirts with one of the ladies.

Friends come, other deputies of the Convention. Camille Desmoulins immediately engages everyone in a conversation about "guillotine romance." In its second year, the revolution demands daily new sacrifices. Herault believes that with the revolution it is necessary to "end" and "begin" the republic. Everyone has the right to enjoy life as best they can, but not at the expense of others. Camille is sure that state power should be open to the people, a "transparent chiton" on his body. Knowing Danton's magnificent oratorical gift, he urges him to launch the attack by speaking at the Convention in defense of true freedom and human rights. Danton does not seem to refuse, but does not show the slightest enthusiasm, because until this moment one still needs to "survive". He leaves, showing everyone how tired of politics.

??? ...???

hall a storm of applause, the meeting is postponed. It is not in the interests of judges to hear that it was Danton who declared war on the monarchy in his time, that his voice "forged weapons for the people from the gold of aristocrats and the rich." Then Danton appeals to the people, demanding the creation of a commission to accuse those because of whom freedom "walks over the corpses." Prisoners are taken out of the hall by force.

A crowd hums in the square in front of the Palace of Justice. There is no unanimity in the cries and exclamations, some for Danton, others for Robespierre.

The last hours in the cell. Camille longs for his wife Lucille, who stands in front of the cell window and sings. He is afraid of death, suffers from the fact that his wife is going crazy. Danton, as usual, is ironic and mocking. It is bitter for everyone to recognize themselves as "pigs" beaten to death with sticks, so that "at the royal feasts it would be tastier."

At the moment when the convicts are taken out of the cell, Julie takes poison in her and Danton's house. Singing "La Marseillaise" convicts are taken in wagons to the Revolution Square to the guillotine. From the crowd, mocking cries of women with hungry children in their arms are heard. The convicts say goodbye to each other. The executioners take them away. Its end.

Lucille appears at the guillotine, singing a song about death. She seeks death in order to unite with her husband. A patrol approaches her, and in a sudden insight, Lucille exclaims: "Long live the king!" "In the name of the Republic" the woman is arrested.

A. V. Dyakonova

(Vor Sonnenaufgang)

Drama (1889)

The action takes place in contemporary Silesia.

Alfred Lot appears at the Krause estate, he would like to see Mr. Engineer. Frau Krause, a noisy peasant woman, appreciating the stranger's modest appearance and rustic clothes, takes him for a petitioner and drives him away. Hoffmann reasoned with his mother-in-law, he recognizes in the arrival of a friend of the gymnasium, whom he had not seen for ten years. He is glad to meet, with pleasure indulges in memories of the past. What naive idealists they were, they reveled in lofty thoughts about the reorganization of the world, universal brotherhood. And these ridiculous plans to go to America, buy land and organize a small colony there, where life would be based on other principles. Hoffmann and Lot remember the friends of their youth, their destinies turned out differently, others are no longer in the world. Looking around the situation at home, Lot notices a combination of modernity and peasant taste, everything here speaks of prosperity. Hoffmann has a well-groomed appearance, he is beautifully dressed and is clearly pleased with himself and life.

Lot tells about himself: he was innocently convicted, attributing participation in illegal political activities, he spent two years in prison, where he wrote his first book on economic problems, then moved to America, now works in a newspaper.

In essence, it was a good time, recalls Hoffman, and how much communication with friends gave him, he owes them in many respects to the breadth of views, freedom from prejudice. But let everything in the world go its natural way, there is no need to try to break through the wall with your forehead. Hoffmann calls himself a supporter of practical actions, and not abstract theories that have nothing to do with reality. Of course, he sympathizes with the poor, but the change in their fate must come from above.

Hoffmann is full of complacency - he is now a man with a position, successfully engaged in entrepreneurship. He lives on his father-in-law's estate because a pregnant wife needs a calm environment and clean air. Lot has already heard about the grand scam when Hoffmann managed to get the exclusive right to all the coal mined in the mines. In response to Lot's request for money, Hoffmann hands him a check for two hundred marks; he is always ready to render a service to an old friend.

Lot meets Hoffmann's sister-in-law Elena. The girl does not consider it necessary to hide from her guest how much she hates this village and this house. The coal found here in an instant turned poor peasants into rich people. This is how her family got her fortune. And these miners are sullen, bitter people who cause fear. Lot admits that he came precisely for their sake - it is necessary to find and eliminate the reasons that make these people so gloomy and embittered.

Dinner amazes Lot with the richness of the table setting and the sophistication of dishes and drinks. Overdressed Frau Krause in silk and expensive jewelry does not miss the opportunity to boast that they will not stand up for the price for the sake of chic. The son of the neighbors, Frau Krause's nephew Wilhelm Kaal, an empty and stupid young man, who hunts larks and pigeons from idleness, is invited to dinner. He is considered Elena's fiancé, but she cannot stand him. Everyone is amazed that Lot refuses alcohol, he is a convinced teetotaler, talks a lot and at length about the dangers of alcohol and the perniciousness of drunkenness, not noticing the confusion of those gathered at the table.

In the morning, a drunken Krause returns from the tavern, unambiguously pestering his daughter. Elena barely manages to escape. She strives to communicate with Lot, who seems to her an amazing, unusual person. Life here is miserable, no food for thought, she explains to the guest. Her only consolation is books, but Lot scolds her beloved "Werther", calling him a stupid book for weak people, gets from him and Ibsen from Zola, whom he calls "necessary evil". And in the rural wilderness there is a lot of charm. Lot never aspired to personal well-being, his goal is the struggle for the good of progress, poverty and disease, slavery and meanness must disappear, these ridiculous social relations must be changed. Elena listens to him with bated breath, such speeches amaze her, but they find a response in her soul.

Frau Krause, acting as a champion of morality, intends to drive away the worker who spent the night with the coachman. Elena comes to her defense, accusing her stepmother of hypocrisy - as a rule, Kaal leaves her bedroom only in the morning.

Hoffmann is talking to Dr. Schimmelpfenning, who paid a visit to his wife. He fears for the life of the future, the child after the loss of the firstborn. The doctor advises him to immediately separate the baby from his mother, he must live separately from her, and education can be entrusted to his sister-in-law. Hoffmann agrees, he has already bought a suitable house.

Elena is on the verge of hysteria. The father is a drunkard, a lustful animal. A stepmother is a harlot, a procuress who mediates between her lover and her. It is impossible to endure these abominations any longer, it is necessary to run away from home or commit suicide. She cannot console herself with vodka, like her sister. Hoffmann gently persuades the girl, it seems that there is a close relationship between them. Both of them are not suitable for this peasant environment, Hoffmann insists, they are made for each other. Soon they will live separately, she will replace the child's mother. In the fact that Elena does not react to the prospects outlined by him, Hoffmann sees the corrupting influence of Lot and calls to beware of him, he is a dreamer, a master of clouding the brain. And in general, the very communication with such a person compromises.

Hoffmann tries to discredit Lot in Helen's eyes by asking about his fiancee. Lot explains that the engagement broke down when he went to prison. In general, he is probably not suitable for family life, since he seeks to give himself entirely to the struggle. Lot states the reason for his arrival - he intends to study the situation of the local miners. He asks Hoffmann for permission to inspect the mines in order to get acquainted with the production. He is indignant: why undermine the foundations in a place where one of your friends found happiness and stood firmly on his feet? He agrees to pay all travel expenses and even provide material support in the election campaign of the party to which Lot belongs. But he firmly stands his ground, friends quarrel, and Lot tears up the cash check previously drawn by Hoffmann.

A quarter of an hour later, Hoffmann apologizes for his temper and begs Lot to stay. Elena is afraid that Lot, without whom she can no longer imagine her future existence, will leave, she confesses her love to him. It seems to Lot that he has finally found the one he has been looking for all these years. He is surprised by some oddities in Elena's behavior, but she is simply afraid that when he finds out the truth about their family, he will push her away, drive her away.

Hoffmann's wife goes into labor. Lot is talking to a doctor who is in the house about this. Schimmelpfenning is another of his former friends, who also betrayed himself, deviated from the principles that they professed in their youth. Returning, according to him, to the mousetrap, he makes money. He dreams, having achieved material independence, to finally do scientific work. And the situation here is terrible - drunkenness, gluttony, incest and, as a result, widespread degeneration. He wonders how Lot lived these years. Didn't you marry? I remember he dreamed of a kind of vigorous woman with healthy blood in her veins. Having learned that Lot has fallen in love with Helen and intends to marry her, the doctor considers it his duty to clarify the situation to him. This is a family of alcoholics, the three-year-old son of Hoffmann also died from alcoholism. His wife drinks until she passes out. The head of the family does not get out of the tavern at all. It’s a pity, of course, for Elena, she feels sick in this atmosphere, but after all, Lot always considered it important to give birth to physically and spiritually healthy offspring, and here hereditary defects may appear. Yes, and Hoffmann ruined the girl's reputation.

Lot decides to immediately leave the house, move to the doctor. He leaves Elena a farewell letter. Hoffmann can be calm, tomorrow Lot will be far from these places.

The house is in turmoil, the child was born dead. After reading the letter, Elena becomes desperate, she grabs a hunting knife hanging on the wall and takes her own life. At the same time, a song is heard sung by a drunken father returning home.

L. M. Burmistrova

Drama (1892)

The plot of the drama was based on a historical event - the uprising of the Silesian weavers in 1844.

House of Dreisiger, the owner of the paper factory in Peterswaldau. In a special room, the weavers hand over the finished fabric, the receiver Pfeifer exercises control, and the cashier Neiman counts the money. Poorly dressed, gloomy, emaciated weavers quietly grumble - and so they pay pennies, they still strive to knock off money for an allegedly discovered marriage, but they themselves supply a bad foundation. There is nothing to eat at home, you have to work hard at the machine in the dust and stuffiness from early morning until late at night, and still not make ends meet. Only the young handsome Becker dares to express his displeasure aloud and even enter into an argument with the owner himself. Dreisiger is furious: this impudent drunkard from that crowd who bawled a vile song near his house the night before, the manufacturer immediately gives the weaver a settlement and throws him money so that several coins fall on the floor. Becker is persistent and demanding, at the order of the owner, the boy-student picks up the crumbled trifle and hands it over to the weaver.

The boy standing in line falls, he has a hungry faint. Dreisiger is outraged by the cruelty of parents who sent a weak child with a heavy burden on a long journey. He instructs employees not to accept goods from children, otherwise if, God forbid, what happens, he will, of course, become the scapegoat. The owner talks for a long time about the fact that only thanks to him the weavers can earn a piece of bread for themselves, he could wind up the business, then they would know how much a pound is worth. Instead, he is ready to provide work for another two hundred weavers, the conditions can be obtained from Pfeifer. It turns out that prices for finished products will be even lower. The weavers are quietly indignant.

The Baumert family rents a little room in the house of a landless peasant, Wilhelm Anzorge. A former weaver, he lost his job and is engaged in weaving baskets. Anzorge let the tenants in, but they haven't paid for six months now. Look, the shopkeeper will take away his house for debts. Baumert's sick wife, daughters, feeble-minded son do not leave the looms. A neighbor, Frau Heinrich, who has nine hungry children at home, comes in to ask for a handful of flour, or at least potato peels. But the Baumerts do not have a crumb, all hope is that the father, who has carried the goods to the manufacturer, will receive money and buy something from food. Robert Baumert returns with a guest, retired soldier Moritz Jaeger, who once lived next door. Having learned about the need and ordeal of fellow villagers, Yeger is surprised; in the cities to dogs - and the better it is. Didn't they intimidate him with a soldier's share, but he was not at all bad in the soldiers, he served as a batman with a hussar captain.

And now the roast from the stray dog ​​is already hissing in the pan, Jaeger puts out a bottle of vodka. Talk about a hopelessly difficult existence continues. In the old days, everything was different, the manufacturers themselves lived and let the weavers live, but now everyone is raking in. Here is Jaeger - a man who has seen a lot of things, knows how to read and write, would stand up for the weavers before the owner. He promises to arrange a holiday for Dreisiger, he has already agreed with Becker and his friends to perform once again under his windows that same song - "Bloodbath". He sings it, and the words, where despair, pain, anger, hatred, a thirst for revenge sound, penetrate deep into the souls of the audience.

Tavern Scholz Welzel. The owner wonders why there is such a revival in the village, the carpenter Wiegand explains: today is the day of the delivery of goods from Dreisiger, and besides, the funeral of one of the weavers. A visiting salesman wonders what a strange custom is here - getting deep into debt, arranging a magnificent funeral. The weavers gathered in the tavern scold the gentlemen of the landowners, who do not allow even picking up chips in the forest, the peasants, who charge incredible rents, the government, which does not want to notice the complete impoverishment of the people. Jaeger and Becker tumble in with a company of young weavers, bully the gendarme Kutshe, who has come to have a glass of vodka. The law enforcement officer warns: the chief of police forbids singing an inflammatory song. But the dispersed youth, in spite of him, drags out the "Bloodbath".

Dreisiger's apartment. The owner apologizes to the guests for being late, business was delayed. The rebellious song sounds again at the house. Pastor Kittelgauz looks out the window and is indignant: it would be nice if the young buzoters gathered, but after all, with them are old, respectable weavers, people whom for many years he considered worthy and God-fearing. The home teacher of the sons of the manufacturer - Weingold stands up for the weavers, these are hungry, dark people, they just express their dissatisfaction in the way they understand. Dreisiger threatens to immediately count the teacher and instructs the dyers to seize the head leader. Arriving police chief is presented with a detainee - this is Jaeger. He behaves impudently, showering those present with ridicule. The enraged police chief intends to personally escort him to prison, but it soon becomes known that the crowd beat off the arrested man, and the gendarmes were beaten.

Dreisiger is beside himself: before, the weavers were meek, patient, and succumbed to exhortations. It was they who were embarrassed by the so-called preachers of humanism, who told the workers that they were in a terrible situation. The coachman reports that he has harnessed the horses, the boys and the teacher are already in the carriage, if things turn out badly, you need to get out of here as soon as possible. Pastor Kittelgauz volunteers to speak to the crowd, but is treated rather disrespectfully. There is a knock on the door, the sound of broken window panes. Dreisiger sends his wife to the carriage, while he hurriedly collects papers and valuables. The mob breaks into the house and causes a pogrom.

Weaving workshop of the old man Gilze in Bilau. The whole family is at work. The junkman Gornig reports the news: weavers from Peterswaldau drove the manufacturer Dreisiger and his family out of the lair, smashed his house, dyers, warehouses. And all because the owner completely went too far, he told the weavers - let them eat the quinoa if they are hungry. Old Gilse does not believe that the weavers dared to do such a thing. His granddaughter, who had brought skeins of yarn to Dreisiger, returns with a silver spoon, claiming to have found it near the factory owner's ruined house. It is necessary to take the spoon to the police, Gilze believes, his wife is against it - you can live for several weeks on the money earned for it. The animated doctor Schmidt appears. One and a half thousand people are sent here from Peterswaldau. And what demon beguiled these people? They started a revolution, you see. He advises the local weavers not to lose their heads, the troops are following the rebels. The weavers are excited - tired of eternal fear and eternal mockery of themselves!

The crowd smashes the Dietrich factory. Finally, the dream came true - to break the mechanical machines that ruined the weavers working by hand. Troops arrive. Jaeger urges his associates not to drift, but to fight back, he takes command. But the only weapons of the rebels are cobblestones from the pavement, in response, rifle volleys sound.

Old Gilse remains of his opinion: what the weavers have started is complete nonsense. Personally, he will sit and do his job, even if the whole world turns upside down. Struck to death by a stray bullet that flew through the window, he falls on the machine.

A. M. Burmistrova

(Die versunkene Glocke)

Dramatic Tale in Verse (1896)

Mountain lawn with a small hut under an overhanging rock. At the edge of the well sits the young Rauthendelein, a creature of the fairy world, combing her thick reddish-golden hair. Leaning over the edge of the log house, she calls the Vodyanoy. She is bored, Wittich's grandmother has gone into the forest, you see, time will fly by chattering faster. The waterman is not in the spirit, he is tired of the ridicule and taunts of the charming naughty. Routendelein calls on Leshy to entertain her, but he quickly annoys her with his importunate advances. The girl hides in a hut.

Goblin boasts about how successful his last game was. Over the cliff people built a new church. Eight horses were carrying a bell to her on a cart, and he grabbed the wheel, the bell staggered, rushed down the stones with a ringing and rumble and drowned in the lake. If not for him, Leshy, agility, the bell would have tortured them all with its unbearable howl.

An exhausted, weakened Heinrich, a bell-caster, appears and falls on the grass not far from the hut. He fell into the abyss, from where he miraculously got out, and then got lost. Old Wittich, returning from the forest, stumbles upon Heinrich. Only this was not enough, and so there is no life from the pastor and burgomaster, and if it turns out that there is a dead person here, they can easily burn down the hut. She instructs Rautendelein to bring a bunch of hay and make the lying person comfortable, give him a drink. Waking up Heinrich is struck by the beauty of a young girl. Perhaps she dreamed of him in a dream, or he died. And this gentle, divine voice, how he would like to pour it into the copper of the bell. Heinrich falls into oblivion. Approaching voices of people are heard - it was Leshy who led them to the trail of the master. The frightened old woman hurriedly puts out the fire in the house and calls Rautendelein, ordering to leave Heinrich - he is mortal, let her give him to mortals. But the girl does not want people to take Heinrich at all. Remembering her grandmother's lessons, she breaks a flowering branch and draws a circle around the lying one.

The Pastor, the Barber and the Teacher appear, they are perplexed - Heinrich fell into the abyss, and for some reason cries for help came from above, they hardly climbed here along the steeps. The pastor is despondent: such a wonderful bright holiday of God, and so it ended. The barber, looking around, urges to quickly leave the clearing - this is a cursed place, and there is the hut of the old sorceress. The teacher declares that he does not believe in witchcraft. From the groans they hear, they find Heinrich lying down, but they cannot get closer to him, they stumble upon an enchanted circle. And then Routendelein, frightening them, rushes past with devilish laughter. The pastor decides to overcome the treachery of Satan and resolutely knocks on the door of the hut. Vittiha does not want unnecessary trouble, removes the witchcraft spell, let them take their master, but he will not live long. Yes, and in skill is not painfully strong, the sound of the last bell was bad, and he alone knew this and suffered. Heinrich is put on a stretcher and taken away. Routendelein cannot understand what is happening to her. She cries, Vodyanoy explains, these are tears. She is attracted to the world of people, but this will turn into death. People are miserable slaves, and she is a princess, he once again calls her to be his wife. But Routendelein rushes into the valley, to the people.

The house of the bell-caster master Heinrich. His wife, Magda, is dressing up her two young sons on her way to church. The neighbor persuades them not to hurry, the church in the mountains is visible from the window, but there is no white flag, which they were going to raise as soon as the bell was hung. They say that all is not well there. Alarmed, Martha leaves the children in her care and hurries to her husband.

Heinrich is brought into the house on a stretcher. The pastor consoles Magda: the doctor said that there is hope. He became a victim of the fiends who, fearing the holy ringing, tried to destroy the master. Magda asks everyone to leave, brings water to her husband. He, feeling the near end, says goodbye to his wife, asks her forgiveness for everything. His last bell failed, it would have sounded bad in the mountains. And that would be a shame for the master, death is better. So he threw his life after a worthless creation. The pastor advises Magda to go to the healer Findkla. Rautendelein, dressed as a maid, appears in the house with a basket of wild berries. Here the girl will sit with the patient for the time being. Wasting no time, Rautendelein begins to conjure. Waking up, Heinrich is perplexed - where did he see this divine creature? Who is she? But Routendelein herself does not know this - the forest grandmother found her in the grass, raised her. She has a magical gift - she kisses her eyes, and they open to all heavenly expanses.

Returning home, Magda is happy: her husband wakes up healthy, he is full of energy and thirst to create.

Abandoned smelter in the mountains. Vodyanoy and Goblin are angry and jealous: Heinrich cooks metals all day long, and spends his nights in the arms of the beautiful Rautendelein. Goblin does not miss the opportunity to hook the girl: if he had not pushed the wagon, the noble falcon would not have got into her network. The Pastor comes, wants to return the lost sheep, a pious man, the father of the family, was lured by witchcraft. Seeing Heinrich, Pastor is amazed at how fine he looks. The master enthusiastically tells what he is working on: he wants to create a game of bells, he will lay the foundation of a new temple high in the mountains, and the jubilant, victorious ringing will announce the birth of the day to the world. The pastor is outraged by the wickedness of the master's thoughts, this is all the influence of the damned sorceress. But the day of repentance will come for him, then he will hear the voice of the bell sunk in the lake.

Heinrich works in the smelter, urging his dwarf apprentices. He falls asleep from exhaustion. The waterman grumbles - he decided to compete with God, but he himself is weak and pathetic! Heinrich is tormented by nightmares, it seems to him that a bell drowned in the lake sounds, trembles, tries to rise again. He calls Rautendelein for help, she gently reassures the master, nothing threatens him. Goblin, meanwhile, called on people, inciting them to set fire to the smelter. A stone falls into Routendelein, she calls on the Waterman to wash people into the abyss with streams of water, but he refuses: he hates the master who intends to reign over God and people. Heinrich fights the advancing crowd, throwing burning brands and blocks of granite. People are forced to retreat. Routendelein encourages him, but Heinrich does not listen to her, he sees two boys climbing a narrow mountain path barefoot, in their shirts. What's in your jug? he asks his sons. Tears of a mother lying among the water lilies, the ghosts answer. Heinrich hears the ringing of a sunken bell and, cursing, drives Routendelein away from him.

The lawn with Wittihi's hut, The exhausted and mournful Rauthendelein descends from the mountains and throws herself in despair into the well. Leshy informs Vodyanoy that Heinrich left the girl, and he burned down his smelter in the mountains. The waterman is pleased, he knows who moved the dead tongue of the sunken bell - the drowned Martha.

An exhausted, completely ill Heinrich appears, sends curses to people who brought his wife to death, calls Routendelein. Unsuccessfully, he tries to climb higher into the mountains. He himself pushed a bright life away from himself, the old woman grumbles, he was called, but he did not become the chosen one, and now he is hunted down by people, and his wings are forever broken. Heinrich himself will not understand why he blindly and thoughtlessly obeyed the bell, created by him, and the voice that he himself put into it. It was necessary to break that bell, not to let yourself be enslaved. He begs the old woman to let him see Routendelein before he dies. Vittiha puts before him three goblets with white, red and yellow wine. If he drinks the first one, his strength will return to him, if he drinks the second one, a bright spirit will descend, but then he must also drain the third cup. Heinrich drinks the contents of two goblets. Rautendelein appears - she has become a mermaid. She does not want to recognize Heinrich and does not want to remember the past. He begs Rautendelein to help him free himself from torment, to serve the last cup. Rautendelein hugs Heinrich, kisses him on the lips, then slowly releases the dying man.

A. M. Burmistrova

Brand (Brand)

Scented Poem (1865)

West coast of Norway. Cloudy weather, morning twilight. Brand, a middle-aged man in black clothes and with a knapsack over his shoulders, makes his way through the mountains to the west to the fjord where his native village lies. Brand is held by fellow travelers - a peasant with his son. They prove - a direct path through the mountains is deadly, you need to go around! But Brand does not want to listen to them. He shames the peasant for cowardice - he has a daughter who is dying, she is waiting for him, and the father hesitates, choosing a roundabout way. What would he give to have his daughter die peacefully? 200 thalers? All property? What about life? If he does not agree to give his life, all other victims do not count. All go nothing! Such is the ideal rejected by compatriots mired in compromises!

Brand breaks out of the hands of a peasant, and goes through the mountains. As if by magic, the clouds dissipate, and Brand sees young lovers - they are also in a hurry to the fjord. Recently met Agnes and the artist Einar decided to join their lives, they enjoy love, music, art, communication with friends. Their enthusiasm does not evoke sympathy from the oncoming sympathy. In his opinion, life in Norway is not so good. Passivity and cowardice soar everywhere. People have lost the integrity of nature, their God now looks like a bald old man with glasses, condescendingly looking at laziness, lies and opportunism. Brand, a theologian by education, believes in another God - young and energetic, punishing for lack of will. The main thing for him is the formation of a new person, a strong and strong-willed personality who rejects deals with conscience.

Einar finally recognizes Brand as a school friend. The straightforwardness and ardor of his reasoning are repulsive - in Brand's theories there is no place for ingenuous joy or mercy, on the contrary, he denounces them as relaxing a person's beginnings. Those who met disperse along different paths - they will meet later on the shore of the fjord, from where they will continue their journey on the steamer.

Not far from the village of Brand, another meeting awaits - with the insane Gerd, a girl who is haunted by an obsession with a terrible hawk that lies in wait for her everywhere; she finds salvation from him only in the mountains on the glacier - in a place that she calls the "snow church". Gerd does not like the village below: there, according to her, "stuffy and cramped." After parting with her, Brand sums up his travel impressions: for a new person, he will have to fight with three "trolls" (monsters) - stupidity (rolled by the routine of life), frivolity (thoughtless pleasure) and nonsense (a complete break with people and reason).

After years of absence, everything in the village seems small to Brand. He finds the inhabitants in trouble: in the village - hunger. The local administrator (Vogt) distributes groceries to those in need. Approaching the audience, Brand, as always, expresses an extraordinary opinion:

the situation of the starving is not so bad - they will have to fight for survival, and not idleness that kills the spirit. The villagers almost beat him for mocking their misfortune, but Brand proves that he has the moral right to treat others condescendingly - only he volunteers to help the dying man, who could not stand the sight of his hungry children and killed his youngest son in a fit of insanity, and then, realizing , what he did, tried to lay hands on himself and now lies dying in his house on the other side of the fjord. No one dares to get there - a storm is raging in the fjord. Only Agnes dares to help Brand at the crossing. She is struck by the strength of his character, and she, contrary to Einar's calls to return to him, or at least to her parents, decides to share her fate with Brand. Local residents, also convinced of the firmness of his spirit, ask Brand to become their priest.

But Brand makes very high demands on them. His favorite motto "all or nothing" is as uncompromising as the famous Latin proverb: "Let the world perish, but justice will prevail." The new priest denounces even his old mother - for her prudence and money-grubbing. He refuses to give her communion until she repents and distributes to the poor the property she has acquired and so much loved. Being near death, the mother sends for her son several times: she asks him to come, promising first to distribute half, then - nine-tenths of everything that she owns. But Brand disagrees. He suffers, but he cannot go against his convictions.

He is no less demanding of himself. In the house under the rock, where they have lived with Agnes for three years now, the sun rarely looks, and their son imperceptibly languishes. The doctor advises that in order to save Alpha, you must immediately move to another area. Staying is out of the question. And Brand is ready to leave. "Maybe the other Brands shouldn't be too strict?" the doctor asks him. Brand is reminded of his duty by one of his parishioners: people in the village now live by different, more honest rules, they do not believe the Fogg intriguer who spreads rumors that Brand will leave as soon as he receives his mother's inheritance. People need Brand, and he, having made an unbearably difficult decision, forces Agnes to agree with him.

Alf is dead. Agnes' grief is immeasurable, she constantly feels the absence of her son. The only thing she has left is the child's things and toys. A gypsy woman who suddenly breaks into the pastor's house demands that Agnes share her wealth with her. And Brand orders to give things to Alpha - every single one! One day, seeing the child of Agnes and Brand, the mad Gerd said: "Alf is an idol!" Brand considers his grief and Agnes to be idolatry. Indeed, do they not revel in their grief and find perverse pleasure in it? Agnes resigns herself to her husband's will and gives away the last child's bonnet hidden from her. Now she has nothing left but her husband. She does not find comfort in faith - their God is too harsh with Brand, faith in him requires more and more sacrifices, and the church downstairs in the village is cramped.

Brand clings to a randomly dropped word. He will build a new, spacious and high church, worthy of the new man he preaches. Vogt prevents him in every possible way, he has his own plans of a more utilitarian nature (“We will build a workhouse / in connection with the arrest house, and an outbuilding for gatherings, meetings / and festivities <...> coupled with a madhouse”), besides, the Vogt is against the demolition of the old church, which is considered a cultural monument. Having learned that Brand is going to build with his own money, the Vogt changes his mind: he praises Brand's courage in every possible way, and from now on considers the old ruined church dangerous for visiting.

A few more years pass. The new church is built, but by this time Agnes is no longer alive, and the ceremony of consecrating the church does not inspire Brand. When an important church official starts talking to him about cooperation between church and state and promises him awards and honors, Brand feels nothing but disgust. He closes the building with a padlock, and the assembled parishioners are carried away to the mountains - on a campaign for a new ideal: from now on, the whole earthly world will be their temple! Ideals, however, even when they are precisely formulated (which Ibsen deliberately avoids in the poem), are always abstract, while their achievement is always concrete. On the second day of the campaign, Brand's parishioners were beating their legs, tired, hungry and desperate. Therefore, they easily allow themselves to be deceived by the Vogt, who informs them that huge schools of herring have entered their fjord. Former followers of Brand instantly convince themselves that they are deceived by him, and - quite logically - stone him to death. Well, Brand complains, such are the changeable Norwegians - quite recently they swore that they would help their Danish neighbors in the war against Prussia, which threatens them, but they were shamefully deceived (meaning the Danish-Prussian military conflict of 1864)!

Left alone in the mountains, Brand continues on his way. An invisible choir inspires him with the idea of ​​the futility of human aspirations and the hopelessness of a dispute with the Devil or with God ("you can resist, you can reconcile - / you are condemned, man!"). Brand yearns for Agnes and Alpha, and then fate presents him with another test. Brand has a vision of Agnes: she consoles him - there are no serious reasons for despair, everything is fine again, she is with him, Alf grew up and became a healthy young man, their little old church also stands in its place in the village. The trials that Brand went through, he only dreamed of in a terrible nightmare. It is enough to give up three words hated by her, Agnes, and the nightmare will be dispelled (three words, Brand's motto is "all or nothing"). Brand stands the test, he will not betray either his ideals or his life and its suffering. If necessary, he is ready to repeat his path.

Instead of an answer from the fog, where the vision had just been, a piercing sound sounds: "The world does not need it - die!"

Brand is alone again. But the insane Gerd finds him, she brings Brand to the "snow church". Here the grace of mercy and love finally descends on the sufferer. But Gerd has already seen the hawk on top of the enemy and is shooting at him. An avalanche comes down. Carried away by the snow, Brand manages to ask the universe the last question: is the human will really as insignificant as a grain of sand on the powerful right hand of the Lord? Through the peals of thunder, Brand hears the Voice: "God, He is deus caritatis!"

Deus caritatis means "God is merciful".

B. A. Erkhov

Peer Gynt

Dramatic Poem (1867)

The action of the poem covers the time from the beginning to the 60s. XNUMXth century and takes place in Norway (in the Gudbrand Valley and the surrounding mountains), on the Moroccan Mediterranean coast, in the Sahara desert, in a lunatic asylum in Cairo, on the sea and again in Norway, in the homeland of the hero.

A young country boy, Peer Gynt, is fooling around, deceiving his mother, Åse. He tells her a story about a deer hunt. The wounded deer soars with Per astride it to the top of the ridge, and then jumps from a height into a crystal clear, like a mirror, lake, rushing towards its own reflection. With bated breath, Ose listens. She does not immediately catch on: she knows this story - Per only slightly altered the old legend, trying it on himself. The son's torn clothes are explained to others - he had a fight with the blacksmith Aslak. The surrounding guys often bully Per: he likes to dream up, and in his dreams he sees himself as a hero of fairy tales or legends - a prince or a king, while those around him consider his stories to be empty boasting and nonsense. In general, Per is too arrogant! No wonder, because he is the son of the captain, even if he was drunk, squandered his fortune and abandoned his family. And one more thing - girls like Per. On this occasion, the mother complains: why not marry Ingrid, the daughter of a wealthy farmer? Then they would have both the land and the estate! But Ingrid looked at Per. It's a pity! Just in the evening they play her wedding, Ingrid marries Mas Mona.

For Mas Mona? A mattress and a simpleton? This will not happen! Per is going to the wedding! Trying to dissuade her son, Osa threatens - she will go with her son and discredit him in front of everyone! Ah well! Per, laughing and playfully, puts his mother on the roof of someone else's house: let him sit here until she is removed, but for now he goes to the holiday.

At the wedding, the uninvited guest is greeted with hostility. Girls don't go dancing with him. Per immediately distinguishes among them Solveig, the daughter of a peasant sectarian from settlers. She is so beautiful, pure and modest that even he, a dashing guy, is afraid to approach her. Per invites Solveig several times, but each time he is rejected. In the end, the girl confesses to him: she is ashamed to go with a drunk. In addition, she does not want to upset her parents: the strict rules of their religion do not make exceptions for anyone. Per is upset. Taking advantage of the moment, the guys offer him a drink in order to laugh at him later. Per is also angered and provoked by the clumsy groom, who does not know how to treat the bride ... Unexpectedly, even for himself, Per grabs the bride under the arm and, "like a pig", in the words of one of the guests, takes her to the mountains.

Per's passionate impulse is short-lived, he almost immediately releases Ingrid on all four sides: she is far from Solveig! Furious, Ingrid leaves, and Per is rounded up. He hides in the depths of the forest, where he is welcomed by three shepherdesses who reject their troll friends for his love. Here, in the morning, Per meets the Woman in the Green Cloak, the daughter of the King of Dover, the ruler of the evil spirits living in the forest - trolls, kobolds, goblins and witches. Per wants a Woman, but even more he wants to be a real prince - even a forest one! The Dovra grandfather (this is the name of the forest courtiers of the king) sets strict conditions: the trolls profess "soil" principles, they do not recognize free travel outside the forest and are content only with homemade food, clothing, customs. The princess will be given in marriage to Per, but first he should put on a tail and drink the local mead (liquid droppings). Grimacing, Per agrees to both. Everything in the palace of the Dovre grandfather looks hardened and ugly, but this, as the Dovre grandfather explains, is only a defect in the human outlook on life. If, after performing an operation, Peru's eyes are distorted, he will also see black instead of white and beautiful instead of ugly, that is, he will acquire the worldview of a true troll. But Per, ready for almost everything for power and glory, does not go to the operation - he was and will remain a man! The trolls pounce on him, but when they hear the sounds of the church bell, they let him go.

Per is in a fainting state between life and death. The invisible Curve envelops him with fetters and calls for the reprisal of winged demons. Per stumbles and falls, but church singing and bells are heard again. With a cry: "Death to me, the women are behind him!" - Curve releases Per.

He is found in the forest by his mother and Solveig. Ose informs his son: for the kidnapping of Ingrid, he is now outlawed and can only live in the forest. Per builds himself a hut. It has already snowed and the house is almost ready when Solveig comes skiing to him: she left her strict but beloved parents, deciding to stay with him forever.

Per does not believe his luck. He leaves the hut for brushwood and unexpectedly meets in the forest a very stupefied Woman in Green with a freak, whom she introduces Peru as his son - he, by the way, does not meet his father very friendly ("I'll hit daddy with an ax!"). The troll demands from Per to drive Solveig away! Or maybe the three of them will live in his house? Peer is in despair, he is weighed down by a heavy sense of guilt. He is afraid to soil Solveig with his past and does not want to deceive her. So he must give it up! Saying goodbye, he leaves the hut supposedly for a minute, but in reality forever.

Peru has no choice but to flee the country, but he does not forget about his mother and visits her. Ose is ill, a neighbor helps her; simple property in the house is described by the bailiff. Of course, the son is to blame for the mother’s misfortune, but Ose justifies him, she believes that her Per itself is not bad, he was ruined by wine. The old woman feels that she does not have long to live - her feet freeze, the cat scratches the door (a bad omen!). Per sits on the bed and, consoling his mother, tells her a fairy tale in a singsong voice. They are both invited to the magical castle of Suria Muria. The crow is already harnessed, they are driving through a snowy field, through a forest. Here is the gate! They are met by Saint Peter himself, and Osya, as an important lady, is served coffee and cake. The gate is behind, they are at the castle. Per praises his mother for her cheerful disposition, for patience and caring, he did not appreciate them before, so let the owner of the magic castle reward her for her kindness! Looking askance at Ose, Per sees that she has died. Without waiting for the funeral (according to the law, anyone can kill him outside the forest), he leaves "beyond the sea, the farther the better."

Many years pass. Per Gynt is in his fifties. Well-groomed and prosperous, he receives guests on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. Nearby in the sea is his American-flagged yacht. Per's guests: the businesslike master Cotton, the thoughtfully meaningful von Eberkopf, the beau monde Monsieur Ballon and the taciturn but ardent Trumpeterstrole (Swede) - extol the host for hospitality and generosity. How did a man of the people manage to make such a brilliant career! In careful terms, trying not to hurt the liberal-progressive views of the guests, Peer Gynt tells them the truth: he speculated in China in church antiques and was engaged in the slave trade in the southern states in America. Now he is heading to Greece on a yacht and can offer business to his friends. Perfect! They will gladly help the Greek rebels in their fight for freedom! Here, here, confirms Gynt, he wants them to fan the flames of rebellion as much as possible. The greater will be the demand for orrkies. He will sell it to Turkey, and they will share the profits together. The guests are confused. They are ashamed and at the same time sorry for the lost profits. Von Eberkopf finds a way out - the guests take away Gynt's yacht and sail away on it. Cursing failed companions, Per threatens them after - and a miracle! - the yacht loaded with weapons explodes! God keeps Gynt for further accomplishments.

Morning. Gynt hides from predatory animals on a palm tree, but even here he finds himself in a society of ... monkeys. Instantly orienting, Per adapts to the laws of the pack. The adventure ends happily. Leaping from the tree, the hero wanders further through the desert, imagining the majestic project of irrigating the Sahara. Peer Gynt will turn the desert into an ideal country - Guntiana, he will settle the Norwegians in it and will encourage their pursuit of the sciences and arts that will flourish in such a fertile climate. The only thing he lacks right now is a horse. Surprisingly, Gynt gets it right away. The horse and precious clothes were hidden behind the dune by thieves, who were frightened off by the guards who were looking for them.

Dressed in oriental clothes, Gynt goes further, and in one of the oases the Arabs take him for an important person - according to Gynt himself, for a prophet. The newly-appeared prophet is seriously interested in the charms of the local houri - Anitra, but she deceives him - she does not need a soul (which she asked the prophet), but Gynt's jewelry. The role of the prophet also failed him.

Next stop is Pera in Egypt. Looking at the Sphinx and the statue of Memnon, Per imagines himself to be a famous historian and archaeologist. Mentally, he builds grandiose plans for travel and discovery, but ... does the face of the Sphinx remind him of someone? Whom? Isn't it Dovre's grandfather? Or the mysterious Curve?

Per shares his guesses with a certain Begriffenfeld, and he, very interested in the interlocutor, promises to introduce him to his Cairo friends. In a house with barred windows, Begriffenfeld informs under a terrible secret: literally an hour ago, Absolute Reason passed away - they are in a madhouse. Begriffenfeld, its director, introduces Per to the sick: Gutu, a champion of the revival of the ancient language of Indian monkeys, Fellach, who considers himself the sacred bull of the ancient Egyptians Apis, and Hussein, who imagines himself to be a pen that needs to be sharpened immediately, which he does himself, cutting his own throat penknife. This whole fantastic scene was well understood by Ibsen's contemporaries; in it, on the "Egyptian" material, attacks against national Norwegian romanticism are encrypted: Gutu, as they assume, is Ivar Osen, the creator of Lansmol, an artificial language composed of peasant dialects (by the way, he now reads it and writes almost half of the country's population), fellah is a Norwegian bond (that is, a peasant), a "sacred cow" and an ideal of Norwegian romantics, Hussein is Foreign Minister Manderström, who betrayed the ideals of Scandinavianism during the Danish-Prussian military conflict in 1864: he replaced the specific actions of Sweden and Norway in defense of Denmark by writing countless notes of protest, for which he was nicknamed by Ibsen in a newspaper article "a capable pen." Devastated by the atmosphere of madness and the suicide that took place before his eyes, Per faints, and the mad director of the yellow house sits on him and crowns his head with a straw wreath of a fool.

Many more years pass. A completely gray-haired Peer Gynt returns to his homeland. His ship is sinking off the coast of Norway, but Gynt, caught on a boat thrown into the sea, manages to escape. On board the ship, Per was pursued by an Unknown Passenger, who vainly begged from him for his body "for the purposes of science" - after all, Per, in his opinion, would certainly die soon. And the same Passenger appears in the sea again and clings to the overturned boat; to a direct question whether he is the Devil, the Passenger answers evasively and casuistically with a question to a question, in turn denouncing Per as a person who is not very strong in spirit.

Per safely reaches his native area. He accidentally ends up in a cemetery, where he listens to a priest's laudatory word over the coffin of a villager - a man who cut off his finger with a sickle during the war (Per in his youth became an accidental witness to this scene). This man redeemed his cowardice with his whole life and, mainly, with his tireless work and earned the respect of society. In the words of the priest of Peru, a reproach is heard - after all, he did not create either a family or a home. In his former village, at Ingrid's funeral, Per meets many old acquaintances who have grown old beyond recognition. Yes, and he himself remains unrecognized, although people remember him - the local police chief, for example, recalling Per, calls him a poet who believed in a fairy-tale reality he had invented. But Pera immediately recognizes Buttonman in the forest, who has been looking for him for a long time. Gynt's time on earth is over, and Buttonmaker intends to pour his soul into a button right there on the spot - after all, Per's soul will not go to Heaven or Hell, it is only suitable for remelting. Buttonhole doesn't consider Per a scoundrel, but he wasn't a good person either, was he? Most importantly, Peer Gynt did not fulfill his destiny on earth - he did not become himself (a unique and inimitable personality), he only tried on various average-standard roles. However, Per knows this himself, unless recently he himself compared himself to an onion. The bulb also does not have a solid core and consists of some skins. Per was and remains a tumbleweed.

Peer Gynt is downright scared. What could be worse than the remelting of the soul - its transformation into an absolutely amorphous faceless greyness? He asks Buttonhole for a respite, he will prove to him that there was something whole in his nature! Buttonhole releases Per. But his meetings with the grandfather of Dovra, who lost his former power, and with the Kostlyavy (Devil?) do not give anything definite, and Gynt now needs exactly this - definite! Wandering through the forest, Per comes to the hut he once built. On the threshold he is met by Solveig, aged, but happy to see him again. Only now Peer Gynt understands that he is saved. Even under the most diverse masks throughout his colorful life, he remained himself - in the hope, faith and love of the woman who was waiting for him.

Buttonhole releases Per with a warning that he will be waiting for him at the next crossroads. They will still talk to each other.

B. A. Erkhov

Doll's House (Et duldcehjem)

Drama (1879)

Ibsen's contemporary Norway. Cozy and inexpensively furnished apartment of the lawyer Thorvald Helmer and his wife Nora. Christmas Eve. Nora enters the house from the street, she brings with her a lot of boxes - these are gifts for the Christmas tree for children and Torvald. The husband lovingly fusses around his wife and jokingly accuses her - his squirrel, butterfly, bird, chrysalis, lark - of prodigality. But this Christmas, Nora objects to him, a little extravagance will not hurt them, because from the new year Helmer takes over as director of the bank and they will not need, as in previous years, to save literally on everything.

After courting his wife (even after the birth of three children she is a dazzling beauty), Helmer retires to the office, and Nora fru Linde's old friend enters the living room, she has just been off the ship. The women had not seen each other for a long time - almost eight years, during which time a friend managed to bury her husband, whose marriage turned out to be childless. And Nora? Is she still carelessly fluttering through life? If so. In the first year of their marriage, when Helmer left the ministry, in addition to his main job, he had to take business papers home and sit over them until late in the evening. As a result, he fell ill, and the doctors said that only the southern climate could save him. The whole family spent a whole year in Italy. Money for the trip, a rather large amount, Nora supposedly took from her father, but this is not true; a certain gentleman helped her... No, no, let Fru Linde think nothing of the sort!... The money was borrowed against receipt. And now Nora regularly pays interest on the loan, earning money secretly from her husband.

Will Fru Linde settle again here, in their city? What will she do? Helmer, probably, can arrange it at his bank, just now he is compiling the staff list and talking in the office with attorney Krogstad, about to fire him - the place is vacant. How? Does Fru Linde know him a little? Yeah, I see, so they lived in the same city and sometimes met.

Thorvald Helmer really fires Krogstad. He does not like people with a tarnished reputation. At one time, Krogstad (Helmer studied with him) committed a forgery - forged a signature on a monetary document, but avoided the court, having managed to get out of a difficult situation. But that's even worse! Unpunished vice sows around the seeds of decay. A man like Krogstad should be forbidden to have children - with such an educator, only criminals will grow out of them.

But the forgery, as it turns out, was also committed by Nora. She forged on a loan letter to Krogstad (it was he who gave her money for Italy) a surety signature of her father, whom she could not turn to - at that time he was dying. Moreover, the document is dated on the day when the father could not sign it, because by that time he had already died. Driven out of work, Krogstad asks Nora to put in a good word for him, he has proven himself in the bank, but the appointment of a new director has confused all his cards. Helmer wants to fire him not only for his dark past, but even for the fact that he, out of old memory, called him "you" several times. Nora asks for Krogstad, but Helmer, who does not take her seriously, refuses. Then Krogstad threatens Hope with exposure: he will tell her husband where she got the money for a trip to Italy. In addition, Helmer learns about her forgery. Having achieved nothing from Nora this time, Krogstad frankly blackmails both spouses: he sends a letter to Helmer with a direct threat - if the story of Nora's forgery comes out, he will not be able to hold on to the post of bank director. Nora rushes about in search of a way out. She first flirts with family friend Dr. Rank. He is secretly in love with her, but doomed to death - he has hereditary syphilis. Rank is ready for anything for Nora and would give her money, but by this time it turns out that Krogstad needs something else. The story of Dr. Rank ends tragically - the Helmers' spouses receive a postcard with a black cross from him by mail - the cross means that the doctor has locked himself at home and does not accept anyone else: he will die there without scaring his friends with his appearance.

But what does Hope do anyway? Shame and exposure terrify her, it's better to commit suicide! But the relentless Krogstad warns: suicide is pointless, in which case her memory will be dishonored.

Help comes from an unexpected quarter - from Nora's friend Linde. At the decisive moment, she explains to Krogstad: in the past they were connected by love, but Linde married another: she had an old mother and two younger brothers in her arms, while Krogstad's financial situation was precarious. Now Mrs. Linde is free: her mother and husband have died, the brothers have really got on their feet - she is ready to marry Krogstad, if he still needs it. Krogstad is delighted, his life is getting better, he finally finds both love and a faithful person, he refuses blackmail. But it's too late - his letter is in Helmer's mailbox, the key to which only he has. Well, let Nora find out what her Helmer is really worth with his sanctimonious morality and prejudices! - decides Krogstad.

In fact, after reading the letter, Helmer is almost hysterical from the righteous anger that has seized him. How? His wife is his bird, his bird, the lark, his chrysalis a criminal? And it is because of her that the well-being of the family, achieved by such hard work, is now being sprayed! They will not get rid of the demands of Krogstad until the end of their days! Helmer won't let Hope spoil the kids! From now on, they will be given to the care of the nanny! To maintain appearances, Helmer will allow Hope to stay in the house, but now they will live separately!

At this moment, a messenger brings a letter from Krogstad. He renounces his demands and returns Nora's loan letter. Helmer's mood instantly changes. They are saved! Everything will be as before, even better! But then Nora, whom Helmer used to consider his obedient toy, suddenly rebels against him. She's leaving home! gone forever! First, the father, and then Helmer, got used to treating her like a beautiful doll, which is pleasant to caress. She understood this before, but she loved Helmer and forgave him. Now the matter is different - she really hoped for a miracle - that Helmer, as a loving husband, would take her guilt upon himself. Now she no longer loves Helmer, as Helmer did not love her before - he just liked being in love with her. They are strangers. And to live still means to commit adultery, selling oneself for conveniences and money.

Nora's decision stuns Helmer. He is smart enough to understand that her words and feelings are serious. But is there really no hope that someday they will reunite? He will do everything so that they are no longer strangers! “It would be a miracle of miracles,” Nora replies, and miracles, as she has learned from experience, rarely happen. Her decision is final.

B. A. Erkhov

Ghosts (Gengagere)

Family Drama (1881)

The action takes place in modern Ibsen Norway in the estate of fr Alving on the west coast of the country. There is a light rain. Clattering with wooden soles, joiner Engstrand enters the house. The maid Regina orders him not to make noise: upstairs, the son of Fru Alving Oswald, who has just arrived from Paris, is sleeping. The carpenter reports that the orphanage he was building is ready for tomorrow's opening. At the same time, a monument to chamberlain Alving, the late husband of the hostess, in whose honor the shelter is named, will be unveiled. Engstrand has earned decently on construction and is going to open his own institution in the city - a hotel for sailors. This is where a woman would come in handy. Does your daughter want to move in with him? In response, Engstrand hears a snort: what kind of "daughter" is she to him? No, Regina is not going to leave the house, where she is so welcome and everything is so noble - she even learned a little French.

The carpenter leaves. Pastor Manders appears in the living room; he dissuades Frau Alving from insuring the shelter she built - there is no need to openly doubt the strength of a charitable cause. By the way, why doesn't Mrs. Alving want Regina to move to her father in the city?

Oswald joins the mother and pastor. He argues with Manders, who denounces the moral character of Bohemia. Morality among artists and artists is no better and no worse than in any other class. If only the pastor could hear what the high-moral officials who come to Paris tell them about! Frau Alving supports her son: the pastor condemns her in vain for reading free-thinking books - with his obviously unconvincing defense of church dogmas, he only arouses interest in them.

Oswald goes for a walk. The pastor is angry. Hasn't life taught Fra Alving anything? Does she remember how, just a year after the wedding, she ran away from her husband to the Manders house and refused to return? Then the pastor still managed to bring her out of her "exalted state" and return her home, to the path of duty, to the hearth and lawful spouse. Didn't Chamberlain Alving behave like a real man? He multiplied the family fortune and worked very fruitfully for the benefit of society. And didn't he make her, his wife, his worthy business assistant? And further. The current vicious views of Oswald are a direct consequence of his lack of home education - it was Ms. Alfing who insisted that her son study away from home!

Fru Alving is touched by the pastor's words. Fine! They can talk seriously! The pastor knows that she did not love her late husband: Chamberlain Alving simply bought her from relatives. Handsome and charming, he did not stop drinking and promiscuity after the wedding. No wonder she ran away from him. She loved Manders then, and he seemed to like him. And Manders is mistaken if he thinks that Alving has reformed - he died the same bastard he always was. Moreover, he brought vice into his own house: she once found him on the balcony with the maid Johanna. Alving got his way. Does the Manders know that their maid Regina is the illegitimate daughter of a chamberlain? For a round sum, the carpenter Engstrand agreed to cover up Johanna's sin, although he does not know the whole truth about her either - Johanna invented a visiting American especially for him.

As for her son, she was forced to send him away from home. When he was seven years old, he began to ask too many questions. After the story with the maid, Mrs. Alving took the reins of the house into her own hands, and it was she, and not her husband, who did the housework! And she also made incredible efforts to keep her husband's behavior hidden from society, to observe external propriety.

Having finished his confession (or rebuke to the pastor), Mrs. Alving escorts him to the door. And they both hear, passing by the dining room, the exclamation of Regina escaping from the arms of Oswald. "Ghosts!" - Fru Alving bursts out. It seems to her that she has again been transported into the past and sees a couple on the balcony - the chamberlain and the maid Johanna.

Fru Alving calls ghosts not only "people from the other world" (this is how this concept is more correctly translated from Norwegian). Ghosts, according to her, are generally "all sorts of old obsolete concepts, beliefs and the like." It was they who, according to Frau Alving, determined her fate, the character and views of Pastor Manders and, finally, the mysterious illness of Oswald. According to the diagnosis of the Parisian doctor, Oswald's disease is hereditary, but Oswald, who practically did not know his father and always idealized him, did not believe the doctor, he considers his frivolous adventures in Paris at the beginning of his studies to be the cause of the disease. In addition, he is tormented by a constant inexplicable fear. She and her mother are sitting in the living room in the deepening twilight. A lamp is brought into the room, and Frau Alving, wanting to relieve her son of guilt, is going to tell him the whole truth about his father and Regina, to whom he has already frivolously promised a trip to Paris. Suddenly, the conversation is interrupted by the appearance of the pastor in the living room and the cry of Regina. There's a fire near the house! The newly built Shelter named after Chamberlain Alving is on fire.

The time is drawing near. It's the same living room. The lamp on the table is still on. The clever carpenter Engstrand in a veiled form blackmails Manders, claiming that it was he, the pastor, who awkwardly removed the carbon from the candle and caused the fire. However, he should not worry, Engstrand will not tell anyone about this. But let the pastor also help him in a good undertaking - equipping a hotel for sailors in the city. The pastor agrees.

The carpenter and pastor leave, they are relieved in the living room by Mrs. Alving and Oswald, who has just returned from a fire that could not be extinguished. The interrupted conversation resumes. Oswald's mother had time to think of many things in the short night that had passed. She was especially struck by one of her son's phrases: "In their land, people are taught to look at work as a curse, as a punishment for sins, and life as a vale of sorrow, from which the sooner the better to get rid of." Now, telling her son the truth about his father, she does not judge her husband so strictly - his gifted and strong nature simply did not find any use in their wilderness and was wasted on sensual pleasures. Oswald understands which ones. Let him know that Regina, who is present at their conversation, is his sister. Hearing this, Regina hurriedly says goodbye and leaves them. She was about to leave when she learned that Oswald was ill. Only now Oswald tells his mother why he asked her earlier if she was ready to do anything for him. And why, among other things, did he need Regina so much. He did not fully tell his mother about the disease - he is doomed to madness, the second attack will turn him into a mindless animal. Regina would have easily given him a bottle of morphine to drink in order to get rid of the patient. Now he passes the bottle to his mother.

Mother consoles Oswald. His seizure has already passed, he is at home, he will recover. It is nice here. It rained all day yesterday, but today he will see his homeland in all its real splendor, Mrs. Alving goes to the window and puts out the lamp. Let Oswald look at the rising sun and the sparkling mountain glaciers below!

Oswald looks out the window, silently repeating "sun, sun", but he does not see the sun.

The mother looks at her son, clutching a vial of morphine in her hands.

B. A. Erkhov

Wild duck (Vildanden)

Drama (1884)

80s XNUMXth century A festive table in the office of a wealthy Norwegian businessman Werle. Among the guests are the son of a businessman Gregers called from a factory in the Mountain Valley (he works there as a simple employee) and Gregers' old school friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Friends did not see each other for fifteen years. During this time, Hjalmar married, his daughter Hedwig was born (she is now fourteen), he started his own business - a photo studio. And, it would seem, everything is fine with him. The only thing is that Hjalmar did not complete his education due to a lack of funds from the family - his father, a former companion of Werle, was then imprisoned. True, Verle helped the son of a former friend: he gave Hjalmar money to equip a photo studio and advised him to rent an apartment from a friend of the hostess, whose daughter Hjalmar married. All this seems suspicious to Gregers: he knows his father. What is Hjalmar's wife's maiden name? By chance, not Hansen? Having received an affirmative answer, Gregers has little doubt that his father's "good deeds" are dictated by the need to "get away with it" and arrange a former mistress - after all, Gina Hansen served as Werle's housekeeper and left his house just at that time, shortly before the patient died Gregers' mother. The son, apparently, cannot forgive the father for the death of his mother, although he is obviously not to blame for it. As Gregers suspects, the father married, hoping to receive a large dowry, which he nevertheless did not get. Gregers directly asks his father if he cheated on his late mother with Gina, but he answers the question evasively. Then, decisively rejecting Werle's offer to become his companion, the son announces that he is breaking with him. He now has a special purpose in life.

Which one, it soon becomes clear. Gregers decided to open Hjalmar's eyes to the "quagmire of lies" into which he was plunged, because Hjalmar, "a naive and great soul", does not suspect anything of the kind and firmly believes in the kindness of the merchant. Overcome, according to his father, by "hot honesty," Gregers believes that by revealing the truth to Hjalmar, he will give impetus to a "great settlement with the past" and help him "erect a new solid building on the ruins of the past, start a new life, create a marital union in spirit of truth, without falsehood or concealment."

To this end, Gregers visits the same day the apartment of the Ekdal family, located on the attic floor and serving at the same time as the pavilion of the photo studio. The apartment communicates with an attic large enough to keep rabbits and chickens in it, which old Ekdal, Hjalmar's father, shoots from time to time with a pistol, imagining that he hunts bears and partridges in the same way as in the old days in the Mountain Valley. . The best and worst experiences of the elder Ekdal are connected with the Mountain Valley: after all, it was there, in the vicinity of their common plant with Verle, that he was put in prison for cutting down the forest.

Gregers does not immediately lay out the bitter truth before Hjalmar. He looks closely at the family - the rustic and eternally burdened Gina (in fact, it is she who manages all the affairs of the photo studio and does all the work in it), to the old man Ekdal, who has lost his mind and is obviously broken by prison, to the fourteen-year-old Hedwig - an enthusiastic and exalted girl who adores her father (as he tells Gregers, Hedwig is doomed - the doctors said that she will soon go blind), finally, to Hjalmar himself, who hides his parasitism under the guise of tireless work on an invention that, according to him, should restore the well-being and honest name of his family.

Since Gregers has moved out of the Mountain Valley, and now also left his father's house, he needs an apartment. The Ekdals have just such a suitable room with a separate passage in the house, and they - however, not without Gina's resistance - rent it to the son of their benefactor. The next day, Werle, worried about his son's hostile mood, visits him, he wants to find out what his son is plotting against him. Having learned Gregers' "goal", the businessman ridicules him and warns him that he would not be disappointed in his new idol Hjalmar. The same, albeit in harsher terms, is taught to Gregers by his neighbor on the floor, a drunkard and reveler, Dr. Relling, a frequent visitor to the Ekdal family. Truth, according to Relling's theory, is not needed by anyone, and one should not rush with it, as with a written bag. By opening the eyes of Hjalmar, Gregers will achieve nothing but trouble, and even trouble for the Ekdal family. According to the doctor, "taking away the worldly lie from the average person is the same as taking away happiness from him." Events confirm the truth of his saying.

Gregers goes for a walk with Hjalmar and lays out to him all the ins and outs of his family life as he sees it. Returning, Hjalmar loudly announces to his wife that from now on he will conduct all the affairs of the atelier and household accounts himself - he no longer trusts her. Is it true that she was close to the merchant Werle when she worked as his housekeeper? Gina does not deny the past connection. True, she is not to blame for Verle's sick wife - in fact, Verle molested her, but everything that happened between them happened after the death of his wife, when Gina no longer worked for Verle. However, all this - such old, in the words of Gina, "affairs", that she forgot to think about them.

Hjalmar calms down somewhat. Dr. Relling, who is present at the marital explanation, sends Gregers to hell with all his heart and expresses his sincere wish that he, "this medicine man, this healer of souls, go away. Otherwise he will confuse everyone!" Unexpectedly, Fr Sorby, the housekeeper of Werle, comes to Gina. She came to say goodbye to her, because she is getting married to the owner, and they immediately leave for their factory in the Mountain Valley. This news plunges Dr. Relling into despondency - once he and Fr. Sorby were connected by a serious feeling. Gregers asks if Fr Sorby is afraid that he will inform his father about their past relationship? The answer is negative: no, he and Verle told each other everything about the past - their marriage is based on honesty. Fru Serby will not leave her husband under any circumstances, even when he becomes completely helpless. Don't those present know that Werle will soon go blind?

This news, as well as a donation from Werle (according to her, to the old man Ekdal; and then after his death Hedwig will be paid a monthly allowance of one hundred crowns) brought Hjalmar Ekdal out of his usual complacent mood. If he vaguely guessed about the connection between Gina's past and Verle's beneficences, then the news about the same eye disease in Verle and his daughter, as well as about the donation, take him by surprise and hurt his heart. Is it possible that Hedwig is not his daughter, but Werle's? Gina honestly admits that she cannot answer this question. Then perhaps she knows how much Werle's accountant pays old man Ekdal for copying business papers? About the same amount as it takes to maintain it, Gina answers. Well, tomorrow morning Hjalmar will leave this house, but first he will go to the accountant and ask him to calculate their debt for all the past years. They will give everything! Hjalmar tears the deed of gift in two and, together with Dr. Relling (who has his own chagrins), embarks on a spree for the night.

But, after sleeping with a neighbor, Hjalmar returns the next day. He can't leave home now - he lost his hat in his nightly wanderings. Gradually, Gina calms him down and persuades him to stay. Hjalmar even glues together the donation he had torn in the heat of the moment (one must think of the old father too!). But he stubbornly ignores his beloved Hedwig. The girl is in despair. The night before, Gregers had advised her on how to win back her father's love. You need to bring him your "childish sacrifice", do something so that his father sees how much she loves him. Hjalmar now took a great dislike to the wild duck, the same one that lives in their box in the attic, because it was inherited by the Ekdals from Werle. The merchant wounded her while hunting on the lake, and then his servant gave the duck to old man Ekdal. Hedwig will prove her love to her father if she sacrifices a wild duck for him, which she also loves very much. Well, Hedwig agrees, she will persuade her grandfather to shoot the duck, although she does not understand why dad is so angry with her: even if she is not his daughter and she was found somewhere - she read about such a thing - but they also found a wild duck, and that doesn't stop her, Hedwig, from loving her!

A tragic end is coming. The next day, Hjalmar, not wanting to see his daughter, drives her from everywhere. Hedwig hides in the attic. At the moment of the conversation, when Hjalmar convinces Gregers that Hedwig can cheat on him, as soon as Werla, perhaps her real father, beckons her with his wealth, a shot is heard in the attic. Gregers rejoices - it is old Ekdal who shot a wild duck at the request of Hedwig. But the grandfather runs into the pavilion from the other side. There was an accident: Hedwig accidentally emptied a gun into herself. Dr. Relling does not believe this: the girl's blouse is scorched, she deliberately shot herself. And Gregers is to blame for her death with his "ideal demands" made on mere mortals. Without them, these "ideal requirements", life on earth could be tolerable.

In that case, says Gregers, he is happy with his destiny. The doctor asks what is it? To be thirteenth at the table!

B. A. Erkhov

Hunger (Sult)

Roman (1890)

The novel, written in the first person, is partly autobiographical in nature; it resurrects the events of 1886 in Christiania (now Oslo), when Hamsun was on the verge of starvation.

The narrator huddles in a miserable closet in the attic, he is constantly tormented by the pangs of hunger. A novice writer tries to earn money by adding his articles, notes, feuilletons to newspapers, but this is not enough for life, and he falls into complete poverty. He reflects wistfully on how slowly and steadily he is rolling downhill. It seems the only way out is to find a steady income, and he begins to study the job advertisements in the newspapers. But in order to take the place of the cashier, a deposit is required, but there is no money, but they don’t take him to the fire department, because he wears glasses.

The hero experiences weakness, dizziness, nausea. Chronic hunger causes overexcitation. He is fidgety, nervous and irritable. During the day, he prefers to spend time in the park - there he thinks about the topics of future works, makes sketches. Strange thoughts, words, images, fantastic pictures rush through his brain.

He pledged in turn everything that he had - all household trifles, every book to one. When auctions are held, he amuses himself by watching in whose hands his things pass, and if they get a good owner, he feels satisfied.

Severe protracted hunger causes inadequate behavior of the hero, often he acts contrary to worldly norms. Following a sudden impulse, he gives his waistcoat to the usurer, and hands the money to the beggar cripple, and lonely, starving continues to wander among the mass of well-fed people, acutely feeling the complete neglect of those around him.

He is overwhelmed with the ideas of new articles, but the editors reject his writings: he chooses too abstract topics, newspaper readers are not hunters for abstruse reasoning.

Hunger torments him constantly, and in order to drown it, he either chews on a chip or a pocket torn from his jacket, or sucks on a pebble or picks up a blackened orange peel. An announcement catches my eye that there is a place for an accountant at a merchant, but again a failure.

Reflecting on the misadventures pursuing him, the hero wonders why God chose him for his exercises, and comes to a disappointing conclusion: apparently, he simply decided to destroy him.

There was nothing to pay for the apartment, there was a danger of being on the street. It is necessary to write an article, this time it will definitely be accepted - he encourages himself, and having received the money, it will be possible to somehow hold out. But, as if on purpose, the work does not move, the necessary words do not come. But finally, a successful phrase was found, and then just have time to write it down. The next morning, fifteen pages are ready, he experiences a kind of euphoria - a deceptive rise in strength. The hero is anxiously waiting for a review - what if the article seems mediocre.

The long-awaited fee does not last long. The landlady recommends finding another place to live, he is forced to spend the night in the forest. The idea comes to give the old man a blanket that he once borrowed from a friend - his only remaining property, but he refuses. Since the hero is forced to carry a blanket with him everywhere, he enters the store and asks the clerk to pack it in paper, supposedly inside two expensive vases intended for shipment. Having met a friend with this bundle on the street, he assures him that he got a good place and bought fabrics for a suit, but you need to dress up. Such meetings unsettle him, realizing how pathetic his appearance, he suffers from the humiliation of his position.

Hunger becomes an eternal companion, physical torment causes despair, anger, bitterness. All attempts to get at least a little money are unsuccessful. Almost on the verge of a hungry faint, the hero is considering whether to go to the bakery and ask for bread. Then he begs the butcher for a bone, supposedly for a dog, and, turning into a back alley, tries to gnaw it, shedding tears.

Once you even have to look for an overnight stay at the police station under the fictitious pretext that you stayed too long in a coffee shop and lost the keys to the apartment. The hero spends a terrible night in a separate cell kindly provided to him, realizing that madness is approaching him. In the morning, he watches with annoyance how food coupons are distributed to the detainees, but, unfortunately, they won’t give him one, because the day before, not wanting to be seen as a homeless tramp, he introduced himself as a journalist to law enforcement officers.

The hero reflects on questions of morality: now, without any twinge of conscience, he would have appropriated a purse lost by a schoolgirl on the street or would have picked up a coin dropped by a poor widow, even if she had her only one.

On the street, he runs into a newspaper editor who, out of sympathy, gives him some money as a future fee. This helps the hero regain a roof over his head, rent a miserable, dirty "room for visitors". Indecisively, he comes to the shop for a candle, which he intends to ask for a loan. He works hard day and night. The clerk mistakenly hands him more change along with the candle. Not believing in the unexpected luck, the beggar writer hurries to leave the shop, but he is tormented by shame, and he gives the money to the street vendor of pies, very perplexing the old woman. After some time, the hero decides to repent to the clerk of his deed, but does not meet with understanding, he is mistaken for a madman. Staggering from hunger, he finds a pie vendor, hoping to have at least a little refreshment - after all, he once did a good deed for her and has the right to count on responsiveness - but the old woman drives him away with abuse, takes the pie.

One day, the hero meets two women in the park and follows them, while behaving impudently, importunately and rather stupidly. Fantasies about a possible romance, as always, lead him very far, but, to his surprise, this story has a continuation. He calls the stranger Ilayali - a meaningless, musical sounding name that conveys her charm and mystery. But their relationship is not destined to develop, they cannot overcome disunity.

And again, a beggarly, hungry existence, mood swings, habitual isolation on oneself, one's thoughts, feelings, experiences, an unsatisfied need for natural human relationships.

Having decided that it is necessary to radically change his life, the hero enters the ship as a sailor.

A. M. Burmistrova

Pan

Roman (1894)

The author uses a form of narration in the first person. His hero, thirty-year-old lieutenant Thomas Glan, recalls the events that took place two years ago, in 1855. The letter that came by mail served as an impetus - two green bird feathers lay in an empty envelope. Glan decides for his own pleasure and in order to simply pass the time to write about what he had experienced. Then he spent about a year in the very north of Norway, in Nordland.

Glan lives in a forest lodge with his hunting dog Aesop. It seems to him that only here, far from the city bustle alien to him, in the midst of complete loneliness, watching the unhurried life of nature, admiring the colors of the forest and the sea, feeling their smells and sounds, he is truly free and happy.

One day, he waits out the rain in the boat shed, where the local rich merchant Mac with his daughter Edward and a doctor from the neighboring parish also take shelter from the downpour. A random episode leaves almost no trace in Glan's soul.

Meeting a mail steamer at the pier, he draws attention to a pretty young girl, Eva, whom he takes for the daughter of a village blacksmith.

Glan gets food by hunting, going to the mountains, takes cheese from Lapps-reindeer herders. Admiring the majestic beauty of nature, he feels himself an inseparable part of it, he eschews the company of people, reflecting on the vanity of their thoughts and actions. In the midst of the riot of spring, he experiences a strange, disturbing feeling that sweetly disturbs and intoxicates the soul.

Edward and the doctor visit Glan. The girl is delighted with how the hunter arranged his life, but it would still be better if he began to dine at their house. The doctor examines the hunting equipment and notices the figurine of Pan on the powder flask, the men talk for a long time about the god of forests and fields, full of passionate love.

Glan realizes that he is seriously carried away by Edward, he is looking for a new meeting with her, and therefore goes to Mac's house. There he spends the most boring evening in the company of the host's guests, busy playing cards, and Edward does not pay any attention to him. Returning to the lodge, he notes with surprise that Mack sneaks into the blacksmith's house at night. And Glan himself willingly accepts the shepherdess he meets.

Glan explains to Edward that he does not hunt for the sake of killing, but to live. Soon the shooting of birds and animals will be prohibited, then you will have to fish. Glan talks about the life of the forest with such rapture that it impresses the merchant's daughter, she has never heard such unusual speeches.

Edwarda invites Glan to a picnic and in every possible way emphasizes her disposition towards him in public. Glan feels embarrassed, trying to smooth over the girl's reckless antics. When the next day, Edward confesses that he loves him, he loses his head with happiness.

Love captures them, but the relationship of young people is difficult, there is a struggle of pride. Edward is capricious and self-willed, the strangeness and illogicality of her actions sometimes infuriates Glan. One day, he jokingly gives the girl two green feathers as a keepsake.

Difficult love experiences completely exhaust Glan, and when Eve, who is in love with him, comes to his lodge, this brings relief to his restless soul. The girl is simple-minded and kind-hearted, he feels good and calm with her, he can express her painful feelings to her, even if she is not even able to understand him.

In an extremely excited state, Glan returns to his lodge after the ball arranged by Edward, how many barbs and unpleasant moments he had to endure that evening! And he is also insanely jealous of the doctor, a lame opponent has a clear advantage. Out of frustration, Glan shoots himself in the leg.

Glan, who is treating him, asks if he and Edwarda had a mutual inclination? The Doctor clearly sympathizes with Glan. Edwarda has a strong character and an unhappy disposition, he explains, she expects a miracle from love and hopes for the appearance of a fairy prince. Domineering and proud, she is used to being in charge of everything, and hobbies in essence do not affect her heart.

Mac brings a guest to the house, the baron, with whom Edward spends all the time from now on. Glan seeks solace in the company of Eve, he is happy with her, but she does not fill either his heart or his soul. Mac finds out about their relationship and dreams only of how to get rid of an opponent.

When meeting with Edward Glan, he is restrainedly cold. He decided that he would not allow himself to be fooled by a headstrong girl, a dark fisherwoman. Edwarda is hurt when she learns of Glan's connection to Eve. She does not miss the opportunity to snipe at his expense about an affair with someone else's wife. Glan was unpleasantly surprised to learn about the true state of affairs, he was convinced that Eva was the daughter of a blacksmith.

The vengeful Mac sets fire to his lodge, and Glan is forced to move to an abandoned fishing shack by the pier. Having learned about the departure of the baron, he decides to celebrate this event with a kind of salute. Glan puts gunpowder under the rock, intending to set fire to the fuse at the moment the steamer leaves and arrange an unusual spectacle. But Mac guesses his intention. He arranges so that at the moment of the explosion on the shore under the rock is Eve, who dies under a collapse.

Glan comes to Mac's house to announce his departure. Edward is absolutely calm about his decision. She asks only to leave Aesop for her as a keepsake. It seems to Glan that she will torture the dog, then caress, then flog with a whip. He kills the dog and sends his corpse to Edward.

Two years have passed, but it’s necessary - nothing is forgotten, the soul aches, it’s cold and dreary, Glan reflects. What if you leave to unwind, hunt somewhere in Africa or India?

The epilogue to the novel is the short story "The Death of Glan", the events of which date back to 1861. These are the notes of a man who was with Glan in India, where they hunted together. It was he, provoked by Glan, who shot him right in the face, presenting the incident as an accident. He has no remorse for what he did. He hated Glan, who seemed to seek doom and got what he wanted.

A. M. Burmistrova

Victoria

Roman (1898)

The action takes place in contemporary Norway writer.

From time to time, when some kind of walk or game is started, the children of the owner of the landowner's estate, which the people called the Castle, - Victoria and Ditlef - invite the son of a miller neighbor, Johannes, to keep them company. The boy is drawn to communicate with his peers, but every time he is hurt that the young gentlemen treat him condescendingly, in every possible way emphasizing that he is not equal to them. He is especially annoyed by Otto, the son of a rich chamberlain, who often visits the owners of the estate. Only Victoria is friendly to him, she likes to listen to entertaining stories about trolls and giants, composed by Johannes prone to fiction. A ten-year-old girl, who is four years younger than the indefatigable dreamer, begs him not to marry the princess - no one will love him like she does.

Johannes leaves for the city to study and returns to his native place when he is twenty years old. On the pier, he sees the owner of the Castle, his wife and Victoria, meeting Ditlef, who arrived home for the holidays on the same steamer. Victoria does not recognize the companion of children's games. How she has grown and improved!

Not wanting to admit it to himself, Johannes is looking for a meeting with Victoria. And so they meet in the forest. Both feel awkward, and the conversation does not go well. The young man is discouraged: Victoria seems alien and distant, she coldly addresses him as you. She only pretends to be amiable, but she herself makes fun of him, drops arrogant words, Johannes thinks. But all the poems written by him are dedicated to her alone!

Johannes and Ditlef are going to take a boat to the island. A girl falls into the water from the ship, and Johannes manages to save the drowning woman, he becomes the hero of the day, everyone praises him and enthusiastically greets him. He is happy that Victoria saw how he accomplished this act, this feat. However, he is constantly confused by the behavior of the girl, both of them are proud and proud, and their relationship is difficult.

The young man again leaves for the city and writes, writes ... His poems begin to be printed, then a collection comes out, he becomes famous as a poet. And his creativity is nourished by love, love for Victoria. This feeling fills his existence with meaning and content. He knows that Victoria is also in the city, but does not meet her, because he does not belong to the circle where she happens to be. Victoria finds him herself. Johannes is shocked to see the ring on her hand. Yeah, she's engaged, so what? Besides, there were special reasons for that. Isn't he engaged to Camille Sayer, whom he once pulled out of the water? Victoria saw her, she grew up and became a pretty girl. They say he visits their house. Johannes confirms that it happens, only he did not have anything like that in his thoughts. Victoria insists that it is time for her to go home (she lives in the family of a chamberlain), but she herself is not in a hurry. They take a long walk in the park, and Johannes finally decides to open his heart to her. His words breathe passion and excitement. Ah, if she had said that he was at least a little dear to her, it would have given him strength, he would have achieved a lot in life, almost unattainable. It turns out that Victoria reciprocates his feelings.

Johannes feels that he is happy, he wants to see Victoria again and again, he is looking for meetings, but her fiancé, Lieutenant Otto, is always next to her. Johannes walks near the house of the chamberlain, and finally, two days later, Victoria goes on a date. What she said is true, the girl confirms, but they are not destined to be together, too much separates them. The father would never have consented to their marriage. And let Juhannes stop following her relentlessly.

Johannes is confused and depressed. Having received an invitation to a party with the Seyer spouses and learning that Victoria will be there, he sends a note with a polite refusal: no more meetings with her.

He spends the whole autumn and winter as a recluse, going almost nowhere, and working on a big book. Having finished it, he takes his essay to the publisher and goes abroad. By autumn, his new book, written in a foreign land, will be published. Recognition, fame comes, his name is on everyone's lips.

Once Victoria appears in the miller's house, she wants to know if there is any news from Johannes. But his parents do not know anything about him, he does not write to them. Two days later, a letter arrives that Johannes will arrive in a month, and the miller hurries to the estate with this news. Victoria perceives his message with complete indifference, the miller is discouraged: in vain his wife claimed that she knew what was in the soul of the landowner's daughter.

Johannes is back in his homeland, he goes around the places with which childhood memories are connected. In the forest, he meets Victoria, she picks flowers, guests are waiting in the Castle and the house needs to be decorated. Young people have not seen each other for two years, love attracts them to each other, but both fight with themselves, suppressing this feeling.

Johannes receives an invitation to the owners of the estate for a party. He crosses the threshold of this house for the first time, where he meets a rather warm welcome - after all, now he is a famous writer. As a promised surprise, Victoria brings Camille to him, whom she specially invited to visit, now she is a charming seventeen-year-old girl. Out of the kindness of her soul, she found herself a substitute, Johannes thinks. It turns out that the reception is organized on the occasion of the announcement of the engagement. From the conversation of the guests, Johannes learns that the owner of the estate is on the verge of ruin, and the groom is rich, a profitable party. Johannes is offended by Victoria's taunts, her quirks. Only Camille brightens up his stay there. Victoria's behavior looks generally rather strange, which the groom notices. Sensing something was wrong, Otto, as arrogant and arrogant as in childhood, bullies himself and, as if by chance, hits Juhannes in the face, he immediately leaves the house.

Camilla goes to the mill to check on Johannes. They go for a walk in the forest. It seems to Johannes that he knows a way out of the impasse - he proposes to Camille. The girl admits that she loves him for a long time.

The next day, Johannes comes to the pier to see Camille off and learns from her that Otto has been killed. It turned out that after the incident, he immediately packed up and left with a neighbor-landowner to hunt for woodcocks, where he got hit by a stray bullet. Johannes wants to express condolences to Victoria, but hears hurtful words from her. Later, she apologizes for her antics, explains the situation. The father forced him to marry Otto in order to prevent the ruin of the family. She was against it, saying that it would be better for her parents to insure her life, and then she would drown herself in the bay or at the dam, but she was forced to give in, asking for a three-year delay. Tomorrow he and his mother must move to the city, only the father will remain in the estate. She expects to hear words of love and support from Johannes, but he hesitates, and then embarrassedly admits that he has a fiancee.

The next morning, the miller helps deliver Otto's body to the steamer and, fulfilling the instructions of Victoria and her mother, returns to the estate. There he witnesses how the landowner carefully and deliberately sets fire and dies. When the neighbors run away, nothing can be done, the estate burns to the ground.

Johannes is working on another book when Camilla comes to see him. She enthusiastically talks about the ball at which she happened to be, and about her acquaintance with the Englishman Richmond. By the way, the parents arrange a party, Victoria and her mother are also invited. The poor thing is so skinny. Johannes recalls how long they had not seen each other, for about a year. No, he won't go, he doesn't want this meeting. Appearing next time, Camilla reports that Victoria danced all evening, and then she became ill, she was sent home. The constant subject of her conversations is a new acquaintance, Richmond. She cannot understand the mental turmoil, it seems to her that, by accepting his courtship, she betrays her fiancé. Johannes guesses that a great real feeling has woken up in her. He is not going to interfere with her happiness with another, but his soul becomes empty and cold.

Johannes is informed that Victoria has died, she had consumption. He reads her dying letter, full of tenderness and sadness, where she regrets her failed love, her failed life.

A. M. Burmistrova

(Konrad Wallenrod. Powiesehistoryczna)

Romantic Poem (1828)

In the prose preface to the poem, the author notes that he describes those ancient times when the pagan Lithuanians fought their main enemy - the Teutonic Order, which conquered Prussia.

1391 Knights come to Marienburg to elect the head of the order. More often than others, the name of Wallenrod is pronounced here - a foreigner who glorified the order throughout Europe with his exploits. "Not only did he exalt the rank of crusader with formidable military courage: but, despising the blessings of life, he ascended in Christian valor." This knight "did not sell his weapons and honor to the warring barons. In the monastery, without touching the temptations, shunning the light, he spends his youth: the sonorous laughter of beauties and the sweet-stringed songs of minstrels are alien to him."

This man, not old in years, but gloomy, gray-haired and pale, has the only friend - the holy monk Halban, his constant confessor.

Sometimes Konrad sings a song in an unknown language, and the knight has tears in his eyes, and the spirit flies away to the land of memories. And there is neither fun nor hope in this song ...

And in the tower of the castle lives a young recluse. About ten years ago she came from nowhere to Marienburg and "voluntarily entered the tower. / Now from the high window the hermit cries out: / "Konrad! <...> Having become a master, your duty is to destroy them!"

The knights, hearing these words in an unfamiliar language, understand only the name "Conrad". This is "heaven's direction," proclaims Halban, and Conrad is elected Grand Master.

Everyone hopes that Wallenrod will soon conquer Lithuania. But he "impudently violates the custom of the ancestors": he calls on the knights to give up military glory and wealth. "Let virtue be our glory!" And the Litvins are already scouring the walls of the castle. Conrad goes to the tower at night and quietly talks with the recluse. She sings how he converted her, a beautiful pagan, a Christian knight, into her faith and carried her away to a foreign country. Conrad suffers: why did the unfortunate woman follow him?! But she, shocked by Conrad's daring plan, "secretly appear in a German castle and, / hitting their German camp with revenge, / pay off for the sorrows of the people," wanted to be close to her beloved. Wallenrod reproaches the recluse: once, weeping bitterly, he parted with her - and with his happiness - "for bloody and rebellious plans." And now, when he is finally ready to take revenge on the "enemies of the sworn", her appearance undermined his strength. Halban showers Conrad with reproaches. Wallenrod needs to go on a campaign, but he cannot leave his beloved.

Konrad feasts with Vitold, who, fighting for power in Lithuania, came to ask for help from the order. The old Litvin sings a song, disgracing the traitors who have defected to the Germans. ashamed, Vitold "covered himself with a cloak and plunged into black meditation." The old man tells about a young Litvin who was captured by the Germans as a child, named Walter Alf and made a crusader. Grand Master Winrich loved him like his own son. But longing for the fatherland, hatred for the Germans was hidden in the Lithuanian heart. The young man meets with the old Litvin singer; he tells the orphan about his homeland and kindles in him hatred for her enemies. The old man tells the young man: "Stay with the Germans, / learn from them military affairs / and enter into their confidence ..." But in the first battle with the Litvins, the young man rushes to his fellow tribesmen - and tells his story to Prince Keistut and his daughter, "divinely young" Aldone. Soon the young people fall in love with each other, and the prince marries them. But Walter "with a noble soul was not happy in the family, / since there was no happiness in the homeland." The Germans are advancing and Walter is afraid that they will take all of Lithuania. Having freed Aldona from her marriage vow, he secretly goes to the Germans in order to destroy the order from the inside.

After the feast, Witold betrays his German allies (it seems that the old man's songs did their job; they suspect that it was Halban in disguise). Witold's people are sacking German castles. Conrad is forced to lead the revenge-hungry crusaders to Lithuania. He returns in winter with the remnants of a defeated army. The famous commander Wallenrod destroyed this time his entire army. The face of the Grand Master is gloomy, but his eyes are shining.

The secret council of the order gathers in the dungeon. One of the twelve masked judges declares that Count Wallenrod once went to Palestine and soon disappeared, and a certain knight from his retinue, having arrived in Spain, called himself the name of his master, whom he apparently killed. Having become famous in Spain, where he bravely smashed the Moors, the impostor appeared in Marienburg. Twelve judges in black unanimously pass the death sentence on the traitor.

Alf, who has fulfilled his oath, hurries to Aldona. He no longer wants to take revenge - "the Germans are people too" - and calls his beloved to Lithuania to start life anew. But it's too late! The aged Aldona does not dare to show her husband in front of her. Soon Alf hears a cry behind him: "Woe, woe, woe!" So the Privy Council urges the condemned to prepare for death. Alf says goodbye to Aldona. At night, the killers break into his rest, and the knight drains the bowl of poison. And the old Halban remains to live in order to tell everyone about the feat of the hero. "With one blow of the hundred-headed, I destroyed the hydra!" - proudly says Alf to the knights who burst into him and dies. Seeing that the lamp went out in his window, with a cry falls dead in his tower Aldona.

In the "Explanations" Mickiewicz notes that the real Wallenrod really brought the order to the brink of death and died himself under very mysterious circumstances. Was he not that German knight Walter von Stadion, who, having been captured by the Lithuanians, married the daughter of Keistut and secretly left Lithuania with her?

E. V. Maksimova

Dramatic poem (part II, IV - 1823; part III - 1832)

The poem reflected some facts of the author's biography (unhappy love, arrest in Vilna for participating in the activities of circles of patriotic Polish youth, deportation to the inner provinces of Russia). The first part of the poem was not completed.

In the poetic introduction "Ghost" a young man-suicidal, having risen from the coffin, yearns for his beloved and tenderly recalls the past.

In a prosaic introduction, the author explains that Dzyady is an ancient folk rite of commemoration of the dead, which is based on the cult of ancestors (grandfathers). Struggling with the remnants of pagan beliefs, the church tried to eradicate this custom, and therefore the people celebrated Dzyady secretly, in chapels or empty houses near cemeteries, where people set up refreshments at night, called on restless souls and tried to help them find eternal peace.

Part II. At night in the chapel, the Magician summons the souls of the dead with spells. The elder and the choir echo him. The souls of two innocent children are asking for mustard seeds: "He who has not known grief in the world / after death will not know joy!" The terrible ghost of the late pan begs his peasants for at least a crumb of bread - only then will the torment of the villain end. But the people whom he once starved to death turned after death into ravens and owls and now snatch food from the cruel pan from the throat. The beautiful Zosya, who drove the guys crazy, but never gave love and happiness to anyone, is now languishing with melancholy: "Whoever did not know the earth here in the world / will not go to heaven!"

A ghost suddenly rushes towards a woman in mourning with a pale and terrible face, with a bleeding wound in her heart. Not obeying any spells, he follows the laughing woman.

Part IV. Priest's residence. Night. The priest himself prays for the dead. The Hermit enters in a sackcloth covered with leaves and grass. From afar he returned to his father's land. "He who does not know love lives happily," the stranger sings. Oh, what a flame burns in his chest! .. He bitterly admits that, having read books, he was looking for ideal love, traveled all over the world, and then met Her, here, next to her, "to lose forever." The priest looks with compassion at the unfortunate man, who is "healthy in appearance, but seriously wounded in the heart." And the madman passionately and incoherently talks about his great love, abundantly sprinkling his speech with quotations from Schiller and Goethe. The priest gently remarks that there are people more unhappy than his guest. But he doesn't care about other people's suffering. He mourns for his Mary. She is alive - but dead to him. "Dead is he who does not help his neighbor with all his might!" - exclaims the priest. The newcomer is shocked: this is what she said to him in parting. "Friends, science, homeland and glory!" What nonsense! But once he believed in it! But high impulses left with youth ...

The rooster crows. The first candle goes out. And the priest suddenly recognizes in the newcomer his disciple Gustav, "the beauty and pride of youth", who has been missing somewhere for many years. But Gustav refuses to stay with the priest: the young man has nothing to repay for love and care, all his feelings are in the edges of memories. After all, everything has passed ... "Except the soul and God!" - the priest responds.

Gustav again in despair remembers his beloved. She preferred honors and gold ... But he does not blame her: what could he give her? One love to the grave ... The young man asks the priest not to tell Maryla that Gustav died of grief - and plunges a dagger into his chest. The second candle goes out. Gustav calmly hides the dagger and explains to the excited priest that he only repeated what he had done much earlier for instruction. He also came here to ask the servant of the church to return Dzyady to the people: after all, the dead need sincere tears and prayers of the living! Gustav himself became after death the shadow of his beloved and will stay with Maryla until her death, when they meet in heaven. After all, he knew heavenly bliss near her, and "whoever was in heaven at least once before death, / is dead, does not immediately get there!"

The clock strikes. Gustav disappears.

Part III. In a prosaic introduction, the poet tells about the sufferings of Poland under the rule of Alexander I and about the ruthless persecution that fell in 1823 on Polish youth who studied in Vilna and sought to preserve their native language and national culture. “There is something mystical in the case of the Vilna students <…> The high self-denial <…> of young prisoners, God’s obvious punishment that befell the oppressors - all this was deeply imprinted in the minds” of witnesses and participants in those events.

In Vilna, in the monastery of the Basilian Fathers, which has been turned into a prison, a prisoner sleeps. Angels and demons are arguing, fighting for his soul. The awakened prisoner understands: if his enemies, "taking away the bard's speech," send him into exile, "where his song remains incomprehensible," then he will become a dead man for his native country during his lifetime.

Konrad falls asleep again. The spirit admires the power of human thought: "There are no obstacles for thought in prison: it will exalt, it will overthrow the throne."

At night, the prisoners, using the sympathy of the Polish guard, gather in Konrad's cell, adjacent to the church, and celebrate Christmas. Tomasz, whom the young men consider their head, explains to Zhegota, who was captured today: Senator Novosiltsev, who fell into disfavor "for drinking and stealing openly," is now trying to curry favor with the tsar, "to find a conspiracy, to slander the Poles and thereby save himself." Noble Tomas is ready to take all the blame.

Comrades with irony tell Zhegota about the horrors of imprisonment, they talk about wagons taking boys chained to Siberia ... They remember how the patriots from the wagons shouted: “Glory to Poland forever!” only unkind will arrange for himself, who will see the liberties of the grain and bury it! Zhegota smiles. the prisoners sing a cheerful song about how they will mine ore in Siberia - to forge an ax for the king.

Looking at the gloomy Conrad, friends understand: he is seized with inspiration. Conrad sings a furious song that "calls for great vengeance" - and falls unconscious. His friends scatter when they hear the footsteps of the patrolmen. And Konrad, standing up, speaks of the loneliness of the poet, Not people, but only God and nature will understand the singer! His song is "the creation of the universe"! He is equal to the Creator! Loving his people immensely, the poet wants to "instruct and glorify them," and demands from God great power over human hearts. Konrad bitterly reproaches the Almighty: why does he punish the unfortunate Poles?!

The young man falls unconscious again. The demons are angry: if he continued to quarrel with God in his pride, they would get the soul of the poet! But, seeing the priest Peter, whom the guard brought, the devils scatter. Peter casts out an evil spirit from Conrad. He wriggles, wriggles ("Ah, it's hard in hell for sensitive natures! When I peel off a sinner with my claws, believe me, I wipe my tears more than once with my tail!"), but he is forced to obey the pious priest. The angels ask the Almighty to forgive the poet: he did not honor the Lord, but he loved his people and suffered for them.

In a village near Lvov, young Eva prays for the unfortunate people thrown into prison and for the poet whose poetry is so beautiful.

Priest Peter also prays in his cell: “My people are erected in the place of the frontal, / Vinegar Prussia, bile - Austria brings, / the tsarist soldier pierced the crucified with a spear, / but this fierce enemy will be corrected in the future, / one of all he will be forgiven by the Almighty ".

In his luxurious bedroom, the Senator tosses and turns on the bed. The devils rejoice: this stinking soul will not leave them!

Warsaw salon. The nobility at the table chirps in French about balls and refuses to listen to Polish poetry: this is nonsense! At the door, young people and a few old men speak in Polish about the blood of patriots shed in Lithuania. But secular society does not want to hear about it: firstly, it is dangerous, secondly, "Lithuania is like a part of another planet: / the Parisian newspapers are completely silent about it!" Writers refuse to write about how Polish patriots suffer in prisons. “There are no legends yet…” Here in a hundred years… Besides, there is no national flavor in this subject: “We must sing the herds, the love of the villagers: / the Slavs always attract to a simple idyll.” Outraged youth leaves the salon. Young men understand: they must go to the people.

Vilna. In the reception hall, the Senator and his henchmen create more and more new cases against the Poles, try to throw a blind widow into prison, who prays for a meeting with her son severely beaten in prison, mock the priest Peter. He calmly prophesies a quick death to the villains.

??? ...???

finally, to taste forbidden pleasures. "And the judge decided to marry his nephew, to whom he was going to leave his estate.

In the house, Tadeusz runs into a lovely young girl. He sees "curls of thick short hair, twisted in the morning on white papillots, flowing with a quiet sheen of golden radiance ..." The beauty runs away, and the young man dreams about her all day.

In the evening, the judge arranges for numerous guests a dinner in a dilapidated castle. It once belonged to the rich and noble Pan Goreshko, who was friends with the brother of the judge, the dashing grunt Jacek Soplitsa, but refused to give him his daughter, the blue-eyed beauty Eva, as his wife, although the young people loved each other. The tycoon found her a better husband... Then, when the castle was stormed by the tsarist troops that occupied Lithuania, Jacek killed Pan Goreshko, who led the defense of this fortress, with a well-aimed shot. For this, the new authorities gave the castle to the Soplits. But Jacek disappeared somewhere. Now his brother is suing for the castle with a young blue-eyed handsome count, a distant relative of Pan Goreshko.

At the feast, next to Tadeusz, the dark-haired beauty Telimena, dressed in the latest fashion, sits down. The young man is happy: he saw her this morning! True, then she seemed younger to him ... However, these are trifles!

And the judge is talking at the table with the priest Robak - a dashing monk, whose face is covered with scars. He came from across the Neman and is always whispering about something with the local gentry, after which many young men flee to the Polish detachments that are fighting under the banner of Napoleon. The Poles see the French emperor as their liberator.

In the morning, the judge arranges a hunt, in which the count, who calls himself a romantic, also participates. "The local nobility whispered in all corners: /" The count in his head, they say, lacks a little. But everyone honored her for her generosity, the antiquity of the family, for never offending the people. "The count wanders into the castle, and there the bald-headed key keeper, the old grunt Gervaziy, the faithful servant of Pan Goreshko, who swore to kill the scoundrel Jacek, begs the young man not to give these ruins to the wicked Soplitsa! The count is touched by the romantic history of the castle. It is a pity that Soplitsa does not have a daughter, for whom the count, for the sake of completeness, could inflame with insane passion! And suddenly he sees a lovely blond girl in the judge's garden. "Jumping like a toad" "between mugs" , the count approaches the beauty, but the sweet simplicity of the "heavenly creation" disappoints him. "Having plucked his annoyance on poor cucumbers," the count goes to the oak forest and sees there the sophisticated society lady Telimena, who carried away all the guests of the judge for mushrooms. Now she is sad: “No one devoured the beauty with their eyes, / everyone was busy with despicable mushrooms!” Finally, the judge sits down next to her and starts talking about Tadeusz.meanwhile wants his son to know about it. Now Jacek wrote to the judge to marry Tadeusz to the beautiful young Zose. Telimena does not want to hear about Tadeusz's wedding. And Telimena will not give him his pupil Zosya, the daughter of Eva who died in Siberia. You never know that all these years Zosia lived on Jacek's money... But, afraid that the judge might marry his nephew to someone else, Telimena promises to think about it.

Coming out from behind a bush, the count bows sweetly to her, and Telimena begins to chirp about divine Italy. "Paying tribute to the delights of the south," they "blasphemed their homeland and echoed each other." Appeared Tadeusz passionately stands up for the Lithuanian nature - "and shakes Telimena's hand with his hand." She flirts with both admirers, while Tadeusz thrusts a key and a note.

The next morning, waking up, the happy Tadeusz recalls the joys of the night - and suddenly sees in the window the face of a golden-haired beauty, whom he encountered on the day of arrival. But the young man needs to hurry to hunt. He rushes past the tavern of the venerable Jew Yankel; for honesty and good advice "a good Pole" he is "reputed in his native district." Now priest Robak is telling the gentry gathered in the tavern that Napoleon will soon liberate Lithuania. So the Poles "the time has come to mount the horses and take out the sabers, so as not to be ashamed!"

In the forest, an angry bear rushes at Tadeusz and the count. The young man is rescued by Roebuck, who has put down the beast from a hundred steps. Only the daring Jacek Soplitsa once shot like that ...

And Telimena is figuring out which of the two admirers, she, middle-aged and not rich, should be dragged to the altar. "The Count is a well-born sir! Magnates are changeable ... / Blond ... Blonds are all cold in love ... / Tadeusz is a simpleton, besides a nice fellow / and loves for the first time, he is perhaps more reliable!" And it would be nice to marry the count to Zosia! Then Telimene, too, would have found a place in the marital estate. And Telimena decides today to introduce fourteen-year-old Zosya to society. Stop messing around with chickens and playing with peasant children!

Seeing Zosya dressed up in the latest fashion in the living room, Tadeusz becomes stupefied, and then, in despair, runs into the forests. Soon he sees Telimena, who, wringing her hands, rushes about the lawn. But it's not about mental anguish. Ants have eaten the beauty... Tadeusz rushes to her aid, and a jealous count is watching the couple from behind the bushes.

Everyone dine in the castle. Tadeusz is gloomy. Having regained his sight, he finally learned the terrible secret of Telimena: "she blushed!" The young man is desperately jealous of Zosya for the count, who is following the baby in order to annoy Telimene. Annoyed, the count starts a quarrel with the judge over the castle.

Tadeusz challenges the count to a duel. Having defeated the entire hall and fled from the battlefield, the faithful Gervasius incites the count to attack Soplitsov!

In the morning priest Robak explains to the judge that Jacek Soplica "repented of the terrible crime / and swore to return the estate to the heirs." He dreams of "Tadeusz now to woo an orphan" in order to "deal with enmity in this way." After all, the war for the freedom of the motherland is coming! And in these parts the judge Soplitsa will lead the patriots!

Gervasy calls on the fellow Dobzhinskys and other local gentry to deal with Soplitsa, whose brother killed the patriot Go-reshko. And the gentry, having drunk hard, in delight knocks down for the count, dressed "in black, on an excellent horse, / in an open cloak, elegant, foreign."

And the judge and his guests look at the comet in amazement. This is bad omen! The priest finally confesses to the judge that he, Robak, is Jacek Soplica. Tadeusz, finally confused in his love affairs, decides to immediately fight the count, and then run to the rebels. In a dark corridor, the young man lies in wait for Teliemen and threatens to tell everyone how Tadeusz treacherously seduced her, an innocent girl. The young man calls her a fool, but understands that his future is ruined. Let Zosenka find happiness with the count! And the poor fellow runs to drown himself, but at the pond he runs into an opponent who is going to storm the Soplitsov. They grab Tadeusz; a gang of gentry swoops down on the estate. Telimene throws herself at the count's feet. The embarrassed count locks the captives in the house, and the gentry attacks the cellar and kitchen.

Drunk bawds are twisted by soldiers - "Muscovites". The judge himself and Zosenka ask to release the dissolute gentry. Weeping women. "From these tears and screams / the captain, the brave man Nikita Rykov, relented," but Major Plut, a Pole, who, in pursuit of ranks and money, remade his surname Plutovich into the Russian way, is going to severely punish the rebels. After all, the Dobzhinskys shouted at all corners that he had robbed the regimental cash desk! Now they will go to Siberia, if the judge does not lay out a thousand for each!

But then priest Robak brings all the neighbors, and the battle begins. The Poles win. Robak "sent a truce envoy to Rykov / and offered him to hand over his weapons without a dispute. / <...> But Rykov did not want to beg for pardon." The battle continues. The priest covers the wounded count with his body. Finally, the enemy was defeated, Rykov was taken prisoner. "I, Poles, love you!" - the captain admits with sincere admiration. The rogue hid "in the neighboring yard. / And thus ended the last run-in in Lithuania."

Refusing the money indignantly, Rykov promises to settle the matter with the authorities. "Moscow is for a Muscovite, and Poland is for a Pole, / for me, let it be so - the tsar doesn't want to, however," the captain remarks with a sigh.

Gervasius confesses that he killed the Dodger. The wounded Roebuck announces that the heroes of the battle must immediately flee abroad. Before parting, Tadeusz does not want to bind Zosia with an engagement. But he hopes to return to his beloved, covered with glory. Zosya, shedding tears, hangs an amulet around his neck. The count, realizing that he and Tadeusz are not rivals, tenderly says goodbye to the astonished Telimena and, following the example of the young man, also sets off to perform feats on the battlefield. The priest advises the rich count to equip a whole regiment. When everyone leaves, Roebuck confesses to Gervasius that he is Jacek Soplica. He sincerely loved Pan Goreshko, and he openly used him. When the magnate, knowing about the feelings of Jacek and Eva, married his daughter to another, the offended Jacek married a wretched girl in desperation and took to drink in grief. His unfortunate wife soon died, leaving him a son, Tadeusz. Mad with his pride and love for Eva, Jacek killed Goreshko, who was defending the castle from the "Muscovites". And everyone began to consider Jacek a traitor! Expiating his sin, he took the name Roebuck - "a worm in the dust" - and gave himself entirely to the service of the Lord and the fatherland. Shocked by the suffering that fell to Jacek's lot, Gervasius confesses that Goreshko, dying, forgave Soplitsa.

They bring a letter from Warsaw: war has been declared. The Seimas decided to reunite Poland and Lithuania. With a reconciled soul, Jacek dies of his wounds.

1812 French and Polish troops enter Lithuania. They are enthusiastically welcomed by the local gentry. In Soplitsov "general Dombrovsky himself appeared after midnight." A grand feast is held at the estate. Here the honest name of Jacek Soplica is restored: "the deceased was awarded the hand of Napoleon / honors - the cross of the Legion of Honor." At the feast, the engagement of Zosya, dressed in Lithuanian folk dress, and the brave lancer Tadeusz, who is recovering from his wounds, are announced. Another couple also appears at the feast - Telimena and her fiancé - a notary who, at the request of the bride, changed the Polish dress for a tailcoat. Renegade! - shouts the shocked Count, promoted by Napoleon to colonel. Telimena is ready to leave the notary immediately, but now she seems "vulgar, prosaic" to the count. "Pretty nonsense grind!" - the beauty cuts him off decisively and returns to the groom.

Tadeusz decides to free his peasants: "It is shameful for a man to be a slave owner!" "If that makes us poorer, what then? You will become even more dear to me then!" - answers Zosya, ready to live with her beloved in the wilderness, in the village, "turkeys, and chickens, and pheasants / I am a hundred times more miles than foggy Petersburg!"

The old man Gervasius does not really approve of the plans for the liberation of the peasants, but so that the young people do not live in poverty, he passes into the hands of Zosia the priceless treasure hidden in the castle by her ancestors, and a bag of thalers from himself. The housekeeper himself is going to live with Zosenka and Tadeusz and raise their sons to be excellent handymen.

To the cymbals of Yankel, everyone dances a polonaise, the melody of which seems to tell about the victories and defeats of the Poles.

"And I was with the guests, drinking good mead and wine, / What I saw, what I heard, I gathered together here."

Epilogue. "So I thought on the streets of Paris /" In the hype, in the chaos of low deceptions. / One consolation in a difficult time ... / To dream of a homeland, forgetting a foreign land.

E. V. Maksimova

Historical Drama (1830, publ. 1832)

Hall in Holy Rood Palace. The queen's page runs in. He says that there are riots in the city. Some unknown person at the head of the crowd - mummers, in masks, dancers with bells, people in black hoods - threatened, predicted and urged the people not to obey the queen. The queen's courtier, Riccio, confirms that he, too, observes from time to time how the people eagerly listen to these sermons. The page goes on to say that the people burst into the queen's chapel, shouting "Papists' nest!" that the jester of Darnley, the queen's husband, jumped up on the altar and began to imitate a sermon, and the people answered him with mocking verses. Queen Mary Stuart is in despair. She feels the hatred of the people, most of the courtiers have left her; she wonders how her Christianity can be so different from the Christianity of the people of Scotland. Riccio proposes to immediately prepare a decree punishing those responsible for the riots. Mary dictates to his page, the page specifies whether to enter the name of Henry Darnley, the husband of the queen. Mary hesitates; she suspects that the riots were inspired by him - after all, the jester of the king led the crowd. Here Riccio reminds her that she is the queen; she is like the sun, and she has the right to punish from God. He demands to immediately call the officer on duty to announce the decree of the queen. Enter Douglas. Maria tells him to take the paper to the Royal Chancellor, Morton, to have it sealed. Douglas looks over the decree and sees that it does not contain the king's name. He asks the queen about it. Riccio is in charge.

Douglas loses his temper. He urges the queen not to use bloody suppression measures, hinting that he sees French or Italian influence in this. But the queen coldly reminds him of her power to eliminate her disobedient subjects. A quarrel breaks out between Riccio and Douglas, Douglas challenges Riccio to a duel and vows that he will kill the Venetian tomorrow. The Queen retires and takes Riccio away. Douglas is left alone, he ponders the duel. Enter Morton. Douglas shows him the decree. Morton is indecisive: he is afraid of the wrath of both the king and the queen. Without applying a seal, Morton carries the decree to the king. At this time, Henry is busy talking with his jester Nick, who teases him that the queen has real power in Scotland, and Henry is only her husband, that the queen chooses her close associates, for example, this Italian harpist Riccio ... At this time, Morton brings the ill-fated decree. The king is angry, he decides to kill Riccio. The king's courtier Lindsay enters, he calls the king to hunt with a newly acquired falcon. Morton replies that the king already has something to do today. Lindsay willingly joins the conspiracy against Riccio. Enter Douglas. He literally forbids killing Riccio tonight because he has to kill him himself tomorrow morning. Then Henry, taking advantage of the respite, sends a jester to the astrologer to find out what the arrangement of the stars is for his intentions.

The astrologer in his laboratory (he is also an alchemist) argues with himself that experience confirms the futility of science, that destiny, the will of the stars rule over man, dispose of good and evil. The jester Nick enters, pouring witticisms, the astrologer is not inferior to him in wit. Nick reports that the king sent him to ask about the fate of Riccio and prompts the astrologer to predict Riccio's death. The astrologer replies that the stars, not people, will tell him, and in turn predicts the death of the jester. With that, he leaves. The queen's page, summoned by the astrologer, appears. The page loves his mistress. The astrologer tells him to tell the Queen that the man she loves will die today. "How, Bothwell will die today?" - exclaims the page. The astrologer is puzzled. He meant Riccio and urges the page to warn him about it. Left alone, the astrologer thinks - the stars also showed that Bothwell was somehow gloomy connected with the queen - through Mars, Saturn ... Bothwell enters. From his monologue it becomes clear that he unexpectedly found himself in the house of an astrologer. Realizing where he got to, Bothwell asks the astrologer how much he has left to live. The old man replies that three years and that Bothwell will be king. Bothwell takes out a bottle of poison with which he wanted to commit suicide, wants to throw it away - and thinks. Indeed, in the atmosphere of palace intrigues, any weapon will come in handy. He's leaving.

The page informs the queen that Riccio is coming soon. The queen is looking forward to him - in her opinion, he alone remained faithful to her. "And Bothwell?" - asks the page. "Who is this Bothwell?" - the queen is interested. The surprised page tells Mary how, while boating, a strong wind blew a rose from the queen's head, the flower fell into the water. And then one of the courtiers - Bothwell - rushed into the boat and terribly urged the rower to catch the rose from the water. After listening to the story, Mary sends a page to pray. She confesses to God that she no longer has the strength to resist her love for Bothwell. The queen knows that at court she is considered to be in love with Riccio. Enter Riccio. Mary informs him of the mortal danger that threatens him and coldly says goodbye to him, pointing out to him the ship that will take him to Rome. Desperate, Riccio tries to beg the Queen to reverse his decision to leave. The Queen is relentless.

Henry, Morton and Lindsay have learned of Riccio's impending departure and hastily confer whether to kill him or let him sail. Then Douglas appears and informs that Riccio has already sailed. Douglas is in despair, he longs for bloody revenge, his knightly honor is offended. Suddenly they meet a page who carries a note from Riccio to the queen - he has not left and will be with her in the evening. The conspirators take away the note.

Maria is busy with embroidery in her room. Riccio arrives and explains to her that he couldn't leave because he has a duel with Douglas in the morning. He admits that he does not need life without her love. He asks Mary to give him a wreath of roses - he will put flowers on the altar in Rome ... Heinrich, Douglas and Dindsay enter and kill Riccio. The Queen collapses. Douglas is struck with shame and horror - he voluntarily retires into exile. Henry is worried that the Queen will hate him. Lindsay drags the king away, whispering to him about the upcoming hunt. Enter Bothwell, invited by the Queen. Maria comes to her senses, sees Bothwell and confesses her love to him. Bothwell forces her to admit that she wants Heinrich dead and gives her her vial of poison, saying it is sleeping pills. Maria passes this "medicine" to the king, but the jester drinks the poison. However, nothing can stop the murderous intrigue - Bothwell blows up the house of King Henry. In the distance, the growing screams of the crowd can be heard. Bothwell and the queen are in hiding.

O. A. Salnit

(Lambro, powstanca grecki)

Roman-poem (183E)

The Greek Minot sails on the sea in a boat to his native island of Ipsar. He can see blossoming orange trees, overshadowing the ruins of the colonnades, mountain peaks, immersed in the azure sky. The houses on the island seem to be cut into the coastal rocks, the light contours of the minarets are visible. Acacias and roses bloom in the gardens, nightingales sing. The sun is setting. There is almost no one on the streets. Turks spend their evenings in the baths. The Greeks serve there, preparing coffee and opium.

Minot is an itinerant singer. He is going to sing for the regulars of the bathhouse. The Turks put aside their amber mouthpieces. The singing of the Greek is addressed to his fellow tribesmen. He says that as a boy he watched the battle of the Greeks with the Turks. The battle was lost. The boy saw how Christian crosses were thrown down. The Greek Lambro - the hero of Minot's story - managed to escape: he went to the mountains. Then other surviving Greeks joined him. A few years later, an uprising against Turkish rule began. Bells rang all over the country, the Greeks sang the anthem of the rebels, composed by Riga. The uprising was soon put down. And now an echo of sobs swept through Greece: Riga was captured, the Turks announced his execution - he would be hanged on the mast of a Turkish frigate,

The singer continues his song. He sings about a monastery high above the sea on the wild shores of the rocky island of Ipsar. The monastery cross is the first on the island to be consecrated by the rays of the morning sun. From time to time the monks fight the Turks.

Below the monastery on a rock is a Muslim cemetery. Here at night Lambro and a young Greek woman met. The Greek woman reproaches Lambro that he has changed: there is no former sincerity in him, there is a print of boredom on his face. He no longer seeks to be with the rebels, to live with them with the same thoughts. Lambro replies that his desire for solitude and silence is caused by an unwillingness to hurt with words.

His life has changed - he became a pirate in order to take revenge, and now he is cursed by someone and forgotten by someone, but he does not want to kindle the flame of a love torch with the greatness of his misfortunes and loud rumors about his crimes. People cause him only pity and contempt. Tears well up in his eyes as a bullet rips the mast wood from the trunk of a poplar tree that grew in his homeland. When a bullet strikes one of his comrades, he only gets angry at his awkwardness. The beloved listens to his every word. He admits that, despite the bloody everyday life, he loves and remembers her, that sometimes he looks in the mirror and tries to give his face a different, softer and more joyful expression - as it was when they were together. Lambro asks the girl to stay away from society, invites her to live in a monastery, from where she will see the sail of his boat. But, before she hides forever in the monastery walls, the Greek asks her to come the next morning to the shore dressed in a costume of a rich Turkish woman - with her face covered. He himself, disguised as a Turk, will also be where the execution of Riga will take place.

And here is the morning. Forest of masts in coastal waters. Both English and French ships are here. Here the Turkish flagship floats solemnly. Around the boats with colorful sails, the Turks are located on the boats - men and women in festive clothes. A picture reminiscent of the patterns of Kashmiri shawls. And everyone is trying to swim closer to the place of execution of the Greek hero. Here the Janissaries bring Riga to the deck. Silence reigns. In the silence, several voices sing a song composed by Riga - the march of the rebels: "Arise, Greeks! To arms!" Each subsequent line sounds quieter, and soon the song is silent - but joy is reflected on the face of Riga. Then Minot sings that he saw the death of a young hero with his own eyes. And at that moment, when the body hung on the mast and the sun illuminated the dead face of Riga and his long hair scattered over his shoulders, one of the boats suddenly moved towards the ship on which the execution took place. She was led by a Turk, rowing with a double oar, A Turkish woman with a covered face was standing in the boat. The boat quickly approached the frigate - and then there was an explosion. The frigate caught fire. The Turk from the boat dived into the water, swam out in the distance, turned to the Janissaries and laughed with an ominous laugh. It was Lambro's laugh. The boat burned down. The entire frigate was engulfed in flames. There was an explosion, a giant funnel formed in the sea, which swallowed the ship. Lambro swam to the pirate ship, climbed onto the deck and fell exhausted on the carpets in his cabin.

Having come to his senses, he sends his servant to the island - to find out the mood of the Greeks. "And I went," Minot says. Only a young Greek woman pays attention to the singer's reservation, approaches him, agrees on something and gives him a diamond ring.

The servant returned to Lambro. He entered the dark cabin, put a lighted lamp on the table. The corsair, in a state of opium intoxication, goes on deck and faints. The pirates pick him up and carry him to the cabin. The servant cries out in horror when he sees his master unconscious. Lambro, in his semiconsciousness, recognizes the voice - this is the voice of his beloved. He doesn't know if it's real or in a dream. The spirits of the dead surround him and cry out in hundreds of voices: "Why didn't you die when everyone was dying?" Lambro wakes up in anguish and begs the servant to give him a lethal dose, because even in a dream his consciousness does not turn off. He looks up at the servant and sees the face of his beloved. The Greek laughs wildly; addressing the angels of death, he explains that there was a straw doll in the boat. Drinking more opium. Again he is surrounded by the spirits of the dead Greeks. They are silent. Angels appear - fiery and white as moonlight. These are the angels of vengeance, they sing their Lambro hymns. He tries to get up - to do their will. His head is heavy, his body does not obey. Lambro appeals to the angels, remembers, makes excuses... in a state of opium intoxication, Lambro kills the servant with a dagger and falls asleep in an opium deathbed.

At this time, Minot quietly enters - it was he who let in a Greek woman disguised as a servant. He sees her killed, him - sleeping, grabs a bag of gold and runs away, locking the cabin door.

Before dawn, Lambro wakes up. He recognizes his beloved and realizes that he killed her himself. A Greek buries a Greek woman in the sea. After that, he orders to serve a prayer service for the dead on the ship, Sends everyone out of his cabin to be left alone - with death. And soon, under the ongoing prayer service, the pirates lay the body of their leader on a black pirate flag and throw it into the sea.

O. A. Salnit

Tragedy (1839)

The sorceress Rosa Veneda discusses in her earthen grotto with her sister Lilla the course of the battle between the tribes of the Wends and the Lekhites. Ecstatic visions reveal to Rosa that her witchcraft does not help the Wends win the battle, the fatherland will be devastated and that Lilla will also die.

Lilla cries, which causes Rosa's anger: how can you cry for yourself when the knights die. Enter Twelve Elders with golden harps. They say that the father and brothers of Lilla and Rosa - the king of the Wends Dervid and his sons Lelum and Polelum - were taken prisoner, and that the golden harp of the leader of the Wends is also in the hands of enemies. Rosa decides to curse the captives. Then Lilla goes to rescue her father and brothers. Rosa, turning to the old bards, portends that in three days there will again be a terrible battle. Only the harps of the elders - and above all the harp of King Dervid - will inflame the hearts of the knights, and then the Wends will win the battle. The sorceress summons the spirits and leaves to burn the bodies of the fallen soldiers.

The leader of the victorious army, Lech, orders the captives to be brought. Dervid - with a golden harp, his two sons are chained by the hand with one chain. Lekh sneers at them, even the high growth of the Wends for the undersized Lekh serves as a reason for ridicule. Lech's wife Gwinon remarks that the harp must be magical. The prisoners are silent. The royal couple of winners decide to starve them until they speak.

At this time, St. Gualbert argues, being with his servant Sleaz inside the giant skull that serves as their dwelling, that he came to proclaim the Gospel, and then the conqueror burst in and destroyed everyone before they converted. Lilla enters, she asks for the saint's help. He explains to her that she must take a vow of chastity and turn to the Mother of God for help. After that, Lilla and St. Gualbert go to Lech. Left alone, Slyaz decides to look for a more well-fed and cheerful life than that of a saint. He sets the house on fire and leaves.

At this time, Gwinona and Lech are discussing what to do with the prisoners. Gwinona asks to give them to her, and sends her husband on a hunt. Enter Dervid - he does not part with the harp. Gwinona tries to get him to play the harp - she fails. Furious, she orders the eyes of the old king to be gouged out. He is led away, after which Saint Gualbert and Lilla appear. They ask for prisoners. Gwinona indifferently replies that her daughter was late. The blinded Dervid is brought in. In desperation, Lilla defies Guinona, promising to save her father from death three times. Gwinona orders to hang the old man by the hair so that his feet almost touch the ground.

The Tear enters the battlefield, where Rosa Veneda burns the corpses of the dead. Rosa predicts to the roguish and cynical servant his role in the tragedy. After parting with the sorceress, Slyaz stumbles upon a dying knight - this is Lech's beloved knight Salmon. Slez finishes him off, puts on his armor and goes to Lech.

Lilla Veneda tries to save her father. Despair prompts her with a terrible thought: let her brother throw an ax so that he cuts off the hair on his father's head. Lech and Gvinona agree. Lelum and Polelum chained are brought in. Lilla begs her brother to throw the axe. Reluctantly, Polelum throws the ax - and the father is saved for the first time.

Slick appears and claims that he is Salmon, but that he was bewitched by a witch on the battlefield. The knights believe him. Only Gwinona is convinced that this is some kind of deceiver. She again orders to bring Dervid - she wants to make him play the harp. Again, in a rage, she comes up with a new execution for him: she orders him to be thrown into a tower with snakes. Leh and the knights begin to suspect that Salmon is not Salmon in reality and decide to test him. Slyaz stands at the gate, he is afraid that his deceit will be revealed, he does not know what to do - and then Saint Gualbert appears at the gate. Sleaz tricks him into changing clothes with him, leaves him at his post, and runs himself. The knights seize the saint and want to kill him for allegedly pretending to be Salmon. He is carried to the tower with snakes - and they forget about him, amazed by the picture that opens: Lilla Veneda plays the harp, the snakes are located around her and listen, enchanted, the emaciated old man is sleeping in a deep sleep. "What to do?" - the knights ask Lech. He orders the old man to be taken away and starved to death.

Two days later, Lilla Veneda comes to the castle in one simple shirt and in a wreath of water lilies on her head. She begs Gwynona to let her in to her father. Lech asks his wife to give in to the girl's requests and, when they let her in, says that their son was captured by the Wends. The despair of the parents, the cries of Gwinona, Lech gathers soldiers to fight off his son.

Slyaz, who escaped from the Lekhites, sets out to seek a better life from the Wends. He considers options for false information, including the death of the king. With stories, he intends to get his livelihood.

And in the hall where Lech and Gwinona are fighting about their son, a triumphant Lilla enters. She saved her father from starvation by feeding him edible water lily stalks, a custom known to the people of her tribe. Veneda asks to let them go with their father. But the insidious Gwynona tells Dervid to choose whether he will take the harp with him or take his daughter away. Lilla persuades her father, Gwinon, Lech - and in the end takes her father away, promising that she will return for the harp with Lekhon, a prisoner of the Wends.

The sorceress Rosa Veneda predicts that Dervid's harp will bring victory in a new battle. At this time, Slyaz is brought in, who tells the false news of the death of Dervid. Rosa immediately kills Lehon.

After that, Dervid and Lilla come. "Where's the harp?" the witch asks her sister. She replies that she is in pawn for her son. Upon learning of his death, Lilla goes to Gwinona's death. She takes Slaz with her so that he can bring the harp.

When Lilla appears on the threshold alone, Gwinona, realizing that her son is dead, strangles Veneda. Slyaz brings a harp in a case to the Wends. But when, surrounded on all sides by Lechites, the Wends open the case, they find the body of the dead Lilla there. Dervid dies of despair. Dies in the battle of Gwynon. Lelum and Polelum perish. At the stake of their funeral pyre, Rosa Veneda rakes up the ashes, finds the chain with which they were bound, and throws it at the feet of Lech with the words:

"Look what's left of your slaves"

O. A. Salnit

Roman (1887)

The action takes place in the vicinity of the cities of Vilna and Grodno, in estates and villages located above the Neman. Recently, in 1863, the January uprising was suppressed. The tsarist government seeks to deprive the Poles of the opportunity to consider these lands as their own. The estates of large landowners were confiscated into the state (Russian) treasury; according to the legislation of that time, the Poles did not have the right to acquire land on the eastern outskirts of the former Poland. The land, on which the Pole could not hold on (including due to inept management), passed into Russian hands. Therefore, the inept handling of the land was considered by the patriots as a betrayal of national interests.

The novel opens with a picture of a summer holiday. "Everything in the world shone, bloomed, smelled and sang." Together with other women from the church, Justina and Martha return. They go on foot to the Korchin estate. Martha is in her fifties, the cousin of the owner of the estate, and acts as housekeeper in the house. Justina is about twenty, her mother, the sister of the owner, has died, Justina lives as a poor relative on the estate with her father. He is a musician: a composer and a violinist, and at the same time a glutton and a voluptuary who sees nothing beyond his violin. On the way, they are overtaken by a wagon heading to the estate: neighbor Kirlo and his new acquaintance, the wealthy landowner Teofil Ruzhitz, who has just returned from abroad, where he squandered most of his fortune and became a morphine addict, are driving in it. The beauty of Justina makes a strong impression on him. Then a cart passes, where girls in smart clothes are sitting - Janek Bogatyrovich, a landless gentry, drives the horses; he sings very well. Jan also admires the beauty of Justina.

The Korchin estate belongs to Benedikt Korchinskiy. Through hard work, he asserts his right to live and be happy in his native land, over the Neman. The house on the estate, the surrounding garden - everything keeps the memory of national traditions. Pani Emilia, Korchinsky's wife, does not sympathize with her husband in anything and does not help him. She despises him for his manners and activities, "low" by her definition. Children study in the city, she always feels weak, unhealthy, misunderstood by her husband, lonely in her desire for grace.

Marta and Justina, returning home, immediately set to housekeeping. The children from the city are about to arrive - the holidays begin, the local landowners Kirlo and Ruzhits arrived for dinner. Teofil Ruzic intensely pays attention to Justina - it is unpleasant for her. She recently experienced an unhappy love for Zygmunt Korczynski, the son of Pan Benedict's elder brother, Andrzej, who died in the January uprising. Andrzej was buried in a mass grave, in the forest, which the surrounding residents call Mogilny. Everyone loved Andrzej Korczynski, he was the inspirer and leader of the liberation struggle. The middle brother Korchinsky became a Russian dignitary, rose to the rank of privy councilor, lives in St. Petersburg, is rich. He occasionally sends letters to his younger brother, inviting him to become a Russian subject and have a comfortable and carefree life. In a difficult moment of his life, Benedict thinks deeply about these proposals, decides for the sake of the future of his children never to betray this earth.

After a short time, the name day of pani Emilia Korchinskaya takes place, her arrogant gentry relatives come to the estate. The widow of Andrzej Korchinsky arrives with her son and daughter-in-law. Young recently returned from abroad. Meeting with them is a difficult experience for Justina. Among others, the neighbor of the Korchinsky pani Kirlova arrives with her five children. Pan Benedict has great respect for this thirty-three-year-old woman of pleasant appearance - she manages the estate herself, since her husband is an outright idler. The ladies of her circle are accustomed to discussing the styles of dresses, French novels, the fashionable furnishings of the rooms - and she also understands the sale of merino wool grown on her own estate, and earns money from the sale of dairy products in the city, delves into all economic affairs in the house, brings up children, takes care of their health. At the same time, Mrs. Kirlova is charming, speaks good French and has good taste.

On the name day, Justina first meets Zygmunt's wife Clotilde. It immediately becomes clear to her that the young woman passionately loves her husband. And Zygmunt is cold to his wife, but he shows increased attention to Justina. Clotilde suffers from jealousy. Deeply suffering from the selfishness of secular seducers, from the cold contempt of wealthy relatives, Justina seeks solitude, wandering through the fields. Only nature softens the pain of her heart. Quite unexpectedly, she meets Yan Bogatyrovich, gets acquainted with him, his uncle, sister, neighbors - these people treat her with sympathy and love. A visit to the house of Jan Bogatyrovich opens a new page in Justina's life. For the aristocrats of Korchinski, Jan, cultivating the land with his own hands, is not much different from a peasant. Justina for him is a panna from a rich house. Jan's father fought for independence alongside Andrzej Korczynski and is buried in the same mass grave. It is Jan and his uncle Anselm who are the guardians of traditions on this earth. Together they put a new cross on the grave of Jan and Cecilia, the first Poles who came to this land in the 1861th century. It is Anselm and Janek who do not forget about the grave of the rebels of 1863-XNUMX. Jan acquaints Justina with these monuments of national history, under the influence of his stories, a sense of dignity awakens in her. She begins to realize that the love of a worthy person can be the happiness of her life. She knows that work awaits her, but she is not afraid of it.

For her, Mrs. Kirlova serves as an example. The writer introduces us to an ordinary day at the estate. The hostess - in a cotton dress and a sheepskin coat - from drafts - looks after both the washing of linen in the kitchen and the kneading of dough in the servants' room; pushes away the jars with already curdled sour milk from the stove, brings the still cold ones from the porch, setting them to the fire. Her thirteen-year-old daughter has just brought vegetables and herbs from the garden in a large basket and is cleaning them on the porch. And the one, who is only four, relentlessly follows her mother, holding on to her skirt; the girl's shoelaces are untied all the time, and at the same time she falls. At some point, the mother clasps her hands and exclaims: “Armor, sit down for a minute!”, to which the baby replies: “Mom, but I want to eat!” - and Kirlova spreads honey on a piece of rye bread for her. At this time, one of her sons is locked in the living room to study his lessons - he studies reluctantly, and he has a re-examination. Now he is trying to escape from the house, breaking the fuchsia pot on the window, but at the gate he was intercepted by a yard girl and returned to his mother. An angry woman tied her son to the sofa in the living room with a rope so that he could not tear himself away from the book. Meanwhile, her educated son ran out to play with a sore throat. The eldest daughter - she is sixteen - looks after the weeding of the garden. She is accompanied by the son of Benedikt Korchinsky - Witold. Young people have long conversations - about a different, new, more reasonable way of life. Marynia looks after the village children whose mothers have come to weed the beds. The usual daily routine is disrupted by the arrival of Mrs. Kirlova's cousin, Teofil Ruzhitsa. In a conversation with his cousin, he reveals himself as a smart, delicate, gentle person, and also unhappy. Morphine ruins his health. He needs to get married - then his rich estate can be put in order. Theophilus talks about his passion for Justina. Pani Kirlova offers a completely unexpected solution for Ruzhitsa - to marry a poor pupil. The idea of ​​marrying a girl who does not speak French well disgusts a high-society gentleman. However, Pani Kirlova convinces him that marriage will help him revive, help him overcome his addiction to morphine. The very word "morphine" makes her so disgusted that she does not use it in speech. Touched by kindred care, Ruzhits decides to pay for the gymnasium education of the boys of Mrs. Kirlova.

Young Witold Korchinsky strives for a new, initially clean and honest life. He constantly communicates with the Bogatyrovichi - with people who cultivate the land with their own hands, discusses with them the project of building a public mill or digging a well closer to their homes so that they do not have to walk uphill with buckets. Witold loves Marynia Kirlovna; he does not try to seduce her, young people in joint walks discuss plans for the future. He is friends with Yustina, who spends more and more time with the Bogatyrovichs and their neighbors, participates in the harvest, all play the neighbor's wedding together.

Zygmunt Korczynski seeks to charm Justyna. He does this with his characteristic selfishness and sophistication: he sends the girl a book by A. Musset, in expensive binding, with gilded initials 3. K., which they once read together. In the book, he put a letter in which he conjures her to remember everything, resurrect her former self, allow him to talk to her face to face, "guess the riddle of his broken life" and the like. Justina opens the book, her eyes stop at the lines underlined in blue pencil: "... all my pride bows its knees before you ...", after a few pages - it is again emphasized: "... to love is to doubt someone else and yourself, to see sometimes despised, sometimes abandoned ... "Justina abruptly closes the book and gets up impetuously - and then suddenly she suddenly feels the strong aroma of wild flowers - a huge bouquet ("in the form of a broom", as Marta notes) was collected for Yustina by Yan Bogatyrovich. She looks at the flowers and remembers how she and Jan walked along the border, collected and examined plants, admired the beauty, diversity and power of nature. And now Justina smiles at her memories, takes out a flower "girlish happiness" from the bouquet, weaves it into a braid, and tears the letter into small pieces and throws it out the window. At the end of the novel, Justina and Jan become engaged.

O. A. Salnit

Novel. First part of a historical trilogy (1884)

1647. Ukrainian lands that are part of the Commonwealth. Jan Skshetusky, a young handsome officer, a knight without fear or reproach, in the service of Prince Jeremiah Vyshnevetsky, the owner of the vast lands on the Left Bank of the Dnieper, saves a swarthy narrow-eyed giant from the Horde. This brave and arrogant man calls his name: Bogdan Zinoviy Khmelnitsky.

Soon Skshetusky finds out that Khmelnitsky is baiting the Cossacks against the nobility. Old grunts are talking about this, among which stands out the overweight, gray-bearded, one-eyed sir Zagloba, a braggart and joker, ready to outdrink a whole regiment. In the tavern, Jan also meets a good-natured and naive Litvin, a skinny giant with drooping linen eyebrows and mustaches - Pan Longinus Podbipyatka from Mishikishki, armed with a huge sword Daredevil. Litvin confesses to Jan that he has vowed to remain chaste until, following the example of his glorious ancestor, he cuts off three infidel heads in one fell swoop. But Longinus is soon forty-five, the heart demands love, the family is fading away, and it’s impossible to cut off three heads at once ...

A few days later, Skshetusky and Pan Longinus go to Lubny, the capital of Prince Vishnevetsky, to whom Jan is devoted with all his heart. On the way, the detachment stumbles upon a broken carriage; nearby stand a masculine old woman and a young, tall, dark-haired beauty with sad black eyes. Seeing the girl, Jan becomes dumb. And the old woman explains in a bass voice: she is the widow of Prince Kurtsevich-Bulyga, and the maiden is her niece, an orphan, Princess Elena Kurtsevich, who is in her care, the old woman. Jan and Elena fall in love at first sight - and forever.

Taking the ladies to their estate Razlogi, Jan sees the old woman's four sons there - rude, uncouth giants - and the young handsome Bohun, the famous Cossack lieutenant colonel, a desperate daredevil with an unbridled and reckless soul, hopelessly in love with Elena. From the old Tatar, Elena's servant, Jan learns that the estate actually belongs to the girl - that's the old woman and promised her to Bohun, hoping to finally take over Razlogi. After all, Bohun, who brought countless treasures from his desperate Crimean raids, does not need an estate. But Elena hates Bohuna: he cut a man in her presence. The blood between them fell and hatred sprouted.

The next morning, Jan asks the old woman for Elena's hand - otherwise Prince Vishnevetsky will drive Kurtsevichikha out of Razlogov. Yang, having married, is ready to leave her the estate. The sons of the old woman rush at Jan with spears, but Kurtsevicha, fearing the revenge of the prince, is forced to promise Elena to Skshetusky.

In Lubny, Skshetuski joyfully meets his best friend, the great swordsman Pan Michal Volodyovski. This short gentleman with a protruding mustache, always in love with someone unrequitedly, quickly imbued with sympathy for the equally sensitive Pan Longinus, with whom they go together to sigh on the shaft. One of the court ladies of Princess Vishnevetskaya, the lovely little coquette Anusya Borzobogataya-Krasenskaya, tenderly glances at the huge Litvin. Pan Longinus is in despair: the vow has not been fulfilled, and the temptation is so great!

Prince Vishnevetsky sends Skshetusky to the Sich - to find out what is happening there. Passing through the city of Chigirin, Yan sees Bohun, who walks through the taverns in an embrace with Pan Zagloba. Bohun wants Zagloba to adopt him and make him a gentry through that. Then it will be easier for the Cossack to marry Elena. Zagloba is trying to get along with the Cossacks - what if they take over? After all, everyone knows that the Cossacks are preparing a campaign against the "Polyakhs" and Khmelnitsky has already asked for help from the Crimean Khan.

On the way, the Cossacks and Tatars attack Skshetusky's detachment and, after a fierce battle, take the wounded Jan prisoner. The Cossacks demand the death of the "angry Pole", but Khmelnitsky recognizes his savior in the prisoner and sets him free. However, he angrily denounces Khmelnitsky, who "raises such a terrible storm for the sake of his own grievances and private strife." The enraged Khmelnytsky blames the Polish magnates for everything, who shamelessly oppress the Ukrainian people.

The next day, the Zaporizhzhya army comes out of the Sich. In a Cossack wagon train, Skshetusky, who has fallen ill, is being transported. In semi-consciousness, he is horrified: the fatherland is in danger, but he is in no hurry to save her! Soon, "the bloody Commonwealth already lies in the dust at the feet of the Cossack." Khmelnitsky finally sends Skshetusky to Lubny: let him tell Prince Vishnevetsky how strong the Cossacks are.

Jan hurries to Razlogi - and in horror he sees ashes on the site of the estate. And this is what happened here: the sixteen-year-old Redzyan, a servant of Skshetusky and a rogue of rogues, whom Jan, before reaching the Setch, sent with a letter to Kurtsevichiha, ordering her and Elena to immediately hide in Lubny, fell into the hands of Bohun. Having taken the letter from the young man, Bohun learns that Elena is betrothed to Skshetusky, and rushes with the Cossacks to Razlogi. Bogun went mad with jealousy and resentment: he served the Kurtseviches like a dog, shared his booty - and a gentry appeared, and the soul of the Cossack was torn out!

Together with Bohun, the gloomy Zagloba rides. Although he is the first troublemaker, he takes great care of his own skin - and understands: if Bohun kidnaps the bride of the princely favorite Skshetusky, then he, Zagloba, who is involved in this story, will not be able to take off his head.

In Razlogi, Bohun kills the two sons of an old woman and is himself wounded. The Cossacks deal with Kurtsevichikha and all the servants. Zagloba, bandaging the weakened ataman, imperceptibly fastens him to the bed and, making sure that the Cossacks are drunk, declares to Bohun: he will not see a boor, a noblewoman! And then he runs away with Elena from the estate.

But where can you hide? There is carnage and blood everywhere. Disguised as wandering musicians, Zagloba and Elena cross over to the "Cossack" bank of the Dnieper. Meanwhile, the peasants are burning Razlogi, taking revenge on the Kurtseviches for their cruel oppression. The eldest son of the old woman, the blessed blind man Vasil, also perishes in the fire.

Having learned that Bohun is desperately looking for someone, Skshetusky understands: Elena managed to escape. Priest Mukhovetsky instructs Jan: "It is more worthless to lament the misfortune of your own than the fatherland!" And Yang goes headlong into military affairs. Finally, he meets with Zagloba and hears from him that Elena is in the impregnable Bar, with the nuns. Then Zagloba tells how he and Elena ended up in Khmelnitsky's camp, how Khmelnitsky sent him, Zagloba, to spy on Podolia and gave his mace instead of a safe-conduct. So Zagloba managed to take Elena to the Bar, and even fattened him along the way.

Finally, his servant Redzyan comes to Skshetusky. All this time he had to nurse the wounded Bohun. The ataman generously rewarded the young man - and he took it: what should the robber leave?! Although Bohun's habit is gentry.

Skshetuski is going to Bar to get married. And then comes the terrible news: the bar is taken, all the inhabitants died! Friends are afraid that Skshetusky would go crazy with grief. Yang, with a petrified face, calmly and zealously serves. After the war, he decided to leave for a monastery.

Bohun, together with the witch Gorpyna, a hefty girl, is taking Elena drunk with a sleeping potion to Devil's Yar, to Gorpynin's farm, where no one will find the beauty. In Bar, Bohun was the first to break into the monastery to protect Elena from the drunken rabble, and she herself - with a knife! And if anything, she grabs the knife again ... Waking up on a farm, in a room decorated with expensive carpets and fabrics, Elena sees with horror the handsome Bohun in a luxurious outfit. Gently and meekly, her ataman prays for love. Never! - proudly answers Elena.

Drunk Zagloba falls into the clutches of Bohun - and understands that he, the old man, will not die an easy death. Bogun boasts that he will soon marry Elena in Kyiv. Zagloba is locked in a barn, from where the old man is rescued by Pan Volodyevsky, who comes to the rescue in a fight, injuring Bohun.

Soon Zagloba and Volodyevsky again face Bohun. But now he is going to Prince Casimir as an ambassador - and, therefore, the chieftain's person is inviolable. However, Zagloba, with malicious ridicule, forces Bohun to challenge Volodyevsky himself to a duel. With a terrible blow, Volodyovsky cuts the ataman's chest. Zagloba bandages Bohun - it is useless, of course, but such is the duty of a Christian.

Now nothing will prevent friends from finding Elena. Remembering her, Zagloba weeps in bass, and Volodyevsky echoes him in tenor. But returning to Zbarazh, where their regiments now stand, the friends learn that Skshetusky has already gone in search, heard in Kyiv about the death of Elena, and now lies in darkness.

Friends drink honey mixed with tears. And then Redzyan appears, who recently saw Bogun recovering - and he sent him to Gorpyna, to tell her to take Elena to Kyiv. Ataman gave Redzyan all his money, and he immediately informed the Poles where the wounded Bohun was hiding. For some reason, friends do not like this, but the news that Elena is alive makes them cry with happiness. Having disguised themselves as Cossacks, Volodyevsky, Zagloba and Redzyan immediately set off for the girl. Zagloba is not afraid of the witch Gorpyna - he himself is worse than her sorcerer.

In Devil's Yar, Redzyan kills Gorpyna, even though it seems to Volodyevsky that this knight's act is unworthy. An hour later, Zagloba, Elena, stupefied fromher beauty Volodyovsky and Redzyan, suffering that they did not have time to dig up the treasures of Bohun hidden on the farm, rush to Zbarazh at full speed. On the way, they almost run into Bohun: apparently, the ill-wisher of Skshetusky Regovsky, to whom Redzyan denounced Bohun, specially released the ataman.

In the forest, the Tatars are chasing the gentry. Redzyan and Elena hide in the night, and Volodyevsky and Zagloba, risking their lives, detain the Horde. Fortunately, the Polish detachment soon arrives. Volodyevsky and Zagloba go to Zbarazh, having decided not to say anything to Skshetusky, who also returned to this fortress.

And soon Zbarazh besieges Khmelnitsky. Volodyovsky is desperately cut. My student! Zagloba says proudly. During a terrible assault, he himself, out of fright, kills the brave Cossack ataman Burlyai. And the happy Pan Longinus manages to cut off three heads at once!

But provisions and gunpowder are running out in the fortress. Pan Longinus undertakes to slip past the Cossacks to Toporov, to the king, for help. Pan Podbipyatka's integrity is impatient to come true! - Zagloba is raging. And yet he, Volodyevsky and Skshetusky are ready to go with a friend to certain death. But Prince Vishnevetsky orders to make their way to Toporov one by one.

Pan Longinus goes first - and dies a cruel death. The second is Skshetusky. Exhausted, hungry and sick, he makes his way along the river and swamps past enemies.

And now a terrible creature in bloody rags appears in the royal chambers, more like a ghost. Barely standing on his feet, Skshetusky tells about the unparalleled heroism of his comrades. The shocked king immediately sends his troops to the aid of the besieged. I am your debtor, he says to Skshetusky.

Eight days after lying in delirium, Jan comes to his senses - and sees the cheeky physiognomy of Redzyan. And although the priest ordered the young man to keep quiet for the time being, fearing that Skshetusky would die of joy, Redzyan cannot stand it and tells how they saved Elena, how he rode away with her from the Tatars and fell into the hands of Gorpyna's brother, Donets, and he himself took the girl to I wanted to take Bohun, but then the Poles arrived in time; the Cossacks were cut down, the Donets was put on a stake, and Redzyan, having barely driven the young gentry away from Elena, brought the young lady to Zamosc.

Here Volodyevsky and the emaciated Zagloba run into the room. Peace has been concluded near Zborov, the siege has been lifted! And jumping on horses, friends rush towards Elena. Seeing the carriage, Skshetuski dismounts, falls to his knees, and in the midst of the general commotion he is embraced by the tender arms of his beloved. Zagloba, deeply moved, almost forgets to tell Jan that Volodyevsky again wounded Bohun and took him prisoner. Yes, Bohun, it seems, was looking for death himself ... Vishnevetsky wanted to impale him, and then decided to give him to Skshetusky. "He is a warrior of great courage and, moreover, unhappy," Yang says. "I won't belittle him..."

Everyone praises Skshetusky - the hero of Zbarazh. Jan, like a true Christian knight, humbly bows his head. Elena's eyes shine with pride: after all, a man's glory for his wife is like sunlight for the earth.

Epilogue. This war continued for a long time. The gentry fought bravely, Bogun bravely smashed the Poles. History has preserved the memory of his unprecedented deeds. He took possession of most of the lands of Vyshnevetsky, did not recognize anyone's power, but lived in Razlogi. It was like he died there. And until the very hour of his death, his smile never lit up his face.

E. V. Maksimova

Novel. Second part of the historical trilogy (1884-1886)

1655 Lithuanian lands that are part of the Commonwealth. The rich and noble gentry Billevich, dying, leaves almost all his estates to the orphan granddaughter, the nineteen-year-old blond and blue-eyed beauty Alexandra (Olenka), only the Lyubich estate unsubscribes to the son of his friend, the young cornet from Orsha Andrzej Kmitits, a desperate proud man, brave and self-willed, who, having gathered a gang of thugs, for four years he has been fighting near Smolensk with the enemies of the Commonwealth. According to the will of her grandfather, Olenka must either marry Kmitits or enter a monastery. And now the fair-haired gray-eyed Andrzej arrives in Vodokty - Alexandra's estate. The beauty of the bride shocks Kmits, and he has a custom - "to go to the woman and into the fire boldly." The girl is a little lost from such an onslaught, but also falls in love with a dashing gentleman.

The wild gang of Kmitsitsa arranges such brawls in the district that the enraged local gentry of Butryma kill the brawlers in a fight. Enraged Kmitsits, avenging his dissolute friends, burns down the village of offenders - Volmontovichi. But all the neighbors according to the will of old Billevich are Olenka's guardians! Shocked by the atrocities of the groom, the girl first hides him from the angry gentry, and then kicks him out - forever! Soon, distraught with love, Andrzej kidnaps the beauty. The gentry rushes in pursuit, and the little knight Michal Volodyovski (he is recovering from old wounds in these parts) challenges Kmits to a duel. Defeated Andrzej soon recovers and becomes a friend of Pan Michal. Heeding his exhortations, Kmitsits decides to earn the forgiveness of the gentry and Olenka by the feats that he will perform in the name of the fatherland. Having recruited detachments, Kmitsits and Volodyevsky rush to Keidany, to the Vilna governor, Prince Janusz Radziwill: the Swedes attacked the Commonwealth. The Swedish flood begins.

Burning with the desire to fight the enemy, who had already seized all the Great Polish lands, Jan Skshetuski and the one-eyed joker Zagloba, who lived at Jan's estate and nursed the children of his "daughter" Helena, also went to Prince Radziwill. In the princely palace, Skshetuski and Zagloba happily meet an old friend, Pan Michal, and get to know Kmicic, who is now in great favor with Radziwill. The young man on the cross swore allegiance to him, for he is convinced that the prince cares only about the good of his homeland. In fact, Radziwill dreams of the Polish crown, and he needs the support of well-born gentry. He needs Kmicitz!

At the feast, Janusz Radziwill unexpectedly declares that he has concluded a union with the Swedish king. "Judas!" yells Zagloba. The indignant colonels throw their maces at the prince's feet, and he orders that Volodyovsky, Skshetusky, Zagloba and other recalcitrant officers be thrown into prison. Kmits believes the prince as his own father, and suppresses the rebellion of the soldiers who were trying to free their commanders. Volodyevsky, gritting his teeth, watches this from the prison window. And Olenka, who also arrived at the prince's castle, recoils from Andrzej in horror, considering him a traitor, and leaves the Keydany in anger.

With pleas and threats, Knitzits forces the prince to cancel the order to execute Volodyovsky, Skshetusky and Zagloba. They are taken to a remote fortress. On the way, Zagloba manages to escape on a convoy horse and return with soldiers from the Volodyevsky detachment, who free the rest of the prisoners. The gentry go into the woods and smash the enemy wherever they can.

Radziwill is furiously hunting for Volodyovski and Zagloba. Kmits, still considering the prince the savior of the fatherland, serves him faithfully. Trembling, the young man goes to Olenka - and falls into the hands of Volodyevsky. Pan Michal orders the execution of the traitor. Proudly and calmly Kmits goes to his death. But at the last moment, Zagloba stops the execution: he found a letter from Kmitsits, in which Radziwill reproaches the young man for pardoning the rebels at his request. Friends understand that Kmitsitz is a noble man, but a deluded one. And he, having returned to Keidany, begs the prince to send him to work: the suffering young man wants to go away from Olenka, who despise him. Radziwill, already rather tired of the impudent and rebellious "servant", sends him with letters to his cousin, Boguslav Radziwill.

Having said goodbye to his beloved forever with pain and bitterness, Kmitits soon comes to the rouged, whitened, dressed in lace Bohuslav, a thirty-five-year-old handsome man known throughout Europe, a brave man, a duelist and a heartthrob. Considering Kmitsets a man of the same cut as himself, Boguslav mockingly explains to the young man:

The Radziwills do not care about the Commonwealth, they are only interested in power and wealth. And Kmitsitz also learns that Janusz Radziwill ordered his people to drink and cut Volodyevsky's detachment. The veil finally falls from the eyes of the shocked Andrzej, and he boldly kidnaps Prince Bohuslav in order to take him to the Polish king. But the brave Boguslav, having snatched a pistol from Kmitits from his belt, shoots the young man in the face and is carried away like a whirlwind on his horse.

The faithful captain Soroka takes away Kmitits, stunned by a shot, whose cheek is torn open by a bullet, to a hut lost among the swamps. Waking up, Andrzej realizes that everyone now considers him the worst enemy - the Radziwills, the defenders of the Commonwealth, the Swedes, and the Cossacks ... Kmits is eager to take revenge on the Radziwills, but an inner voice tells him: "Serve the Fatherland!"

In a forest hut, Kmitsits meets his old Kemlich soldiers - father and twin sons, the giants Kosma and Damian, incredibly strong, brave, greedy and cruel. They are afraid of only one Kmitsitsa ... And he writes a letter to Volodyevsky with blood, warning about the intrigues of the prince. Having received this letter, Pan Michal and his friends understand: Kmitsitz again saved them all. And they take their banner to the Vitebsk governor Sapega, a valiant and just man, under whose banner the army of defenders of the fatherland gathers.

And Boguslav, having come to Janusz Radziwill, tells about the betrayal of Kmitits. Seeing Olenka, whom Janusz took hostage, Boguslav is captivated by her beauty and begins to desperately seduce the girl. And so that she no longer remembers the groom, Boguslav declares that Kmitsits decided to kidnap the Polish king and hand him over to the Swedes. The unfortunate Olenka is shocked by the meanness of the man she loved.

And Andrzej, disguised as a poor gentry and now calling himself Babinich, travels with his people through all of Poland occupied and devastated by the Swedes to King Jan Casimir - to atone for his sins with blood. The suffering of a desecrated homeland, ruined by strife and self-will of the gentry, breaks the young man's heart. “This Swedish flood is the punishment of the Lord!” proclaims the old man Lushchevsky, whose estate Kmitits saved from robbers. “We must go to Częstochowa, to the holy monastery!” And the great sinner Kmicyts goes to Częstochowa, to the Yasnogorsk Monastery.

In a roadside pub, Kmits accidentally hears the Czech Vzheshchovich, who is in the service of the enemy, declare that the Swedes will soon occupy and plunder the Yasnogorsk monastery. Kmitic hurries to Częstochowa, prostrates himself before the miraculous icon - and his heart is filled with joy and hope. He tells about the plans of the Swedes to the abbot of the monastery, priest Kordetsky. The Poles will not tolerate the desecration of the shrine, they will come to their senses and drive out the enemy! exclaims this holy man. He forgives Kmitsits sins, and the happy Andrzej, having humbled his pride, heroically fights with the enemy besieging the monastery. The traitor Kuklinovsky, who came to the monastery for negotiations - an insolent, tyrant, a bandit and a libertine - lures Kmits to the Swedes and receives a strong slap and a kick in the ass for this. Soon Kmits, having made a desperate sortie, blows up the most powerful Swedish cannon. By this he saves the monastery, but he himself, stunned, falls into the hands of the enemy. Kuklinovsky, burning with a thirst for revenge, tortures the captive with fire, but Andrzej is beaten off by the Kemlichs. Having finished off the traitor, Kmicitz and the Kemlichs go to Silesia, to Jan Kazimierz.

Desperate Swedes leave Częstochowa in disgrace. They finally understood: Priest Kordetsky had risen like a prophet in order to awaken the sleeping ones and "to kindle a light in the darkness." And throughout the Commonwealth, the Poles begin to smash the enemy.

Kmitsitz, who fell in love with the king - a majestic man with an infinitely kind, tormented face, accompanies Jan Casimir from exile to his homeland. Many do not trust Andrzej, but thanks to his foresight and courage, a small detachment of the king manages to connect with the troops of the crown marshal Lubomirsky. Severely wounded Andrzej, devoted to the king with all his heart and shielding him with his chest in the Carpathian gorge, where the Poles stumbled upon the Swedes, reveals his real name to Jan Kazimir. He understands:

Bohuslav Radziwill, who wrote to him that a certain Kmitsitz swore to kill the sovereign, slandered Andrzej out of revenge. The king forgives his valiant knight all the old sins and promises to intercede for him before Olenka.

The gray-haired, exhausted and humiliated Janusz Radziwill, abandoned by the Swedes and Boguslav, dies in the Tykotsin fortress besieged by Volodyovski. Taking it, Pan Michal goes with his people to Lvov, where the king finally reconciles the little knight with Kmitsits. And he begs Jan Casimir to give him a small detachment of the Horde, who was sent by the Crimean Khan, who is going to help the Poles; soon Andrzej comes out with the Tatars towards the troops of Boguslav.

Having stopped for a short time in Zamostye, Andrzej meets Anusya Borzobogata-Krasenskaya, the old love of Pan Michal, a charming little black-eyed coquette, a pupil of Princess Griselda, the widow of Jeremiah Vishnevetsky and the sister of the owner of the castle, Jan Zamoy-sky. Captured, like everyone around, by Anusey, Zamoyski asks Kmits to take her to Sapieha so that he can help the girl inherit the estates that the late fiance Podbipyatka bequeathed to her. In fact, Zamoyski planned to kidnap Anusya along the way, for he did not dare to harass her in the castle, being afraid of his strict sister Griselda. But Kmitic, having easily guessed these plans, does not give Anusya to Zamoyski's people. Anusya enthusiastically looks at her savior; Andrzej struggles with a painful temptation - but devotion to Olenka overcomes all temptations.

Finally, he brings Anusya to Sapieha, after which he falls upon the troops of Boguslav, performing great feats with his small detachment. Devil, real devil! - the Lithuanians admire Andrzej, who forgave him all his previous sins.

But soon Anusya falls into the hands of Boguslav, whom he, however, treats with great respect, not wanting to quarrel with Princess Griselda. And then the people of Boguslav grab captain Soroka, and Kmits rushes into the camp of the enemy to rescue his faithful servant. Having broken his pride, Andrzej Boguslav falls at the feet, and he, reveling in the humiliation of Kmits, orders Soroka to be impaled in front of Andrzej's eyes. But Kmitsitz, having rebelled the soldiers, who were also brought to watch the execution, returns to Sapieha with a detachment of defectors and the rescued Magpie.

Sapieha's army smashes Boguslav. He himself leaves the chase, slashing Kmita with a sword on the head. After resting, Kmitsits hurries with the Horde near Warsaw to help the king. "Private affairs aside! I want to fight for the fatherland!" - exclaims the young man.

During the storming of Warsaw, in which the Swedes settled, Kmitsitz performs unprecedented feats, admiring the gentry and the king. Andrzej learns from the captive officer, a young golden-haired handsome Scot Ketling: Boguslav took Olenka to Taurogi, four miles from Tilsit. And Kmitsits goes to smash the enemy in Prussia and Lithuania.

And Olenka is languishing in the Taurogs. She cannot forget the traitor Kmits, although she deeply despises him. The brilliant Boguslav is trying with all his might to seduce the girl; finally, mad with passion, he asks for Olenka's hand, deciding to arrange a fictitious wedding. But the girl flatly refuses to become his wife, and when he rushes at her, she jumps into a burning fireplace. Having pulled her out of there in a smoldering dress, Boguslav falls into convulsions. Ketling, in love with Olenka, who is in the service of Boguslav, defends the girl with all his might, but refuses to help her escape: the noble Scot believes that this is a betrayal of the oath. Boguslav leaves for the troops, and Anusya Borzobogataya is brought to Taurogi. She drives all the officers crazy, and the devoted servant and friend of Boguslav - the handsome, insolent, thug Sakovich, having fallen passionately in love, decides to marry the girl. She leads him by the nose and, having made friends with Olenka, confesses to her that she gave her heart to the brave Babinich (Kmitits is known to her by this name).

And the detachment of Kmitsitsa, which swept through Prussia like a hurricane, connects with Volodyevsky's banner. They smash the troops of Boguslav and Andrzej, having met with the prince on the battlefield, he defeats the enemy, but does not dare to finish off: he says that in the event of his death he ordered to kill Olenka.

Meanwhile, the girls are running from the castle to Olenka's elderly relative, the Russian swordsman Billevich, who has assembled a partisan detachment and is also fighting the Swedes. In the detachment, Anusya flaunts with a light saber on a silk sash, breaking hearts without counting. Soon the partisans enter Lyubich, where everything reminds the tormented Olenka of the scoundrel Kmitsitsa. And Anusya, having heard how everyone around praises the brave Babinich, who is a hero in Lithuania, sends him two letters. But one messenger falls into the hands of the Swedes, and the other - to Sakovich, and he rushes to take revenge on Anusa for treason. Billevich's detachment, fortified in Volmontovichi, is saved from defeat only by Kmitits, who was following the trail of Sakovich. Having scattered the bandits, he rushes on, not even knowing that thanks to him the very village that he once burned down survived.

After the next battle, Kmitsitz looks at his army and proudly thinks that he fell low - but he managed to rise! He rushes to Olenka, but the messenger Sapieha orders the young man to go south - to fight with the Hungarian troops. "I will not go!" shouts Kmits in despair, and yet, having said goodbye to his happiness, he turns his horse to the south.

In the autumn of 1657, Olenka, about to leave for a monastery, sees Kmitits, dying of wounds, being taken to Lyubich. For two weeks, the girl fervently prays for her beloved - and soon meets with the recovering Andrzej in the church. It also includes the Lithuanians who returned from the war, led by Volodyevsky and Zagloba. The priest reads out the royal charter brought by Pan Michal, which describes all the exploits of Kmitsits-Babinich and promises him a high position as Upitsky headman. The shocked Olenka kisses Andrzej's hand and jumps out of the church. And soon the whole district rushes to her estate - to woo Kmitsitsa! Olenka, sobbing, falls on his knees, while he, pale and happy, picks her up and presses her to his chest. And Pan Michal is waiting for smiling Anusya...

He lived happily ever after with Olenka in Vodokty Kmitsits, surrounded by universal respect and love. True, it was said that he was obedient to his wife in everything, but Pan Andrzej was not ashamed of that.

The fate of the little knight is told by the final book of the trilogy - the novel "Pan Volodyovski" ("Pan Wolodyjowski", 1887-1888). Having barely survived the untimely death of Anusi, Pan Michal continued to serve his homeland. He was captivated by the beautiful Kshisey, but she preferred the noble Scot Ketling to him, to whom Poland became a second home. And only with the brave Baseya, who fell in love with Pan Michal with all her heart, did he finally find his happiness. He died heroically - under the rubble of the fortress, which he and Ketling blew up, so as not to give it to the enemies of the Commonwealth.

E. V. Maksimova

Roman (1894-1896)

Rome of the time of Emperor Nero, mired in crimes and debauchery. To Petronius - a writer, an esthete, a connoisseur of luxury and pleasures, an "arbitrator of grace", close to Nero - is his nephew, a young and beautiful warrior, the patrician Mark Vinicius. The young man tells that, returning to Rome from the war against the Parthians, he injured his hand and he, wounded, was taken to his house by the gray-haired commander Aulus Plautius. There Vinicius was captivated by the young Lygia, who looked like a fragile, dark-haired, blue-eyed nymph. She is the daughter of the king of the Lygians, who live in the distant northern forests, and she was called Callina in her homeland. As a child, she came to Rome as a hostage and grew up in the house of the noble Aulus and his faithful, virtuous wife Pomponia. Treating Lygia as if they were their own daughter, they raised her pure, chaste and not in the least like the dissolute Roman women. They say that the young, beautiful, calm and sad Pomponia herself is a Christian, but Petronius, for example, does not believe in this: everyone knows that Christians are terrible villains, while Pomponia, whose face seems to radiate light, cannot be a villain.

In the house of Aulus, Vinicius uttered many passionate words to Lygia, and a reciprocal feeling flared up in the girl's heart. But for some reason, she drew a fish on the sand ... Vinicius, who lost his head, is ready to marry Lygia. But Petronius tells Nero that Vinicius fell in love with a skinny Ligian hostage. These words immediately turn the emperor himself away from the girl - and he promises Petronius to take her to the palace and give Vinicius.

Lygia is accompanied to the palace by the giant and strong man Ursus, a Lygyian who came to Rome with the little princess and, like her, became a Christian here. In the evening, the girl, trembling with fear, is led to a feast. To Lygia's delight, Vinicius takes her place next to her. Soon, intoxicated with passion and wine, he begins to passionately kiss the beauty, whispering that tomorrow Nero will give her to him. Ursus arrived in time, throwing Vinicius away and carrying the frightened girl out of the banquet hall.

Lygia sobs. She does not want to become Vinicius' concubine. Better poverty than luxury and dishonor! Lygia decides to run.

Upon learning of the disappearance of Lygia, Vinicius in a rage kills the old slave who nursed him. For the first time in his life, someone dared to oppose the desires of the young patrician! Mad with love and despair, Vinicius searches for Lygia. Petronius, sympathizing with his nephew, is ready to give him his beautiful slave, the golden-haired Greek woman Evnika. But she so passionately prays not to send her away from home, that the amazed Petronius understands: the girl is in love with him! And Evnika's devotion touches his heart. Evnika brings the cunning Greek Chilo, a drunkard and rhetorician, a swindler, a spy and an informer, who undertakes to find Lygia. Having learned that the girl was drawing a fish on the sand, this man, who looks like a monkey and a fox at the same time, goes in search.

Soon he finds out that the fish is the secret sign of Christians. Pretending to be a Christian, Chilo penetrates into their midst and meets the doctor Glaucus, whose family he betrayed to robbers in his time, and left himself to die on the road. Now Chilo is afraid that Glaucus will recognize him, and is trying to set another Christian, the simple-hearted strong man Urbanus, against the doctor, whom he says that Glaucus is a spy for the emperor. By the way the giant shudders when Chilo accidentally mentions the name of Lygia, the cunning Greek understands: Urban is Ursus!

The Apostle Peter is in Rome. All the Christians of the city gather for his nightly sermon. Chilo leads Vinicius there, who hopes to meet Lygia there. The Apostle Peter strikes the young man with his simplicity and grandeur. The elder's face glows with such power of conviction, which is inherent only in truth. But Peter's preaching is a denial of the whole habitual life of Vinicius. However, the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ shakes the young patrician. And he suddenly realizes that the Christian Lygia will never become his concubine. Seeing Lygia in the crowd, Vinicius admires the spiritual beauty of the girl and realizes that all his strength and courage are nothing against her faith.

Having gone after the sermon after Lygia, Vinicius breaks into her dwelling and tries to carry the girl away, but Ursus brings down his mighty fist on the patrician's head.

In the poor closet of Lygia, the doctor Glaucus heals Vinicius. Lygia herself tenderly cares for the young man. He is happy; not wanting to leave his beloved, he decides to stay with the Christians and sends for Chilo, the only one who knows where Vinicius is now. Seeing Chilo, Glaucus recognizes in him a scoundrel who killed his entire family, and Urs - an old man who set him on Glaucus. Chilo howls in horror, but the apostle Peter who appears lets the Greek go in peace: Glaucus and Ursus forgive their enemy...

Shocked, Vinicius reflects on the kindness and mercy of Christians. Then he falls into oblivion, and it seems to him that Lygia is leading him to where the sun shines.

A few days later, Vinicius feels that his passion is being replaced by deep true love. But the tormented Lygia, not daring to love a pagan with a wolf Roman heart, decides to part with the young man.

Vinicius returns to his house, but everything around him seems empty and insignificant to the young man. He yearns for Lygia - and often thinks of an amazing person whom he met with Christians - Paul of Tarsus. "Each word of his turns into dust all the foundations of our world," the young man thinks. His soul is changing. He is now disgusted by the debauchery of the Roman nobility, and at a luxurious feast he rejects the harassment of the Empress Poppea. She disappears, laughing wickedly. Vinicius dreams of Lygia. Unexpectedly, a ragged Chilo comes to him and declares that, out of ardent love for Christians, he once again hunted them all down. Enraged by the meanness of the Greek, Vinicius orders him to be whipped; then the groaning Chilo leads the young man to the new home of the apostles. There Vinicius asks Peter and Paul for the hand of Lygia and promises that he will try to understand and accept the teachings of Christ. Overjoyed, Peter blesses the lovers.

And the distraught Nero dreams of a great fire - and soon the emperor's minions set fire to Rome. Looking for Lygia, Vinicius rushes in despair through the city in flames. With difficulty getting out of the sea of ​​fire in a smoldering tunic, the young man stumbles upon Chilo, who advises him to look for Lygia and Peter in one of the underground chapels of Christians. Vinicius hurries there and sees a multitude of desperate people, whom the Apostle Peter reassures with an affectionate word. Noticing Vinicius, weakened by the horrors he had endured, Peter leads him to Lygia. Falling on his knees, the young man fervently thanks the Lord, and Peter, whom Vinicius loved with all his unbridled heart, baptizes the young patrician in the poor hut of a digger.

The people are seething with anger. To save the emperor and themselves, the patricians spread a rumor that the city was set on fire by Christians. Punishing the "villains", Nero is going to arrange for the mob a spectacle that will be remembered for centuries. Poppea secretly brings Chilo to the emperor; he is ready to betray all Christians - and above all Vinicius with Lygia. Oh, Chilo will terribly avenge Vinicius for the flogging!

Petronius warns his nephew that persecution of Christians is being prepared. With what pleasure will the "arbiter of grace" frustrate the plans of this ape-Nero! But Vinicius does not have time to save Lygia: the girl is taken to prison. Petronius understands: this is the revenge of Poppea, which Vinicius rejected for the sake of Lygia. The young man was not seized because they want to enjoy his suffering by torturing Lygia before his eyes.

The mob is seized with a thirst for blood, Christians thrown into prison - with a thirst for martyrdom. The suffering of Vinicius exceeds human strength. And Saint Peter receives a revelation: in this city of Satan Christ wants to found His capital!

With enlightened faces, Christians go to their death - and in terrible agony they perish in the arena. Chilo, sitting in luxurious clothes next to Nero, whispers: "They see their resurrection!" - and falls unconscious. The executions continue. Vinicius, disguised as a gravedigger, enters a terrible dungeon and spends three days with the sick Lygia. Their souls have already been cleansed of everything earthly. After the death of Lygia, Vinicius firmly decides to confess that he is a Christian and follow his beloved.

Christians are burned on stakes, lighting up the gardens of the emperor with hundreds of living torches. From one of the pillars, Glaucus, engulfed in flame, looks at the grey-haired Chilo and wheezes: "I forgive you!" And the shocked Chilo, turning from a miserable little man into a majestic old man, shouts: "Christians are innocent! The arsonist is Nero!" These words are instantly spread throughout Rome, and Chilo, repentant of his sins, is baptized in a dark alley by the Apostle Paul. Soon Chilo is seized, but no amount of torture can now force him to recant his words. His tongue is pulled out and given in the arena to be torn to pieces by a bear. But the beast does not touch the unfortunate; with an enlightened face, the tortured Chilo dies.

And the emperor decides to arrange a "merry wedding" for Vinicius. And then the white-as-chalk young man sees that Ursus is being pushed into the arena, and then a huge tour is released, to the horns of which a naked Lygia is tied. Urs grabs Tur by the horns and wrings his neck. The audience roars with delight, and Nero, frightened by the crowd, grants Ursus and Lygia life and freedom.

In the house of Petronius, Ligia and Vinicius beg the tormented Peter to leave Rome. “I must go after my flock,” the elder answers, but still the Christians manage to convince him that he should sow the seeds of truth in other cities and villages. And Peter leaves Rome - but Christ appears to him on the Appian Way. "Quo vadis, Domine?" (“Where are you going, Lord?” (lat.) - the apostle asks and hears in response: “Since you leave my people, I am going to Rome, to a new crucifixion.”

Shocked, Peter returns to Rome. Soon the apostles are thrown into prison. But when the beaten Peter is led to his execution, he marches like a conqueror and, looking around Rome, whispers: "You are redeemed, you are mine!"

Just as calmly goes on the same day to the execution and Paul. He knows that what he has sown will never dispel the whirlwind of malice.

Vinicius and his wife Lygia live peacefully in Sicily. They love each other, believe - and are immensely happy.

And Petronius is doomed. Nero plunges deeper and deeper into vile debauchery, and the "arbiter of grace" now only interferes with the emperor. He is going to send a death sentence to Petronius, but he decides to play one last joke with Nero. At a luxurious feast, surrounded by friends, to the enchanting music, he opens his veins. Together with him, the beautiful Evnika also dies, refusing to live without her beloved. Before his death, Petronius sends a mocking letter to Nero, in which he writes that he is ready to forgive the emperor for all crimes and murders, but deeply despises him for bad poetry. The guests, looking at the beautiful marble-white bodies of the lifeless Petronius and Evnika, understand that the only thing that still remained in the old world, poetry and beauty, perished.

Nero is acting and mad. It seems that the world is turning into a continuous bloody and buffoonish orgy. Finally, the rebellious legions proclaim Galba emperor. With the words: "What artist dies!" Nero puts a knife to his throat, but is afraid, and the slave with a short blow helps his master to die.

And from the soil soaked in blood and tears, the seedlings of the seeds sown by Peter rise quietly but steadily...

Long gone is Nero, and Peter's Basilica on the Vatican Hill still reigns over Rome and the world. Near the ancient Kapensky Gate stands a small chapel with a half-erased inscription: "Quo vadis, Domine?"

E. V. Maksimova

Roman (1889)

1878 Krakow suburb of Warsaw. The haberdashery store "J. Mintsel and Son" is run by the clerk Ignacy Zhetsky - a lonely, grouchy, crystal-clearly honest old man who has worked in the company for forty years; he is an ardent Bonapartist, in 1848-1849. fought for the freedom of Hungary and is still faithful to the heroic ideals of his youth; and he also adores his friend and master Stanislav Vokulsky, whom he knew as a boy. Vokulsky served as a floorman in a tavern, and at night he sat over books; everyone made fun of him, but he still entered the university, however, for participation in the national liberation struggle he was exiled near Irkutsk, again took up physics there, returned as an almost established scientist, but in Warsaw no one took him to work, and in order not to to die of hunger, he married Malgorzata Minzel, who was passionately in love with him, an elderly but attractive widow of a store owner. Not wanting to be accused of eating Zhenya's bread for nothing, Vokulsky goes headlong into trade - and the store triples its turnover. Former friends despise Vokulsky because he is getting rich, forgetting about the heroic ideals of his youth. But four years later, Malgorzata dies, and the forty-five-year-old Vokulsky, having abandoned the store, again sits down at books.

He would soon become a great scientist - but, having once seen the twenty-five-year-old beautiful aristocrat Isabella Lenzskaya in the theater, he falls in love to the point of madness and goes to the Russian-Turkish war, where, with the help of the Russian merchant Suzin, with whom he made friends back in Irkutsk, he makes a huge fortune in order to throw it at Isabella's feet.

Isabella, on the other hand, a tall, slender girl with ashy hair and amazingly beautiful eyes, sincerely considers herself a goddess who has descended to earth. Having spent her whole life in the artificial world of luxurious high-society salons, whose inhabitants deeply despise everyone who is not an aristocrat by birth, Isabella looks at people from another, "lower" world with compassion and apprehension. But her father, the stout gray-whiskered gentleman Tomasz Lentzky, having completely squandered himself, is forced to leave the European courts, settle with his daughter in Warsaw and now talks about his closeness to the people. Noble friends turn their backs on the ruined Lentskys, and only rich old men woo the dowryless Isabella. However, she never loved anyone in her life ... The girl yearns for high society life, but begins to despise the inhabitants of the living rooms: how could these people turn away from her, so beautiful and sophisticated, because of some money!

Vokulsky is going to create a Society for Trade with the East. In an effort to get closer to Isabella, he calls Lentsky as a companion: in this way the old man will quickly get rich. He, despising the "merchant" Vokulsky, is ready to use him without a twinge of conscience. And Vokulsky secretly buys Pan Tomas' bills and charms his sister-countess, aunt Isabella, with generous donations to the poor (the countess is inspired by charity). But Isabella despises and fears this huge strong man with red hands frostbitten in Siberia.

And Vokulsky thinks about the Polish aristocracy - a frozen caste, which "with its own deadness fetters any movement coming from below." He and Isabella are creatures of a different breed. And yet he can not refuse his beloved! His soul, tormented by pain, suddenly swings open - and he sees the suffering of thousands of poor people. But how can you help them all?

The Countess invites Vokulsky to her place. In her mansion, he becomes timid and lost, and noble idlers look with contempt at the merchant. But soon the prince sits down to Vokulsky. As a true celestial, he favorably looks at ordinary people, mourns the fate of the unfortunate homeland - but has not done anything useful in his whole life. Now the prince, completely ignorant of commerce, wants to enter, along with other aristocrats, into the Society for Trade with Russia. They will make a profit - and no one will say that the nobility is sitting idly by. Seeing how kind the prince is with Vokulsky, the guests of the countess decide: there is something in this merchant! Now they look at him with fearful admiration, as if he were a beautiful wild beast.

Vokulsky thinks only of Isabella. In an effort to enter her circle, he rents a luxurious apartment, buys a carriage and horses, shuns merchants who cannot forgive him for this. At the same time, he helps several poor people get on their feet, and soon opens a new luxury store. All manufacturers and merchants shout that Vokulsky is not a patriot. Selling cheap Russian goods, he ruins the domestic industry! But he himself believes that supplying buyers with inexpensive good things and thereby destroying the monopoly of greedy manufacturers (by the way, mostly Germans) is a completely patriotic thing.

“Vokulsky combines two people: a romantic of the 1850s and a positivist of the 1870s. People like him either subjugate everything to themselves, or, having come across an insurmountable obstacle, break their head,” says the wise doctor Schumann.

Vokulsky tears up the Lentsky bills, hoping that his beloved will someday appreciate his nobility. To help Isabella, he secretly buys for ninety thousand an ugly and neglected tenement house belonging to her family, the price of which is sixty thousand. The intermediary lawyer is indignant at this stupidity: the dowry-Isabella can marry the merchant Vokulsky, but Isabella with money - never! However, Vokulsky stands his ground: he cannot, hunting for Isabella, drive her into a corner!

Soon Vokulsky challenges Baron Ksheshovsky, who insulted Isabella, to a duel. Happy with her gentle smile, Vokulsky firmly decides to throw the corpse of the scoundrel at the feet of the beauty. However, the matter ends only with a knocked-out tooth of the baron ... Seeing the madness of Vokulsky, everyone around suspects that he started some kind of grandiose speculation. Vokulsky is indignant: from childhood he lived like a bird in a cage, and now, when he finally spread his wings, everyone cackles at him, like domestic geese at a wild brother soaring up ...

And Isabella, seeing how aristocrats hover around Vokulsky, finally notices what an outstanding person he is. His love flatters her. He could even become her husband ... The most terrible misfortunes happen to people ... But, never, beloved! On the eve of the duel, Isabella bursts into tears, pitying her faithful slave, but realizing that the Almighty cannot leave alive a person who offended Panna Lenzskaya with his help. However, soon the beauty is already dreaming about how this millionaire, who loves her with ideal love, will find her a worthy husband, and then, after many years, will shoot himself at her grave ... And, having met Vokulsky, Isabella looks at him with such tenderness that he, losing his head with happiness, begs his beloved to let him be her slave. “Avoid females of a different breed,” the voice of the wise doctor Schumann sounds in his ears. After all, Vokulsky really cannot forbid Isabella to fall in love with someone who matches her, “respect for individual freedom in Vokulsky is so great that even his madness humbles himself before him.

Cheerful, slender, swarthy, slightly bald rake and loafer Kazek Starsky returns to Poland from abroad. Isabella's aunt thinks this is a great match for a girl. In vain Isabella refused him a couple of years ago. Of course, he squandered his fortune and is in debt ... But his godmother will leave something for him ...

Soon Starsky, noticeably distorting the Polish speech, comes to Isabella - and she accepts his impudent courtship. Seeing this, offended and shocked, Vokulsky coldly says goodbye and leaves for Paris. "Please tell me - the merchant, and so touchy!" - Lentsky is surprised, having already managed to beg a lot of money from Vokulsky "on account of future profits."

After seeing off Vokulsky, old Schumann defames modern civilization, which erects so many barriers between men and women. And Zhetsky, worrying about Vokulsky, begins to suspect that he is a victim of social injustice. All his life he painfully climbed up - and how much useful he would have done if he had not been interfered with!

In Paris, "dear Stanislav Petrovich" is joyfully greeted by the fair-bearded giant Suzin. Vokulsky helps him conclude several very profitable deals, from which he himself receives a considerable percentage, and wanders around Paris, thinking about his life. He always strove for the unattainable... Professor Geist comes to Vokulsky, who is looking for money for his research. He is considered a madman, but he claims that he is about to get a metal lighter than air and change the whole world. Vokulsky rejoices: this is a thing worth devoting one's life to! So what to choose: work and glory - or love, burning to the ground? Here comes a letter from the old aristocrat Zaslavskaya, who patronizes Vokulsky, who once loved his uncle. Now the kindest old woman reports that Isabella, having heard the name of Vokulsky, blushed ... And Vokulsky rushes to Poland, to the estate of Zaslavskaya. Here Vokulsky meets a handsome young inventor Okhotsky, whom he sincerely admires. The heart of this young man is given to science, but he considers women only an obstacle in his work. Even in Zaslavek, a young widow, the beautiful Vonsovskaya, is visiting, changing admirers like gloves for the sake of boredom, and the godson of the hostess Starsky, who drags after all the women in a row. His affairs are bad: the godmother has changed her mind about bequeathing the estate to him, the rich woman Vonsovskaya does not want to marry him, and he has completely squandered and, having decided to marry Isabella, is looking for a wealthy wife.

Vonsovskaya likes Vokulsky, but she fails to seduce him, and she angrily declares that all men are scoundrels: first they force clean girls to become cold coquettes, and then they despise them for it ...

Zaslavskaya, knowing about Vokulsky's feelings, invites Isabella to Zaslavek. Even one of the elderly suitors left Tu, who fell in love with a young relative of Zaslavskaya. Isabella is shocked: it means that she can be abandoned for another woman?! The soil leaves the beauty from under her feet, and Isabella begins to think about marriage with Vokulsky. He also begs to recognize his human rights and judge him by deeds, and not by titles. Strength and labor are the only privileges in this world. At the ruins of the Zaslavsky castle, Vokulsky falls to his knees before Isabella, and she does not reject him. Happy Vokulsky is ready to die, blessing his beloved.

Through the efforts of Zhetsky, Vokulsky, returning to Warsaw, begins to drop in on the kind and charming Helena Stavskaya; she was abandoned by her husband, and now she gives lessons, supporting an old mother and a charming little daughter. Exhausted by love for Isabella, Vokulsky finds healing peace in Elena's company. She gave Vokulsky her heart a long time ago. Well, why did he fall in love with Isabella, and not Helena, lamented the old man Zhetsky, who himself idolizes the "angel of kindness" Stavskaya. And Vokulsky, in order not to scare Isabella, sells his store. Zhetsky is in despair. Isabella, having made Vokulsky jealous enough, admires his blindness and meekness - and agrees to marry him. His love turns into ecstasy. Unable to part with Isabella for a single day, Vokulsky does not even go to Zaslavskaya's funeral.

But soon the Lentskys and Vokulsky set off for Krakow, taking Starsky with them. Believing that Vokulsky does not know English, Isabella and Starsky chat in this language, speaking of Vokulsky with contempt. Starsky impudently courts Isabella, claiming that women like his cynicism much more than the worship of men like Vokulsky. Shocked, Vokulsky jumps out of the car at the very first station and throws himself under the train. But the switchman - one of the poor people favored by Vokulsky - saves him. At that moment, when it seemed that everyone betrayed Vokulsky, the earth, a simple man and God remained with him.

Returning to Warsaw, Vokulsky falls into deep apathy and completely withdraws from business. "He overstrained himself with greed," say the merchants. Zhetsky begs him to marry Mrs. Stavskaya, but is Vokulsky, having become a spiritual ruin, capable of giving her happiness? He soon realizes that it is stupid to be angry with Isabella and Starsky: they are a natural product of their environment. Vokulsky's life is now aimless and empty. He still loves Isabella - but he won't go back to her! Offended human dignity is not a joke!

Soon Vokulsky leaves - no one knows where and, perhaps, forever. Old Zhetsky does not want to live anymore: the world is getting worse and meaner ... Pani Stavskaya marries a handsome and dexterous businessman, the former clerk Vokulsky. And Isabella got a new admirer to go with him to the Zaslavsky castle and yearn for Vokulsky there. But the fan quickly got tired of it, and he left her, and the old rich groom broke off the engagement and left for Lithuania. Isabella threw a tantrum, and Pan Lentsky died of grief. “And after all, she is a good person, she just has absolutely nothing to do, so flirting has become the meaning of her existence,” Okhotsky notes. “And Vokulsky is from a breed of people who are eager for great goals and grandiose work. It was such madmen who created civilization” .

The notary announces the donation of Vokulsky: 140 thousand - to Okhotsky, 25 - to Zhetsky and 20 - to the little daughter of Mrs. Stavskaya. The rest is for the poor, in fact it is a testament.

And then rumors reach Zhetsky that Vokulsky blew up the Zaslavsky castle, near the walls of which he declared his love to Isabella. Schumann believes that Vokulsky himself died under the rubble: the current world is not for romantics. Zhetsky laughs: Vokulsky simply swept the castle off the face of the earth, as others sweep love souvenirs from the shelf. By the way, they say that Isabella goes to the monastery. It will, apparently, flirt with the Lord God.

Soon, the shocked Zhetsky learns that he is not trusted in the store: unable to part with the company to which he devoted his whole life, the old man now works for free, and this is suspicious. And the last romantic Zhetsky dies. Inspirational inventor Okhotsky goes abroad forever. "Who will be left?" Schumann asks. "We!" - unanimously answer rogue merchants.

E. V. Maksimova

Roman (1896)

The novel in three books, saturated with fragments from authentic ancient Egyptian texts, adjacent to the emphatically modernized realities of the social life of the distant past, begins with an introduction in which the car? expounds his views on the history of the ancient Egyptian state: “Egypt flourished while a monolithic people, energetic kings and wise priests worked together for the common good. <…> And when <…> the Asian luxury that penetrated the country absorbed the energy of the pharaohs and the wisdom of the priests and these two forces began a struggle among themselves for the monopoly robbery of the people, <...> for thousands of years the light of civilization that shone over the Nile went out.

XNUMXth century BC e. In the thirty-third year of his prosperous reign, Pharaoh Ramesses XII proclaims his twenty-two-year-old son Ramesses heir to the throne. Having received the coveted title, the prince - a handsome young man with an almost feminine face - asks to be appointed leader of Menfi's corps. The father agrees to do this if Ramesses shows himself well in maneuvers during which he will command part of the army. Watching him will be the minister of war Herihor - the high priest of the temple of Amon, a man of more than forty years old, powerfully built, reserved and silent. During the maneuvers, everyone marvels at the knowledge, energy and foresight, endurance and unpretentiousness of the heir, who, despising luxury, rides around in the clothes of a simple officer.

The road along which the army moves is crossed by two sacred scarab beetles. Herihor demands that the regiments bypass them, making a big detour through the desert. Ramesses is forced to agree, although he does not hide his anger: the priests command everything in Egypt! Because of them, the country is impoverished, the army is falling apart, the conquered peoples have become insolent. But, having ascended the throne, Ramesses will turn the priests into his faithful servants and take possession of their treasury, which is much richer than the treasury of the pharaoh. “Only the lords who obeyed the gods and priests remained in human memory; the rest are forgotten,” remarks the scribe Herihor, the priest Pentuer, a thin ascetic who comes from the people, but due to his exceptional abilities, he occupies an important state post. Pentuer mourns the plight of the common people all the time and dreams of helping him.

During the maneuvers, Ramesses meets the young Jewess Sarah and, shocked by her beauty, buys the girl from her father Gideon.

Returning to Memphis, Herihor does not advise the sixty-year-old pharaoh to give the young man Menfi's corps: the heir is still too young and ardent, although he admired the famous commander Nitagora with his courage.

Having not received the corps, Ramesses becomes furious. He knows: this is the work of Herihor! The priests once taught the prince himself, and he knows their insatiable pride and thirst for power!

The mother of Ramesses - the stately forty-year-old beauty Queen Nikotris - is angry: how dare the heir to make his first Jewish concubine?! And is he really an enemy of the priests? How is he going to govern Egypt without them? For many years, the pharaoh avoided wars with their help ... Ramesses believes that a successful war would quickly enrich the treasury. In the meantime, in order to give his soldiers the promised reward, the prince, on monstrous terms, borrows money from the moneylender, the Phoenician Dagon.

Impetuous and stubborn, but wise and fair, Ramesses sees the disasters of the people, the arbitrariness of officials - but so far he can not change anything. For the first time, he feels that “there is some kind of power that means infinitely more than his will: the interests of the state, which even the almighty pharaoh obeys. <…> The state is <…> something grander than the pyramid of Cheops, more ancient than sphinx, more invincible than granite." Nevertheless, Ramesses decides to subjugate the priests and establish his own rules in the state!

Someone is spreading rumors about the kindness of the heir. The people love him. The pharaoh appoints his son as the governor of Lower Egypt and asks to find out why the treasury receives less and less taxes. But the young man is drowning in mountains of complaints, bills and reports. He is horrified: if people find out how helpless the prince is in the role of ruler, he will only have to die. He cannot live without power! The priest Mentesufis explains to Ramesses that only wise priests know the secret of government. And Ramesses indignantly understands that in order to join this secret, he will have to bow his head before the priests. He is more and more annoyed by the downtrodden mob, and he realizes that only the aristocracy is the class with which he is connected by the same feelings.

To the three highest Egyptian priests - Mephres, Herihor and Pentuer - is Beroes, the great magician, prophet and sage of Babylon. The Egyptians bow their heads before their elder brother, and he forbids Egypt to fight with Assyria for ten years: the stars say that the Assyrians will defeat the Egyptians. It is better to give the Assyrians Phoenicia, which is under the rule of Egypt, to the Assyrians. The Babylonian priests will arrange so that the king of Assyria will soon send an embassy to Egypt ...

Clever Phoenician merchants - Dagon, Rabsun and the gray-bearded prince Hiram, having sniffed out that their homeland could be given to the Assyrians, are horrified: this is ruin! Through his debtor Ramesses, Dagon must thwart the plans of the priests, prevent the conclusion of an agreement between Assyria and Egypt and force them to fight each other. And Ramesses needs to slip the Phoenician Kama, the priestess of the goddess Ashtoret. This, of course, is blasphemy, but the priestess who committed it may die later, and Sarah must also be removed so as not to interfere ...

In an effort to learn the secret of government, barefoot Ramesses in the rags of a pilgrim comes at night to the temple of the goddess Hathor near the city of Bubast. In the temple, the prince learns the power of the gods and for many days, with zeal and faith, indulges in pious trials. Pentuer solemnly tells the young man about the past greatness of Egypt and its present decline. The grave of the country was its victorious wars! In the campaigns, many farmers died, and those who survived were squeezed out of all the juice by the covetous officials. Now there is no one to pay taxes! Here comes the desert to the fertile lands! It is necessary to alleviate the situation of the people - otherwise Egypt will perish. The country needs peace, and the peasants need prosperity.

Arriving in Bubast, Ramesses learns that the treasury is again empty. He borrows money from Prince Hiram, who tells him that Phenicia is being given away to the ancient enemies of the Egyptians - the Assyrians. The priests are afraid that if a war starts, the pharaoh will defeat Assyria, seize its untold riches and become strong and powerful. And then the priests will not be able to cope with him, Hiram whispers to the shocked youth.

At night, he leads Ramesses to the Phoenician temple of the goddess Ashtoret, where "cruelty sits on the altar, and debauchery serves it." In the temple, drunk with songs of love, Ramesses first sees his double, and then - a naked woman with a golden bandage on her hips - the beautiful priestess Kama. If she knows love, then death awaits her. Since this girl is unavailable, Ramesses falls madly in love with her (he has long lost interest in meek Sarah). But, returning to his place, he learns that Sarah has given birth to a son.

The Assyrian ambassador Sargon arrives in Bubast and begins to harass Kama. Hating him, Ramesses firmly decides to fight with Assyria. In the meantime, he admires his son, terribly proud of his fatherhood. But the Phoenicians quickly destroy this idyll, again making Ramesses jealous of Kama. The double of Ramesses, the Greek Lycon, is passionately in love with her, whom the deceitful and greedy priestess deeply despises.

Excited, Sarah explains to Ramesses how the clever Phoenicians will cash in on the war, selling weapons to both Egypt and Assyria at exorbitant prices, buying up the loot cheaply, and get rich when both warring countries are ruined.

The Phoenicians give Kama to Ramesses. She throws tantrums and demands that Ramesses banish Sarah and her Jewish bastard from the palace. Shocked, Ramesses runs to Sarah, who confesses that the baby's real name is Isaac. So commanded the priests, who decided to make him king of Israel. Ramesses is furious. His son was stolen from him! The prince's hatred for the priests grows. He makes Sarah Kama's servant, but then sends a meek Jewish woman with a child to a house in the garden.

To please the Assyrians, the pharaoh disbands four mercenary Libyan regiments at the request of the priests. Libyans plunder Egypt. Calling the priests traitors, Ramesses, on the orders of the pharaoh, destroys the Libyan gangs. But Mefres will never forgive the insult to the prince,

And Kama is horrified: throwing a beautiful veil over her, the adherents of the goddess Ashtoret infected the apostate priestess with leprosy. Likon makes his way to Kama. In order to take revenge on Ramesses, who took his beloved from him, Lycon, at the instigation of the evil Phoenician, kills the son of Sarah and flees with Kama. Everyone believes that the baby was killed by Ramesses. Mad with grief, Sarah takes all the blame on herself, and the unfortunate one is thrown into prison. Mefres tries to force Sarah to admit that the murderer is Ramesses: in this case, he will never become pharaoh. Meanwhile, the chief of police and Hiram grab Kama and Likon. Hoping that the priests will cure her, Kama informs them that Lycon committed the crime. Mephres keeps the evil Greek at home, Kama is taken to the desert to the lepers, and Sarah dies of grief.

At the moment of his triumph, the victorious Libyan Ramesses learns of the death of his son and Sarah. The shocked prince returns to Memphis. On the way, at the foot of the Sphinx, the young man learns about the death of his father.

Pharaoh Ramesses XIII is welcomed into the palace. "I'm not a priest, I'm a soldier!" he says. The people and the nobility rejoice, the priests mourn. The highest dignitaries report to Ramesses: the army is small, there are food riots in the country, the treasury is empty - almost everything went to donations to temples. Pentour advises to pay the people for public works and to give each peasant a piece of land. But this is not at all like the nobility. And the people are waiting for the new pharaoh to ease his situation, and grumble at the power of the priests. Ramesses is angry: everyone wants changes for the better, but as soon as he starts doing something, his hands are immediately tied!

And yet, having expelled a crowd of courtiers from the palace and removed Herihor from business, Ramesses works from morning to evening. The army is growing and strengthening. Exercises are being held. All of Egypt seems to come alive. But the treasury is empty. The priests do nothing. Dagon - too: all of Phoenicia saves money to pay off the Assyrians. Ramesses understands that without money he will perish. But Hiram, secretly coming to Ramesses, promises to lend him a huge amount if the pharaoh allows the Phoenicians to connect the Mediterranean and Red Seas with a canal. The priests, of course, are against it - they are afraid that the canal would enrich the pharaoh. Soon Hiram introduces Ramesses to the priest Samontu, who knows many priestly secrets. Samontu is very smart and ambitious, but the priests do not allow him to rise, and he is now ready to overthrow the entire priestly caste. Considering the agreement with Assyria shameful, Samontu promises to obtain evidence of the betrayal of the priests, the pharaoh will then put Mephres and Herihor on trial and find the way to the untold riches stored in the treasury of the priests - the famous Labyrinth. Soon Samontu gets the plan of this structure.

After the burial of his father, Ramesses travels around Egypt. The people adores the pharaoh, the nobility grovels before him, the priests fall on their faces. Only Mefres and Herihor are adamant. At their instigation, the temples demand all debts from the pharaoh, and the people of the priests whisper to the peasants that Ramesses allowed them not to pay taxes. Herihor speaks with disdain about Ramesses - a spoiled boy who gives orders without thinking about either the methods of their implementation or the consequences. And Herihor still rules, and he has more power than the pharaoh! Behind the priests - huge wealth and excellent organization. So either the pharaoh will be with the priests, or they will do without him. After all, they only care about the good of the state!

Ramesses' men incite the people to attack the temples. The pharaoh himself, under the pretext of protecting the Labyrinth from the mob, is going to bring his soldiers there and seize the treasury. Herihor, on the other hand, provokes the crowd, ensuring that they storm the temples a few days ahead of the time scheduled by the pharaoh, at a time when it is beneficial to Herihor himself. And Mefres dreams of becoming the Keeper of the Treasures of the Labyrinth and placing on the throne the double of Ramesses - Lycon. He also turns out to be clairvoyant: looking into the black ball, he learns that Samonto is wandering around the Labyrinth. Mephres and the treasure guards soon track him down. Samontu takes the poison, and the fanatical guards decide to remove Mephres and Lycon as well: they also seem to have a plan for the Labyrinth...

On the day scheduled by Herihor, the crowd rushes to smash the temples - and then a solar eclipse begins, about which the beggar sage Menes warned the priest. The people howl in horror. Herihor, in solemn attire, loudly prays to the gods to spare the lost ones, and the crowd enthusiastically praises their savior. The priests pick up the reins of government that fell from the hands of Ramesses. The head of the guard, Thutmose, a favorite of the pharaoh, is trying to arrest Herihor and Mephres (Hiram finally brought letters that prove their treason), but the officer of Ennan, pretending to be a faithful servant of Ramesses, kills Thutmose in the back. Mefres puts a knife in Lycon's hand and sends the Greek to the pharaoh's garden. And the next moment, the guards of the Labyrinth kill Mephres and set off in pursuit of Lycon. But he manages to rush at Ramesses, who left the pavilion of his current mistress - the wife of Thutmose, the noble beauty Hebron. Ramesses twists Lycon's neck, but the Greek, in a death throes, stabs the pharaoh in the stomach. Clamping the wound, Ramesses convenes the soldiers, wants to lead them to the priests - and dies in the arms of the officers.

Power immediately passes to Herihor. He pacifies riots, makes life easier for the people, makes sure that the judges are fair, and the priests are righteous, patronizes foreigners, especially Phoenician merchants, and concludes an agreement with Assyria, without giving her, however, Phoenicia, replenishes the treasury with part of the treasures of the Labyrinth. Egypt is flourishing. People glorify Herihor and scold the boy Ramesses, already forgetting that Herihor only brought his ideas to life. Herihor marries Queen Nicotris, and the nobles proclaim him the first pharaoh of the new dynasty.

And the poor sage Menes smiles: after all, the people live and live for themselves - despite the change of dynasties, wars and cataclysms. This people is the state! And in order for him to be happy, wise men must work ...

E. V. Maksimova

(Corinne ou Italie)

Roman (1807)

Lord Oswald Nelville is going to spend the winter in Italy and at the end of 1794 leaves Edinburgh. Handsome, with a noble appearance, he is endowed with a great mind and at twenty-five years of age has a solid income. But despite the brilliant position in society, Lord Nelville is burdened by life. He is constantly tormented by the thought that his father died, and at that time he was far from his home and did not receive his parents' blessing. Nelville's condition "is all the more painful because the vivacity of youth" is combined in him with "the habit of reflection inherent in a different age."

On the way to Rome, Oswald Nelvil stops in Ancona, where he witnesses the fire and the panic that gripped the inhabitants of the city. Nelvil rushes to save people and deserves universal admiration for his heroism. Embarrassed, he leaves the city under cover of night.

Until the very Italian capital, the lord is in a state of apathy. Arriving in Rome, he witnesses the triumph of Corinna, a brilliant poetess and a charming woman. Corinne's improvisation on the Capitol captivates Nelville, and he "expresses his delight so vividly that he surpasses the Italians themselves."

Corinna also notices how admired she is by the impassive Englishman standing in the crowd, and soon Nelville receives an invitation to the poetess's house. Oswald discovers in the charming Italian woman an abyss of "a completely new charm for him", "love for the arts and knowledge of the world, subtlety of understanding and depth of feelings." He is so captivated by Corinne that he forgets his judgments that it is befitting for a woman to keep a low profile.

Gradually, the meetings of Corinna and Nelville become frequent, they wander around Rome together, admiring its majestic ruins. Corinna secretly hopes that she will be able to win the heart of Oswald, but knowing his restraint and the severity of his rules, she does not dare to openly express her disposition to him.

Feeling the ever-increasing power of the charm of the beautiful Italian, Nelvil begins to be tormented by doubts. He feels that his father would not have approved of marriage with Corinne, especially since before his death he expressed the wish that his son marry the daughter of his friend, Lucille Edgermont, who was then only twelve years old. Oswald does not want to violate the will of the deceased. In addition, he does not know either Corinna's real name or her past, he only knows that she is rich and leads an independent lifestyle.

Nelville decides to leave Rome. But, having gone goodbye to inspect the Colosseum by moonlight, among the ruins he meets Corinna and realizes that he is not able to part with her.

Oswald's love for Corinna is growing every day, he is jealous of her numerous admirers of her talent, however, being unsure of his own feelings, he does not dare to ask Corinna to tell him the secret of her origin. Nelville painfully perceives Corinna's successes in society, with the arrogance of an Englishman reproaches her for the fact that Italian women are too greedy for entertainment. With her inherent intelligence and tact, Corinna stands up for her beloved country and its people.

Mr. Edgermont, a relative of Lucile, arrives in Rome and asks Nelville to introduce him to the famous Corinna. The beautiful Italian at first refuses to accept him, which indescribably surprises Nelville, but then changes her mind and conquers her compatriot Oswald with a lively conversation and deep knowledge of both Italian and English literature. When the conversation turns to Shakespeare, Corinne, prompted by Mr. Edgermon, agrees to play Juliet in English in the tragedy Romeo and Juliet.

Corinna's game shocks Oswald, he wants to swear an oath of eternal love to the girl, but she asks him not to rush, because she understands that he will do it under the influence of a momentary impression. Loving Oswald, Corinna does not dare to tell him her story, as she is afraid that he will immediately leave her.

Offended by Corinna's restraint, Nelville is going to leave for Naples. Corinne invites him to accompany him, hoping that such a serious proof of her love will calm him down.

Friends dissuade Corinne from such a step, remind her that she will ruin her reputation, but she loves Oswald too much and is ready for anything, just not to be separated from him.

In Naples, Nelville tells Corinna about himself. A loving father prepared his son for a military career, however, before entering the service, young Nelville travels to France, where he meets a charming young widow. The widow turns Nelville into her "obedient slave", he is ready to marry a Frenchwoman against the will of his father, and only the difficulties arising from the unrest reigning in France prevent him from doing this act. Nelville returns to England and learns that his father has died. Since then, the young lord has been inconsolable.

Oswald, in love, gives Corinna a ring that he inherited from his father. Excited, she agrees to accept it, but promises to return it as soon as Oswald asks her for it back. Corinna then hands him a manuscript that tells her story.

It turns out that Corinne is the daughter of Lord Edgermont and the Italian, the first wife of the lord. Corinna's mother died when the girl was ten years old. Until the age of fifteen, Corinna was brought up in Italy, and then she lived with her father in England, in the county of Northumberland. By this time, Lord Edgermont marries a dry and prim Englishwoman, who completely subjugates him.

Corinna's talents, according to her stepmother, are not needed by anyone. The cold and "drying soul" English province depresses a girl who grew up under the hot sun in an atmosphere of reverence for the fine arts. Her only consolation is her little sister Lucille, whom she gives lessons in Italian and drawing.

The father wants to marry Corinne to the son of his friend, Lord Nelville, that is, to Oswald. But Oswald's father, who came to meet his future daughter-in-law, finds her "too lively" and tells his friend that his son is still young for such a marriage.

Corinna's father suddenly dies, and now nothing connects the girl with the house. Renouncing her name, she leaves England. The stepmother declares her dead.

Corinna settles in Rome, is engaged in literature and arts. Having given preference to two people madly in love with her, she, however, is convinced that she never had real feelings for anyone except Oswald. And yet she does not want to marry him, fearing that he will someday regret the lovely Lucile, destined by his father to be his wife. Corinna loves Oswald, and love does not recognize obligations.

Oswald decides to go to England and find out why his father was against his marriage to Corinna. As soon as he stepped on his native land, the young man felt "inclinations and habits absorbed with mother's milk." Oswald meets Corinna's stepmother. He is surprised to see that the girl Lucille has turned into a real beauty, brought up as a true Englishwoman. And when he compares two sisters, his conclusions are by no means in favor of the older one.

Oswald learns that his father considered Corinne too active for a woman and was afraid that the young Italian would carry her son away from England, with whose way of life she could not come to terms. Thus, Oswald would have lost the honor of serving his homeland. Fulfilling the will of his father, Oswald abandons the idea of ​​marrying Corinne.

Meanwhile, Corinna, having no news from Oswald, arrives in England and sees how Oswald appears everywhere with Lucille. Corinna realizes that Nelville has fallen in love with her sister. She returns the ring to him, attaching a note to it with the words: "You are free." Offended by such a message, Nelville asks for Lucille's hand in marriage.

Upon learning of Oswald's upcoming marriage, Corinna falls seriously ill and, barely recovering, leaves for Italy. There she settled in the vicinity of Florence. But there is no former interest in life in it, it is slowly fading away.

By chance, Oswald learns that Corinna visited England, saw everything and, not wanting to disturb him, left, taking all her grief with her. Oswald is in despair, he leaves to fight in the New World.

A few years later, covered in glory, he returns home, where his wife and young daughter are waiting for him. Lady Edgermont, Lucily's mother, soon dies. Under the pretext of improving his health, Oswald decides to travel to Italy. Lucille and her daughter accompany him.

Arriving in Florence, Oswald seeks to see Corinna, but she refuses to meet him. Seriously ill, she performs for the last time with improvisation - she says goodbye to Lord Nelville and Italy dear to her heart. After performing on stage, Corinna becomes ill and dies.

Lord Nelville falls into deep despair, "at first they even feared for his mind and life." Then the "sense of duty" returns him to the family, he is reputed to be an impeccable family man and a highly moral person. "But has he forgiven himself for his past transgressions?" Was he satisfied with an ordinary fate after all that he had lost? This is unknown to the author, and therefore he does not want to either blame or justify him.

E. V. Morozova

Roman (1815)

beginning of the last century. A certain traveler, making a trip to Italy, in one of the provincial towns meets a sad young man. When a young man falls ill, the traveler takes care of him, and he, having recovered, gives him his manuscript in gratitude. Confident that the diary of Adolf (that is the name of the stranger) "cannot offend anyone and will not harm anyone," the traveler publishes it.

Adolf completed a course of sciences in Göttingen, where he stood out among his comrades in intelligence and talents. Adolf's father, in relation to whom "there was more nobility and generosity than tenderness" towards his son, has high hopes for him.

But the young man does not seek to advance in any field, he only wants to indulge in "strong impressions" that elevate the soul above the ordinary. Having completed his studies, Adolf goes to the court of one sovereign prince, to the city of D. A few months later, thanks to his “awakened wit,” he manages to acquire the fame of a “frivolous, mocking and vicious” person.

"I want to be loved," Adolf tells himself, but he does not feel attracted to any woman. Unexpectedly, in the house of Count P., he meets his mistress, a charming Polish woman of not her first youth. Despite her ambiguous position, this woman is distinguished by the greatness of her soul, and she loves the countess very much, for for ten years now she has selflessly shared with him not only joys, but also dangers and hardships.

Ellenora, that is the name of the Count's girlfriend, has lofty feelings and is distinguished by accuracy of judgment. Everyone in society recognizes the impeccability of her conduct.

Appearing to the eyes of Adolf at the moment when his heart demands love, and vanity - success in the world, Ellenora seems to him worthy to covet her. And his efforts are crowned with success - he manages to win the heart of a woman,

At first, it seems to Adolf that since Ellenora gave herself to him, he loves and respects her even more. But soon this delusion is dispelled: now he is sure that his love is beneficial only for Ellenora, that he, having made her happiness, is still unhappy himself, for he is ruining his talents, spending all his time near his mistress. A letter from his father calls Adolf to his homeland; Ellenora's tears force him to postpone his departure for six months.

For the sake of love for Adolf, Ellenora breaks with Count P. and loses her wealth and reputation, won by ten years of "loyalty and constancy." In dealing with her, men have some kind of swagger. Adolf accepts Ellenora's sacrifice and at the same time seeks to break with her: her love is already weighing on him. Not daring to openly leave his mistress, he becomes a passionate exposer of female hypocrisy and despotism. Now in society "they hate him", and "they pity her, but do not respect her."

Finally, Adolf leaves for his father. Ellenora, despite his protests, comes to visit him in the city. Upon learning of this, Adolf's father threatens to send her out of the elector's possessions. Outraged by his father's interference, Adolf reconciles with his mistress, they leave and settle in a small town in Bohemia. The further, the more Adolf is burdened by this connection and languishes from idleness.

Count P. invites Ellenora to return to him, but she refuses, which makes Adolf feel even more indebted to his beloved, and at the same time even more eager to break with her. Soon, Ellenora again has the opportunity to change her life: her father is restored to possession of his estates and calls her to him. She asks Adolf to go with her, but he refuses and she stays. At this time, her father dies, and in order not to feel remorse, Adolf travels with Ellenora to Poland.

They settle in the Ellenora estate near Warsaw. From time to time, Adolf visits a longtime friend of his father, Count T. Passionately wanting to separate Adolf from his mistress, the Count awakens ambitious dreams in him, introduces him into society, and constantly exposes Ellenora in an unsightly light. Finally, Adolf promises him in writing to break with Ellenora. However, after returning home and seeing the tears of his faithful lover, he does not dare to fulfill the promise.

Then Count T. notifies Ellenora in writing of the decision made by the young man, backing up his message with a letter from Adolf. Ellenora falls seriously ill. Adolf learns about the act of Count T., is indignant, a feeling of contradiction awakens in him, and he does not leave Ellenora until her last breath. When it's all over, Adolf suddenly realizes that he painfully lacks the addiction that he always wanted to get rid of.

In her last letter, Ellenora writes that the hard-hearted Adolf urged her to take the first step towards their separation herself. But life without a lover is worse for her than death, so she can only die. Inconsolable Adolf sets off on a journey. But "having rejected the being that loved him," he, still restless and dissatisfied, does not make "any use of the freedom gained at the cost of so many sorrows and tears."

The publisher of Adolf's manuscript philosophically remarks that the essence of a person is in his character, and since we cannot break with ourselves, then a change of place does not correct us, but, on the contrary, "we only add remorse to regrets, and mistakes to suffering" .

E. V. Morozova

(Rene, ou les effets de la passion)

Tale (1802)

Rene, a young man of noble family, settles in a French colony in the wilds of Louisiana, among the Nachez Indian tribe. His past is shrouded in mystery. René's penchant for melancholy causes him to avoid the company of people. The only exceptions are his adoptive father, the blind old man Shaktas, and the missionary of Fort Rosalie, Father Suel. In vain, however, they try to find out from Rene the reasons for his voluntary flight. For several years, Rene hides his secret. When, having received a certain letter, he began to avoid both his old friends, they persuaded him to open his soul to them.

On the banks of the Mississippi, Rene decides to finally begin his story. "How pitiful my perpetual anxiety will seem to you!" - says father Suel and Shaktas Rene, "a young man, devoid of strength and valor, finding his suffering in himself" and complaining only about the troubles that he caused himself.

His birth cost his mother's life. He was brought up far from the parental shelter and early showed the ardor of nature and unevenness of character. Rene feels free only in the company of his sister Amelie, with whom he is bound by close and tender bonds by the similarity of characters and tastes. They are also united by a certain sadness lurking in the depths of the heart, a property bestowed by God.

Father Rene dies in his arms, and the young man, feeling the breath of death for the first time, thinks about the immortality of the soul. Deceptive paths of life open up before Rene, but he cannot choose any of them. He is tempted to hide from the world, reflecting on the bliss of monastic life. The inhabitants of Europe, eternally seized with anxiety, are erecting for themselves cloisters of silence. The more confusion and turmoil in the human heart, the more solitude and peace attract. But due to his inherent inconstancy, Rene changes his mind and sets off on a journey.

At first, he visits the lands of the disappeared peoples, Greece and Rome, but soon he gets tired of "digging in graves" and discovering "the ashes of criminal people and deeds." He wants to know whether there is more virtue and less misfortune among living peoples. Rene especially tries to get to know people of art and those divine chosen ones who glorify the gods and the happiness of peoples, honor laws and faith. But modernity does not show him beauty, just as antiquity does not reveal truth.

Soon Rene returns to his homeland. Sometime in his early childhood, he happened to see the sunset of a great age. Now he has passed. Never before has a change so surprising and sudden occurred with any nation: "elevation of spirit, reverence for faith, strictness of morals were replaced by resourcefulness of the mind, unbelief and corruption." Soon, in his own country, René feels even more alone than in other countries.

He is also upset by the inexplicable behavior of his sister Amelie, who left Paris a few days before his arrival. Rene decides to settle in the suburbs and live in complete obscurity.

At first, he enjoys the existence of a person who is not known to anyone and does not depend on anyone. He likes to mingle with the crowd - a vast human desert. But in the end it all becomes unbearable for him. He decides to retire to the bosom of nature and end his life journey there.

René is aware that he is blamed for his inconstancy of tastes, accused of constantly rushing past the goal that he could have reached. Possessed by blind attraction, he seeks some unknown good, and everything completed has no value in his eyes. Both the perfect loneliness and the incessant contemplation of nature lead Rene to an indescribable state. He suffers from an excess of vitality and cannot fill the bottomless emptiness of his existence. Now he experiences a state of peace, then he is in turmoil. Neither friendly relations, nor communication with the world, nor solitude - nothing Rene succeeded, everything turned out to be fatal. The feeling of disgust for life returns with renewed vigor. Monstrous boredom, like a strange ulcer, undermines the soul of Rene, and he decides to die.

However, it is necessary to dispose of their property, and Rene writes a letter to her sister. Amelie feels the compulsion of the tone of this letter and soon comes to him instead of an answer. Amelie is the only creature in the world that Rene loves. Nature endowed Amelie with divine meekness, a captivating and dreamy mind, female shyness, angelic purity and harmony of soul. The meeting of brother and sister brings them immense joy.

After a while, however, Rene notices that Amélie begins to lose sleep and health, often shedding tears. One day, Rene finds a letter addressed to him, from which it follows that Amelie decides to leave her brother forever and retire to a monastery. In this hasty flight, Rene suspects some secret, perhaps passionate love, which her sister does not dare to confess. He makes one last attempt to return his sister and arrives in B., to the monastery. Refusing to accept René, Amelie allows him to be present in the church during the rite of her tonsure as a nun. René is struck by the cold hardness of his sister. He is desperate, but forced to submit. Religion triumphs. Cut off by the sacred wand, Amelie's hair falls. But in order to die to the world, she must go through the grave. Rene kneels before the marble slab, on which Amelie lies, and suddenly hears her strange words: "God merciful <...> bless with all your gifts a brother who did not share my criminal passion!" Such is the terrible truth that René finally reveals. His mind is shattered. The ceremony is interrupted.

Rene experiences deep suffering: he became the unwitting cause of his sister's misfortune. Grief for him is now a permanent state. He makes a new decision: to leave Europe. René is waiting for the fleet to sail for America. He often wanders around the monastery where Amelie took refuge. In a letter he received before leaving, she confesses that time is already softening her suffering.

This is where Rene's story ends. Sobbing, he hands Father Suel a letter from the abbess of the monastery with the news of the death of Amelie, who contracted a dangerous disease while she was caring for other nuns. Shaktas consoles Rene. Father Suel, on the contrary, gives him a harsh rebuke: Rene does not deserve pity, his sorrows, in the full sense of the word, are nothing. "You can not consider yourself a person of an elevated soul just because the world seems hateful to you." Anyone who has been given strength is obliged to devote it to the service of his neighbor. Shaktas is convinced that happiness can only be found on paths common to all people.

A short time later, Rene dies along with Shaktas and Father Suel during the beating of the French and Nachez in Louisiana.

Roman (1818)

1807 Mrs. Alberti, a thirty-two-year-old widow, lives in Trieste with her young sister Antonia, a fragile, sad and thoughtful girl.

In this troubled time, when "the laws have not yet entered into force", and justice is often inactive, a gang of robbers who call themselves "brothers of the common good" are in charge in the vicinity of the city. They are headed by a certain Jean Sbogar, endowed with rumors of enormous growth and "awe-inspiring appearance." No one knows where he came from, but everyone agrees that he and his people are "ruthless and merciless."

The sisters often walk in the grove, where local peasants usually gather to sing and dance. During one of their walks, they hear a song about Jean Sbogar. The name of the villain makes them tremble. Returning home at dusk, they meet a young man humming a song they have just heard. The sisters are seized with vague premonitions.

Once on a walk, Antonia, exhausted by the heat, sits down to rest under a tree and falls asleep. When she wakes up, she sees two men nearby. The young stranger tells his companion about his passionate and sublime love for Antonia. Attracted by the noise, Mrs. Alberti appears and, like ghosts, the strangers disappear. Mrs. Alberti fears that one of Jean Sbogar's minions would fall in love with her sister. At the mention of the terrible robber, Antonia is dismayed.

Antonia rarely leaves the house. Only occasionally does she go to the shore of the bay to admire the castle of Duino, towering on a cliff, where, according to rumors, the gang of Jean Sbogar lives. Once at dusk, she notices how two unknown people get into a boat and sail towards the castle. It seems to her that the voice of one of them belongs to a mysterious stranger who confessed his love for her. An inexplicable fear creeps into Antonia's soul.

Unexpectedly, the sisters have to leave for Venice, and both happily set off on their journey. In an unfamiliar city, Antonia hopes to get rid of her disturbing thoughts.

On the way, the sisters are asked to give a ride to a young monk from an Armenian monastery. They agree, and a young man in monastic vestments is put into their carriage. A large-brimmed hat hides his face, but Mrs. Alberti manages to notice that his hands are "white and tender, like a girl's."

As the sisters drive past Duino Castle, they are attacked by robbers. Suddenly, a young monk jumps out of the carriage, disperses the bandits and, having ordered the frightened coachman to go further, disappears. Antonia finds rich writing in this incident for her gloomy "dreamy reflections."

Arriving in Venice, both women immediately hear a story about a certain Lothario - a young man who is respected by all the inhabitants of the city, from the last beggar to an influential official and a prim aristocrat. The mysterious Aotario, endowed with many outstanding talents, does not make friends with anyone, helps the poor a lot and rarely visits the same house twice. No one knows where he comes from, or what is the origin of his truly fabulous wealth. Not only laws, but also love do not have power over him.

At one of the receptions, Mrs. Alberti and Antonia meet the famous Lothario. Antonia is unusually excited. Lothario, possessing an "extraordinary charm", takes an interest in Antonia. When asked to sing, he sings a song about Jean Sbogar. Antonia thinks she has heard that voice somewhere before.

Lothario makes a deep impression on Antonia. Gradually, communication with him becomes a necessity for her, and, not yet confessing to herself, she falls in love with this mysterious, always sad, but powerful young man. Despite the mystery surrounding Lothario, Mrs. Alberti considers him worthy of her sister's hand and does her best to bring them closer.

One day, in Madame Alberti's living room, Jean Sbogar is mentioned. Some venerable old man once knew him. Coming from a noble family, in childhood this robber had a gentle and noble soul, and only the circumstances of life forced him to set foot on the path of crime. Rejecting his father's name, he began to be called Jean Sbogar. Aotario also ardently speaks out in defense of the rebellious bandit. Antonia listens to him as if spellbound.

Lothario confesses his love to Antonia. Antonia reciprocates. Shocked, Lothario leaves the city, leaving Antonia a letter saying that he is not worthy of her love.

Antonia realizes that some terrible secret is hidden in Lothario's past. She finds a notebook dropped by Lothario, where he indignantly writes about the justice reigning in the world.

Wanting to dispel her sister's sadness, Mrs. Alberti takes her home. On the way, they are attacked by the robbers of Jean Sbogar, they grab Antonia and bring her to the castle of Duino. Ataman, a young man whose face is hidden by a mask, grants her freedom. Not wanting to leave alone, the girl is looking for her sister everywhere. When she sees the coffin with the body of Mrs. Alberti in the chapel of the castle, she goes crazy. Ataman, without removing his mask, takes care of Antonia.

But the robbers were captured and sentenced to death. The unfortunate Antonia is placed in a monastery, where her mind gradually returns.

But Jean Sbogar is not found, and the authorities decide to show the captured robbers to Antonia - in the hope that she will recognize the chieftain, since she is the only one whom he spared. Among the prisoners, Antony notices Lothario. "Lothario!" she screams. "I'm Jean Sbogar!" - answers the robber, and Antonia's heart breaks. Jean Sbogar goes to his execution.

E. V. Morozova

(Le rouge et le noir)

Roman (1830)

M. de Renal, mayor of the French town of Verrières in the Franche-Comté district, a smug and conceited man, informs his wife of the decision to take a tutor into the house. There is no particular need for a tutor, just the local rich Mr. Valeno, that vulgar screamer, always competing with the mayor, is too proud of a new pair of Norman horses. Well, now Mr. Valno has horses, but there is no tutor. M. de Renal had already made arrangements with Father Sorel that his youngest son would serve with him. The old curé, M. Chelan, recommended to him the son of a carpenter, as a young man of rare ability, who had been studying theology for three years and was brilliant in Latin. His name is Julien Sorel, he is eighteen years old; this is a short, fragile-looking young man, whose face bears the stamp of a striking originality. He has irregular but delicate features, large black eyes that sparkle with fire and thought, and dark brown hair. The young girls look at him with interest. Julien never went to school. He was taught Latin and history by a regimental doctor, a participant in the Napoleonic campaigns. Dying, he bequeathed to him his love for Napoleon, the cross of the Legion of Honor and several dozen books. From childhood, Julien dreams of becoming a military man. In the time of Napoleon, for a commoner, this was the surest way to make a career and go out into the people. But times have changed. Julien realizes that the only path open to him is to become a priest. He is ambitious and proud, but he is ready to endure everything in order to make his way.

Madame de Renal does not like her husband's idea. She adores her three boys and the thought of someone else standing between her and her children drives her to despair. She is already imagining a disgusting, rude, disheveled guy who is allowed to yell at her children and even spank them.

Imagine her surprise when she sees a pale, frightened boy in front of her, who seems to her unusually handsome and very unhappy. However, less than a month passes, when everyone in the house, even M. de Renal, begins to treat him with respect. Julien carries himself with great dignity, and his knowledge of Latin is admirable - he can recite any page of the New Testament by heart.

Madame de Renal's maid, Eliza, falls in love with a young tutor. In confession, she tells Abbé Chelan that she has received an inheritance and now wants to marry Julien. The cure is sincerely happy for his pet, but Julien resolutely refuses the enviable offer. He is ambitious and dreams of glory, he wants to conquer Paris. However, he skillfully hides it.

In the summer, the family moves to Vergy, a village where the estate and the castle de Renal are located. Here Madame de Renal spends whole days with the children and the tutor. Julien seems to her smarter, kinder, nobler than all the men around her. She begins to realize that she loves Julien. But does he love her? After all, she is ten years older than him! Julien likes Madame de Renal. He finds her charming, he has never seen such women. But Julien is not in love at all. He wants to win Madame de Renal in order to assert himself and in order to take revenge on this self-satisfied Monsieur de Renal, who allows himself to speak condescendingly and even rudely to him.

When Julien warns Madame de Renal that he will come to her bedroom at night, she answers him with the most sincere indignation. At night, leaving his room, he dies of fear, his knees give way, but when he sees Madame de Renal, she seems to him so beautiful that all conceited nonsense fly out of his head. Julien's tears, his despair subdue Madame de Renal. A few days pass, and Julien, with all the ardor of youth, falls head over heels in love with her. The lovers are happy, but Madame de Renal's youngest son suddenly falls seriously ill. And it seems to the unfortunate woman that with her love for Julien she is killing her son. She realizes what a sin she commits before God, she is tormented by remorse. She pushes Julien away from her, who is shocked by the depth of her grief and despair. Fortunately, the child is recovering.

M. de Renal suspects nothing, but the servants know a lot. The maid Eliza, having met Mr. Valno on the street, tells him that her mistress is having an affair with a young tutor. That same evening, M. de Renal receives an anonymous letter from which he learns what is happening in his house. Madame de Renal manages to convince her husband of her innocence, but the whole city is only engaged in the history of her love affairs.

Julien's mentor, Abbé Chelan, believes that he should leave the city for at least a year - to his friend, the timber merchant Fouquet, or to the seminary in Besançon. Julien leaves Verrieres, but returns three days later to say goodbye to Madame de Renal. He sneaks into her room, but their date is overshadowed - it seems to them that they are parting forever.

Julien arrives in Besançon and visits the rector of the seminary, Abbé Pirard. He is very excited, besides, Pirard's face is so ugly that it causes horror in him. For three hours the rector examines Julien and is so impressed by his knowledge of Latin and theology that he accepts him into the seminary on a small scholarship and even assigns him a separate cell. This is a great mercy. But the seminarians unanimously hate Julien: he is too talented and gives the impression of a thinking person - they do not forgive this here. Julien must choose a confessor for himself, and he chooses the abbot Pirard, not even suspecting that this act will be decisive for him. The abbot is sincerely attached to his student, but the position of Pirard himself in the seminary is very precarious. His enemies the Jesuits are doing everything to force him to resign. Fortunately, he has a friend and patron at court - an aristocrat from Franche-Comté, the Marquis de La Mole, whose orders the abbot regularly carries out. Having learned about the persecution that Pirard is subjected to, the Marquis de La Mole invites him to move to the capital and promises one of the best parishes in the vicinity of Paris. Saying goodbye to Julien, the abbot foresees that difficult times await him. But Julien is unable to think of himself. Knowing that Pirard needs money, he offers him all his savings. Pirard will not forget this.

The Marquis de La Mole, politician and nobleman, enjoys great influence at court, he receives the Abbé Pirard in his Parisian mansion. In a conversation, he mentions that for several years he has been looking for an intelligent person who could take care of his correspondence. The abbot offers his student for this place - a man of very low birth, but energetic, intelligent, with a high soul. So an unexpected prospect opens up before Julien Sorel - he can get to Paris!

Having received the invitation of the Marquis, Julien first goes to Verrieres, hoping to see Madame de Renal. He heard that lately she had fallen into the most frenzied piety. Despite many obstacles, he manages to get into the room of his beloved. She had never seemed so beautiful to him before. However, the husband suspects something, and Julien is forced to flee.

Arriving in Paris, he first of all examines the places associated with the name of Napoleon, and only then goes to the abbe Pirard. The abbot introduces Julien to the marquis, and in the evening he is already sitting at the common table. Opposite him sits a fair blonde, unusually slender, with very beautiful, but cold eyes. Mademoiselle Mathilde de La Mole clearly does not like Julien.

The new secretary is accustomed quickly: after three months, the Marquis considers Julien quite a suitable person for himself. He works hard, is silent, understanding and gradually begins to conduct all the most difficult cases. He becomes a real dandy and completely masters the art of living in Paris. The Marquis de La Mole presents Julien with an order. This soothes Julien's pride, he is now more relaxed and does not feel offended as often. But with Mademoiselle de La Mole, he is emphatically cold. This nineteen-year-old girl is very smart, she is bored in the company of her aristocratic friends - the Count of Quelus, the Viscount de Luz and the Marquis de Croizenoy, who claims her hand. Once a year, Matilda wears mourning. Julien is told that she is doing this in honor of the ancestor of the family, Boniface de La Mole, lover of Queen Marguerite of Navarre, who was beheaded on April 30, 1574 at the Place Greve in Paris. Legend has it that the queen demanded the head of her lover from the executioner and buried it with her own hands in the chapel.

Julien sees that Matilda is sincerely excited about this romantic story. Gradually, he ceases to shy away from conversations with Mademoiselle de La Mole. Conversations with her are so interesting that he even forgets his role as an indignant plebeian. It would be funny, he thinks, if she fell in love with me.

Matilda had long realized that she loved Julien. This love seems to her very heroic - a girl in her position loves the son of a carpenter! From the moment she realizes that she loves Julien, she ceases to be bored.

Julien himself excites his imagination rather than being carried away by love. But having received a letter from Matilda with a declaration of love, he cannot hide his triumph: a noble lady loves him, a poor peasant, she preferred him to an aristocrat, the Marquis de Croisenois! Matilda is waiting for him at one in the morning. It seems to Julien that this is a trap, that Matilda's friends want to kill him or expose him to ridicule. Armed with pistols and a dagger, he enters Mademoiselle de La Mole's room. Mathilde is submissive and gentle, but the next day she is horrified at the thought that she has become Julien's mistress. Talking to him, she barely restrains her anger and irritation. Julien's pride is offended, and both of them decide that everything is over between them. But Julien feels that he has fallen madly in love with this wayward girl, that he cannot live without her. Matilda constantly occupies his soul and imagination.

Julien's acquaintance, the Russian Prince Korazov, advises him to arouse the jealousy of his beloved and start courting some secular beauty. The "Russian plan", to Julien's surprise, works flawlessly, Matilda is jealous, she is in love again, and only monstrous pride prevents her from taking a step towards her. Once Julien, not thinking about the danger, puts a ladder to Matilda's window. Seeing him, she falls into his arms.

Soon Mademoiselle de La Mole informs Julien that she is pregnant and wants to marry him. Upon learning of everything, the Marquis becomes furious. But Matilda insists, and the father finally gives in. To avoid disgrace, the marquis decides to create a brilliant position in society for Julien. He seeks for him a patent for a hussar lieutenant in the name of Julien Sorel de La Vernet. Julien goes to his regiment. His joy is boundless - he dreams of a military career and his future son.

Unexpectedly, he receives news from Paris: Matilda asks him to return immediately. When they meet, she hands him an envelope containing Madame de Renal's letter. It turns out that her father asked her to provide some information about the former tutor. Madame de Renal's letter is monstrous. She writes about Julien as a hypocrite and a careerist, capable of any meanness, just to get out into the people. It is clear that Monsieur de La Mole will never agree to his marriage to Matilda.

Not a word or word, Julien leaves Matilda, sits in the mail coach and rushes to Vierre. There he buys a gun in a gun shop, enters the church in Verrieres, where Sunday worship is held, and twice shoots Ms. de Renal.

Already in prison he learns that Madame de Renal is not killed, but only wounded. He is happy and feels that now he can die peacefully. After Julien, Matilda comes to Vierre. She uses all her connections, gives out money and promises in the hope of mitigating the verdict.

On the day of judgment the whole province flocks to Besançon. Julien is surprised to find that he inspires all these people with sincere pity. He wants to refuse the last word, but something makes him rise. Julien does not ask the court for any mercy, because he understands that his main crime is that he, a commoner, rebelled against his miserable lot.

His fate is decided - the court passes Julien a death sentence. Madame de Renal comes to Julien in prison. She says that the ill-fated letter was written by her confessor. Julien had never been so happy. He understands that Madame de Renal is the only woman he is capable of loving.

On the day of execution, he feels cheerful and courageous. Mathilde de La Mole buries her lover's head with her own hands. And three days after Julien's death, Madame de Renal dies.

E. I. Gelfand

(La chartreuse de panne)

Roman (1839)

Fabrizio, the youngest son of the Marquis Valserra del Dongo, spends his childhood in the family castle of Grianta, built in the XNUMXth century over the beautiful Lake Como. He has two sisters and an older brother who looks remarkably like his father in everything. The marquis is rich but stingy, his wife and daughters live almost in poverty. Against the will of the Marquis, his sister Gina, one of the most beautiful women in Italy, marries an impoverished nobleman Count Pietranera, a participant in the Napoleonic campaigns. After the death of the count in a duel, the countess arrives in Grianta. Fabrizio grew up before her eyes. A seventeen-year-old young man is very good-looking - tall, slender figure and a cheerful smile make him irresistible. He has been fascinated by Napoleon since childhood and, having learned about the landing of the emperor in the bay of Juan, secretly, under a false name, goes to France to fight in the Napoleonic army.

In the first French town, Fabrizio's appearance and accent seem suspicious and he is arrested. On the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, the jailer's wife helps him escape. He enters the battlefield, but in the confusion of the battle he does not recognize either Marshal Ney or the emperor himself. The candy girl explains to him that the battle is lost and advises him to return home. He follows her advice. Gina's servant is waiting for him in Geneva. He reports that his older brother denounced Fabrizio and now the police are looking for him as a conspirator.

Mother and Countess Pietranera take Fabrizio to Milan. There they hope to find high patrons for him. But the case is set in motion, the denunciation is sent to Vienna, and Fabrizio is threatened with imprisonment in Spielberg Castle - the most terrible prison in Europe. He is forced to go into voluntary exile.

Gina stays in Milan. Once at the Opera, she is introduced to Count Mosca della Rovere Sorezana - Minister of War, Minister of Police and Finance of the famous Prince of Parma Ranuncio Ernest IV,

The count, although not young, is not bad-looking, smart, witty and not swaggering. He arouses Gina's keen interest, and he falls in love with her without memory. Unfortunately, he is not divorced from his wife, but for the sake of Gina, he is ready to retire and live where she wants. However, there is another plan: the old Duke of Sanseverina dreams of a sash, a fictitious marriage with the duke, whom Mosca promises the order, will allow Gina to live in Parma and be presented to the court.

Soon the Duchess of Sanseverina amazes the Parma court with her beauty, friendliness and clarity of mind. Her house is the nicest in town.

At the Parma court there are two constantly warring parties, the ruling party of extreme royalists is headed by Count Mosca, and the opposition liberal party is led by the rich and intriguing Marquis Raversi. The prince himself, ever since he became an unrestricted monarch, has been in constant fear. And having executed two liberals at the instigation of the chief fiscal Rassi, he was simply distraught. The enormous influence of Count Mosca is explained by the fact that, thanks to his diplomatic dexterity, the prince does not have to blush for his cowardice, unworthy of a man, fiscal Rassi is in the favorites only because, "protecting the prince", he constantly looks for and finds conspirators. As soon as he notices that the prince's fears are weakening, he hastily uncovers some new chimerical conspiracy, the participants of which are waiting for the famous Parma fortress throughout Italy. The huge fortress tower, one hundred and eighty feet high, is visible from afar.

The duchess likes her new life, she feels tender affection for the count, the court world amuses her. But the fate of Fabrizio haunts her. The Count believes that the military career that Fabrizio aspires to is impossible for a young man who fought in Napoleon's troops. But he promises to eventually make him archbishop of Parma, if he wishes to become prelate.

The Duchess, with Fabrizio's consent, sends him to study theology at the Neapolitan Theological Academy.

In Naples, Fabrizio, who does not at all lead the fasting life of a seminarian, acquires a reputation as a diligent but somewhat windy youth. He is very handsome, in his appearance some special charm appeared. Of course, he is popular with women, but none of his mistresses play any role in his life.

Three years later, Fabrizio passes the exams, gets the right to be called "monsignor" and, finally, goes to Parma.

The Duchess is happy, Fabrizio lives in the Sanseverina Palace and they both rejoice like children. But gradually the soul of Fabrizio seizes anxiety. He guesses the inclination that the duchess has for him. But he is sure that he is not capable of serious love, there has never been a woman in his life, a meeting with whom would be more pleasant for him than a walk on a thoroughbred horse. Fabrizio realizes that by allowing himself intimacy with the duchess, he will surely lose his only friend. If he tells her "I love you", he will lie because he does not know what love is.

Somehow, walking around the city and absorbed by these thoughts, Fabrizio enters the theater and sees a charming actress there, who also bears his last name. Her name is Marietta Valserra. The girl falls in love with Fabrizio, but in the theater she has a patron, the actor Giletti. Once he was a Napoleonic soldier, he is brave, strong and threatens to kill the monsignor. Accidentally meeting Fabrizio outside the city, Giletti attacks him and inflicts several blows on him with a sword. Defending himself, Fabrizio kills the villain. Now he cannot return to Parma. He is lucky, he meets Lodovico, the Duchess's former coachman, who helps him escape. Fabrizio moves from city to city and finally stops in Bologna. Here he meets Marietta and instantly forgets all his sorrows. He does not even suspect what is happening in Parma.

And in Parma, the question is being seriously discussed: will the death of the comedian Giletti entail the fall of the right ministry and its head, Count Mosca.

The Prince, wanting to humiliate the Duchess, who is too independent, orders Rassi to start a lawsuit against Fabrizio Valserra del Dongo. If Fabrizio is convicted, he faces execution or hard labor.

Having learned about the impending verdict in absentia, the duchess decides to take an extreme step. She puts on a travel suit and goes to the palace. The prince has no doubt that she will come. He expects that this proud beauty in tears will beg him for indulgence. But the prince is wrong. Never before had he seen the Duchess so light, kind, lively. She came to say goodbye and thank for the favor that the prince had shown her for five years. The prince is amazed and humiliated. He is afraid that, having left Parma, this witty woman will talk everywhere about the dishonorable judges and the nightly fears of her ruler. He must stop the duchess. And he agrees to sign the document dictated by her, in which he promises not to approve the sentence pronounced by Fabrizio. But the prince feels deeply offended and the next morning orders to send out an order to arrest the nobleman del Dongo as soon as he appears in his possessions.

The Marquise Raversi sets a trap for Fabrizio by making an appointment with him on behalf of the Duchess in a place near Parma. As soon as Fabrizio enters the kingdom of Parma, he is seized and escorted in shackles to the Parma fortress.

The commandant of the fortress, General Fabio Conti, belonging to the clique of the Marquise Raversi, receives a new prisoner. As Fabrizio is taken to prison, he meets the general's daughter, Clelia Conti, in the courtyard of the fortress. The charm of her face, shining with pure charm, amazes the fabricator. Rising to his cell, he thinks only of her.

Fabrizio's cell is located in the Farnese tower just opposite the commandant's palace. Looking out the window, Fabrizio sees an aviary with bird cages. During the day, Clelia comes here to feed her pets. She involuntarily raises her eyes to Fabrizio's window and the eyes of the young people meet. Clelia is beautiful with extraordinary, rare beauty. But she is timid, shy and very pious.

The window of Fabrizio's cell is closed with wooden shutters so that the prisoner can see only the sky. But he manages to cut a kind of window in the shutter, and communication with Clelia becomes the main joy of his life.

They speak using the alphabet, Fabrizio draws letters with charcoal on the palm of his hand. He writes long letters in which he tells Clelia about his love and, after dark, lowers them down on a rope.

During the three months that Fabrizio spends in prison, having no contact with the outside world, he has become haggard and pale, but he has never felt so happy.

Clelia is tormented by remorse, she realizes that by helping Fabrizio, she is betraying her father. But she must save Fabrizio, whose life is constantly in danger.

The prince tells Rassi that as long as the fabricator is alive, he will not feel like a sovereign ruler. He cannot expel the Duchess from Parma, but it is unbearable for him to see her at court - it seems to him that this woman is challenging him. Fabrizio must die.

The hatred of the duchess for the prince is boundless, but she can only entrust her revenge to one person. The disgraced poet, ardent republican Ferrante Palla is ready to fulfill her will. He is secretly in love with the duchess and has his own accounts with the monarch.

Knowing from Count Mosca what fate awaits Fabrizio, the duchess prepares an escape. She manages to smuggle the plan of the fortress and the rope to him. But Gina does not suspect that the prisoner does not at all strive to be free - life without Clelia would be unbearable torment for him.

Meanwhile, the canon of the prison church, Don Cesare, is seeking permission for Fabrizio to take a daily walk. Fabrizio begs Clelia to come to the prison chapel. The lovers meet, but Clelia does not want to listen to love confessions. She orders Fabrizio to flee - every moment he spends in the fortress could cost him his life. Clelia makes a vow to the Madonna: if Fabrizio manages to escape, she will never see him again, submit to the will of her father and marry at his choice.

The escape succeeds, Fabrizio descends from a dizzying height and already at the bottom loses consciousness. The Duchess takes him to Switzerland, they secretly live in Lugano. But Fabrizio does not share Gina's joy. And she herself does not recognize in this depressed, self-absorbed man her cheerful and frivolous nephew. She guesses that the reason for his constant sadness is separation from Clelia. The Duchess no longer loves Fabrizio as she used to, but this conjecture hurts her.

A servant of Count Mosca arrives in Lugano with the news: the prince has died unexpectedly, and in Parma there is an uprising led by Ferrante Palla.

The count suppresses the rebellion and the son of the late prince, young Ernest V, takes the throne. Now the fugitives can return to Parma.

But the verdict has not been overturned. Fabrizio is waiting for a judicial review of the case, but for now he should be in prison. Without waiting for an official order, he voluntarily returns to the fortress, to his former cell. It is impossible to describe Clelia's horror when she sees Fabrizio again in the cell window. Her father considers Fabrizio's flight a personal affront and vows that this time he will not let him out alive. General Conti does not hide his intentions from Clelia. She knows that the dinner Fabrizio is carrying is poisoned. Pushing away the jailers, she runs into his cell and overturns the table, on which there is already dinner. At this moment, Clelia is so beautiful that Fabrizio cannot fight himself. He meets no resistance.

After the annulment of the sentence, Fabrizio becomes the chief vicar under the Archbishop of Parma Landriani, and after his death he himself receives the rank of archbishop. His sermons are very touching and very successful. But he is deeply unhappy. Clelia keeps her vow. In obedience to the will of her father, she marries the Marquis Crescenzi, the richest man in Parma, but does not cease to love Fabrizio. Her only refuge is the hope of Madonna's help.

Fabrizio is in despair. He has changed a lot, emaciated, his eyes seem huge on his haggard face. Clelia understands how cruel she is acting. She allows Fabrizio to visit her secretly, but she must not see him. Therefore, all their dates take place in complete darkness. This goes on for three years. During this time, Clelia had a son, little Sandrino. Fabrizio adores the child and wants him to live with him. But officially the father of the boy is the Marquis Kreshentsi. Therefore, the child must be kidnapped, and then spread the rumor about his death. This plan succeeds, but the baby soon dies. Following him, unable to bear the loss, Clelia also dies. Fabrizio is close to suicide. He renounces the rank of archbishop and retires to the Parma monastery.

The Duchess Sanseverina marries the Count of Mosca and leaves Parma forever. All external circumstances are happy for her, but when, after spending only a year in a monastery, Fabrizio, whom she idolizes, dies, she was able to survive him for a very short time.

E. I. Gelfand

(Le verre d'eau, ou les effects et les causes)

Comedy (1840)

Early XNUMXth century England, together with Austria, Prussia and other countries, is waging an endless and exhausting war for the Spanish inheritance against the Franco-Spanish coalition. England is ruled by a weak-willed and compliant Queen Anne, who does not make decisions without consulting those around her. In fact, the reins of government are in the hands of Lady Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough. This is a woman of a strong mind, resolute and courageous, experienced in palace intrigues. Her husband, the famous and greedy Marshal Marlborough, is in command of the English army and is not at all interested in ending the war, which drains the state treasury, but successfully fills his pockets.

The Marlborough party, that is, the Whig party, is opposed by the Tory opposition. It is led by Henry St. John, Viscount Bolinbroke, a keen political player who breathes deeply in the turbulent sessions of Parliament like an English sailor at sea. Until the age of twenty-six, he thoughtlessly enjoyed life and spent his fortune until it dried up. To improve things, he marries a charming woman with a million dowry and a million whims and shortcomings.

Married life soon becomes unbearable, Bolinbroke parted with his wife and passionately interested in politics. His wife belongs to the Whig party. Naturally, he adjoins the Tory party. He speaks in parliament calling for peace with France and publishes angry articles about military corruption in his newspaper The Examiner. Bolinbrock tries to get an audience with Queen Anne for the French ambassador, the Marquis de Torcy. In this he can be helped by Arthur Mesham, a guard officer in the palace.

Two years ago, this young provincial nobleman, lost in London, is about to throw himself into the Thames because he does not have twenty-five guineas. Bolinbroke gives him two hundred guineas and saves him from death. Meshem hopes to convey to the queen a petition for a position at court and one day he almost manages to break through the crowd at the carriage when the society dandy pushes him away and flicks his nose. However, the petition is filed, and Meshem receives an invitation to an audience, but when he goes to the palace, the carriage of the same dandy pours mud over his only decent camisole. It would seem that everything is lost, but suddenly he has a mysterious patron - he gets the place of the queen's page, then the rank of ensign of the guards regiment and hopes for new blessings with the only condition - he should not marry.

Meanwhile, he is passionately in love with the charming Abigail, who worked in a jewelry store until his owner went bankrupt. Now she is promised a place at court, and the promise also comes from a mysterious benefactor, who turns out to be the queen herself. However, the appointment depends on the all-powerful Lady Marlborough. The naive Abigail hopes that Lady Marlborough will help her, since she is her relative, the daughter of Lady Marlborough's cousin who has entered into an unequal marriage. Bolinbroke explains to the girl that there is no limit to the deceit of the Duchess. Bolinbroke, Meshem and Abigail form a defensive and offensive alliance against Lady Marlborough.

Bolinbroke hopes that if Abigail gets a place in the court, he will be able to influence the queen. Meshem's duties include daily serving the Queen with the newspaper "Fashionable People" - all other sources of information are excluded by the favorite. Meshem undertakes to deliver to the Queen the letters of the Marquis de Torcy, envoy of Louis XVI, and the newspaper Examiner with an exposing article by Bolinbrock against the Marlborough party. However, the duchess intercepts "illegal investments" and caustically informs Bolinbroke that he is in her hands - she bought all his debt obligations for next to nothing and intends to put him in prison. Bolinbroke is delighted that he has such a worthy opponent and is about to strike again in Parliament.

Meshem, meanwhile, meets his long-time offender in the palace park and kills him in a duel. No one has seen him, but he faces the death penalty under the harsh dueling law. He must run. Bolinbroke manages to deliver a note to the queen, in which he discreetly recommends Abigail. The queen would like to bring the girl she liked closer to her, but the duchess, fearing outside influence, convinces her of the undesirability of such an act. At the same time, she reports that she has found a way to give the rank of captain to a diligent young man, to whom the queen turned her favorable attention - Meshem. The queen is pleased with the favorite and forgets about Abigail. The girl is in despair.

Fortune smiles on Bolinbroke again - he becomes the heir to a huge fortune, since the dandy killed by Meshem in a duel is his cousin Richard, the embodiment of greed and insignificance, the most cruel of his creditors. The bonds are immediately redeemed, Bolingbroke is in control again. He demands severe punishment for the killer, but as soon as he learns from Abigail that it is about Meshem, he convinces her not to worry - he will try not to find him. At this moment, Meshem appears. He did not run at all, because a messenger with an order for a new appointment caught up with him. He is ordered to be with the queen. The mysterious patron sends him signs of a new rank - diamond tips for aiguillettes. Abigail recognizes the diamonds that she herself sold to Lady Marlborough when she was in a jewelry store. The incognito of the patron is revealed (Meshem does not know about it at that moment), and Bolinbroke gets the opportunity to deliver another blow to his opponent.

Abigail finds a place with the queen and immediately becomes her favorite. The queen complains to Abigail about the lack of freedom in everything and vaguely hints that she is carried away by a certain young officer. Knowing nothing, Abigail offers her help to the queen. Bolinbroke is finally admitted to the queen and tries to touch her with stories of the people's misfortunes, hardships and sacrifices caused by the war. She frankly misses and perks up only when she is informed that the duchess is interested in continuing the war, which keeps her husband with the army and allows her to indulge in sweet pleasures with Meshem. The queen is furious. So Bolinbroke learns that she also loves Meshem.

The Duchess announces to Meshem that she intends to give him an important assignment and asks him to come to her after the evening reception with the Queen. Inadvertently, she becomes aware that it was Meshem who killed Richard Bolinbroke. The queen also decides to make an appointment with Meshem and during the reception she must give a conventional sign: in the presence of guests, she will complain about the heat and ask Meshem for a glass of water. Bolinbrock informs the duchess that a certain noble lady is going to make an appointment with Meshem. In exchange for this information, he receives an invitation to the court for the Marquis de Torcy. The Duchess is unpleasantly intrigued. During a card game, to which the Marquis de Torcy is unexpectedly admitted to everyone, the queen asks Meshem to give her water. The Duchess is completely confused and makes mistake after mistake. Instead of Meshem, she gives a glass of water and knocks it over the queen's dress. The queen is angry, they exchange barbs. The result is the resignation of the duchess. But she doesn't give up. Through her supporters, she manages to convince the queen that she loves not Meshem, but a completely different one. The queen is ready to forgive her. Bolinbrock clears up another misconception. The Duchess vows to disgrace the Queen. Meshem brings papers for the queen's signature on the dissolution of parliament and the appointment of Bolinbrock as minister. A terrible noise makes him hide on the balcony. The duchess appears, accompanied by a crowd of courtiers, and discovers Meshem in the queen's private quarters. Abigail falls to her knees and asks for forgiveness for having secretly received Meshem from the queen. Bolinbrock adds that Meshem, accused of the murder, came to say goodbye to his wife, Abigail Churchill. The queen, after some hesitation, forgives Abigail and Meshem and announces the appointment of Bolinbrock as a minister and the beginning of peace negotiations with France. So Lord and Lady Marlborough are cast down, peace is made - and all this thanks to a glass of water, as Bolinbroke says.

V. T. Danchenko

(Cinq-Mars ou une Conjuration sous Louis XIII)

Roman (1826)

The plot of the novel is based on a story about a conspiracy that really took place in 1642, the favorite of King Louis XIII, the Marquis of Saint-Mar against the all-powerful Cardinal Richelieu.

1639 Young Henri d'Effia, Marquis de Saint-Mar, goes to serve the king - goes to the siege of Perpignan captured by the Spanish troops. Under the cover of night, he says goodbye to Maria Gonzago, Duchess of Mantua, who lives in the castle under the care of his mother. The young people love each other, but Mary was "born the daughter of a monarch", and in order to receive her hand, Saint-Mar must rise. With this thought, the young man sets out on his journey.

On the way, he stops at Loudun to see his mentor, the Abbé Quillet. There he witnesses the execution of the priest Urbain Grandier, accused of witchcraft. However, the real reason for condemning the unfortunate man is a pamphlet written by him against Richelieu. Judge Laubardemont, wanting to prove to everyone that the condemned man is possessed by the devil, on the way to the fire, brings a red-hot iron crucifix to Grandier's lips, and Grandier involuntarily pushes him away. Outraged by such meanness, Saint-Mar grabs the crucifix with a hollow cloak and strikes the judge on the forehead.

Saint-Mar understands that in the person of Judge Laubardemont he has acquired a mortal enemy. At night, the young man, "characterized by painful sensitivity and constant excitement of the heart", is haunted by disturbing dreams: Urbain Grandier under torture, a weeping mother, Maria Gonzago, leading him to the throne, where he cannot rise in any way, a gentle hand that turns out to be the hand of an executioner ...

Saint-Mar arrives under the walls of Perpignan and pitches his tent where the young nobles have already settled down, who are to be presented to the king. Traveling around the positions, he meets with the parliamentary councilor de Tu, his childhood friend. "They embraced, and their eyes moistened with sweet tears." Saint-Mar and de Tu participate in the assault on the Spanish bastion, showing miracles of courage in the process.

Saint-Mar is honored to appear before the king. Seeing "a youthful pale face, large black eyes and long chestnut curls," the king was struck by his noble appearance. The Cardinal tells Louis that the young man is the son of the valiant Marshal d'Effia. Admired by the courage of Saint-Mar, the king appoints him captain of his guard and expresses a desire to get to know him better. De Tu also receives royal praise.

Driving through the camp, Saint-Mar rescues two Spanish prisoners from reprisal. Having sent them to his tent, he himself, overcoming the pain in his wounded leg, goes to the king. All Henri's thoughts are focused on how to "please" his majesty, for he needs to "either rise or die." De Tu reproaches him with vanity. Saint-Mar assures a friend that his "intentions are pure as heaven."

The king joyfully meets the young man: his appearance saves Louis from a painful conversation with the cardinal. Looking at Saint-Mars, Richelieu feels that this young man can cause him a lot of trouble. Seeing that Saint-Mar is wounded, the king orders his doctor to be called and declares that if the wound is not dangerous, the young man will accompany him to Paris.

Richelieu is sure that Saint-Mar will become a favorite, and sends his slander, Father Joseph, to follow him. "Let him either serve me or fall," says the cardinal.

Sitting at the head of Saint-Mars, de Toux discusses how much benefit an honest courtier can bring to the fatherland, fearlessly telling the monarch the words of truth. Wanting to open the veil of the future, young people, following an old belief, unfold a prayer book with a sword in order to read their fate on the opened pages. Smiling tightly, Saint-Mar reads the story of the execution of two holy martyr friends, Gervasius and Protasius. At that moment Father Joseph enters the tent. According to the same belief, the first person to enter the room after reading will have a great influence on the fate of the readers.

Father Joseph is present at Saint-Mar's conversation with the prisoners he saved. One of them turns out to be the son of Judge Laubardemont; because of the cruelty of his father, he was forced to leave his home. Saint-Mar gives the young Laubardemont the opportunity to escape, but his secret becomes known to Father Joseph.

Two years pass. Saint-Mar - chief master of the horse, a recognized favorite of Louis XIII. The cardinal is seriously ill, but continues to rule the country. Maria of Mantua, who arrived at the court, is under the patronage of Queen Anna of Austria, who wants to marry her to the Polish king. But Mary still loves Saint-Mars, and Abbé Quillé secretly betroths them. Now the young man must become a constable in order to openly ask for her hand.

But, despite the friendship of the king, Saint-Mar does not manage to rise in any way, and he lays the blame for this on Richelieu. Many nobles hate the all-powerful minister; out of this discontent a conspiracy is born to remove the cardinal from power. The king's brother Gaston of Orleans and Anna of Austria are involved in it. The leader of the conspirators is the universal favorite of Saint-Mar.

For the sake of overthrowing Richelieu, the rebellious nobles agree to collude with Spain and bring enemy troops into the country. Having become acquainted with the plans of the conspirators, the queen refuses to support them, but promises to keep everything she knows secret.

Accidentally learning about the plans of Saint-Mar, de Tu reproaches a friend of betraying the interests of the fatherland. In response, Saint-Mar tells him about his love for Mary - after all, it was for her sake that he became a courtier, for her sake he wants to be Louis' "good genius" and destroy the tyrant cardinal. Otherwise, he can only die. De Tu is in despair: he saw Mary at court, and she seemed to him a frivolous coquette. However, for the sake of a friend, he is ready for anything, even to participate in a conspiracy.

Noble conspirators gather in the salon of the courtesan Marion Delorme and take an oath of allegiance to Saint-Mar. "King and the world" is their cry. Having signed an agreement with the Spaniards, Saint-Mar sends him to Spain with the young Laubardemont. Having learned how far the conspirators have gone, Gaston of Orleans also refuses to participate in such a dubious enterprise.

Under the cover of darkness, Saint-Mar and Mary meet in the church of Saint Eustathius. Saint-Mar tells his lover about the plot and asks her to break off their engagement. The girl is shocked: she is the bride of a rebel! But she does not intend to change her oath and leave Saint-Mars. Suddenly, the voice of the abbot Kiye is heard: he calls for help. It turns out that he was tied up and gagged, and in his place, into the confessional, next to which the lovers were talking, slipped the cardinal's devoted servant, Father Joseph. The abbot manages to free himself, but it's too late: Father Joseph heard everything.

Judge Laubardemont is ordered to obtain a contract. In the Pyrenees, he overtakes the messenger of Saint-Mar and recognizes him as his son. However, the judge is filled with hatred, not forgiveness. Having taken possession of the paper he needs, he treacherously kills his own son.

Saint-Mar and the faithful de Thou arrive at the camp of the conspirators near Perpignan. Here Saint-Mara finds a letter from the queen, who asks him to release the Duchess of Mantua from her oaths so that she can marry the Polish king. In desperation, Saint-Mar replies that only death can separate him from Mary, and sends a messenger back with a letter. Feeling that the plot has failed, Saint-Mar disbands the conspirators.

Having received proof of the betrayal of Saint-Mar, Richelieu demands from the king an order to arrest his favorite, threatening, in case of refusal, to resign. Realizing that he himself is not able to govern the country, Louis obeys. St. Mar appears unexpectedly. "I surrender because I want to die," he declares to the astonished king, "but I am not defeated." So does the selfless de Tou.

Saint-Mars and de Thou are imprisoned in a fortress. During the investigation, Father Joseph comes to their cell and invites Saint-Mar to poison Richelieu. After the death of the cardinal, the king will undoubtedly return his favor to the young man, and then he will become the patron of Father Joseph and help him become a cardinal. Saint-Mar indignantly rejects the hypocritical monk's offer.

The judges of Saint-Mars and de Thou are Laubardemont and his henchmen at the court of Ludun; they sentence friends to death. But the judges themselves do not live to see the execution of their sentence: Richelieu's henchmen push them into the water, and the huge blades of the mill wheels grind them to pieces.

Abbot 'Kiye is admitted to the prisoners as a confessor. Saint-Mar learns from him that the Queen bitterly reproaches herself for some letter. But most importantly, there is no news from his beloved Mary ... The abbot says that the former conspirators want to free them near the scaffold itself, Saint-Mar only needs to give a sign - to put on a hat. However, the young people, "prepared for death by long reflection", reject the help of friends, and, having reached the scaffold, Saint-Mar throws his hat on the ground far from himself. Like the martyrs Gervasius and Protasius, Saint-Mars and de Thou perish under the executioner's axe.

The "last breath" of young people "was also the last breath of the monarchy," the author concludes through the mouth of the poet Corneille.

E. V. Morozova

(Les chouanes ou la Bretagne en 1799)

Roman (1829)

At the beginning of the Vendémière (end of September in the normal calendar), a crowd of recruits marched from Fougères to Mayenne. Four years ago, these places were engulfed by a royalist rebellion, and Fougères has always been considered one of its most dangerous centers. That is why the commander of the semi-brigade Hulot decided to recruit as soon as possible, announced by the Directory, but when the Bretons obediently appeared at the assembly point, he suspected something was wrong. Most of the recruits look too much like Chouans - royalist peasants waging guerrilla warfare in the name of God and the king. These ferocious people in goat skins look at the officers from under their brows, and their intentions are clear - to take possession of the weapons. Hulot's attention is attracted by a stocky, overgrown savage with a whip in his hand: when asked to name himself, he replies that his name is Crawl-on-the-Earth. This is a Shuan nickname, and Hulot strengthens his suspicions: the royalists are up to something - apparently, this is due to the fact that they have a young and courageous leader, nicknamed "Well done."

The commander's forebodings come true: as soon as the squad climbs Mount Pelerin, Sneak-on-the-Earth whistles deafeningly, and a volley is immediately heard. Despite the unexpected attack, the "blue" desperately fight back, and a detachment from Fougères is already in a hurry to rescue them. Among the royalists, Hulot noticed a young man - a clear aristocrat in posture and demeanor. Obviously, this was "Well done" - if it weren't for him, the peasants would hardly have dared to enter into an open battle. In addition, in the midst of the fight, everyone clearly heard a woman's voice, inciting the Chouans to fight more boldly. When the Republican detachment leaves, the Bretons attack the post coach and rob it - much to the displeasure of the young leader. The Marquis de Montoran has recently landed in France and still cannot get used to the habits of the Chouans, which annoys the warlike lady who took part in the battle. The peasants do not care about these disputes: having captured the rich man d'Orgemont, who was riding in a stagecoach, Sneak-on-the-Earth and Grab-Loaf demand a ransom of three hundred crowns - if there is no money in two weeks, the miser will bitterly regret it. And the Marquis is handed a letter from Paris: his friends inform him that the Minister of Police Fouche intends to send a beautiful spy to him.

Two and a half months later, Hulot receives a dispatch from his general - two companies must accompany the carriage in which very important people travel. The old warrior is furious:

guarding two women and a Parisian dude - what a shame! But an order is an order: Marie de Verneuil, with her maid Francine, and a dapper gentleman named Corentin safely reach Alençon. At the hotel, they meet a naval officer and his too young mother - both are looking closely at Marie, trying to figure out who she is and why she is traveling under escort. The beauty of a stranger makes a strong impression on a sailor. In its turn. Marie feels an irresistible attraction to the young man and does not allow him to be arrested, although Hulot recognizes him as the leader of the Chouans. In the meantime, the sharp-sighted Francine made out who was hiding in the yard Sneak-on-the-Earth - this is Pierre Leroy, her betrothed. Madame du Gat, overwhelmed by jealousy, ordered him to kill Marie. Francine threatens Pierre with eternal separation if at least a hair falls from the head of her mistress.

Accompanied by sixty republican soldiers, Madame du Gat, her "son" and Marie set out for Fougères. Along the way, young people fall more and more in love with each other. Du Ga swears that he is only a friend of Montoran - and Marie rejoices violently at this, not wanting, however, to enter into explanations. The young man offers to rest in the castle of Vivetiere and gives the nobleman's word of honor that the "blues" will be completely safe there. But when the Count de Beauvant and Mama du Gat (the lady in love with Montoran from the first part of the novel) publicly declare Marie a dirty girl hired by Fouche to search for the leader of the Chouans, the “Good Guy” comes into a terrible rage: the republican soldiers are treacherously killed, and Marie is given to fun for the peasants - she is saved from a terrible fate by Creep-on-the-Earth, who is afraid of losing Francine. Returning to the glass, Marie thinks only of revenge and is even ready to resort to the help of the hated Corentin, Fouche's right hand. But before her eyes, as before, are the fiery gaze and the beautiful face of the Marquis de Montoran.

The city of Fougeres rises on a steep cliff. Five days after the massacre in Vivetiere, Marie, walking along the boulevard at sunset, notices the "Good Guy" in the valley and decides to track him down. A lot of Chouans have gathered on the outskirts of the city - they are preparing for an assault. Marie is rapidly descending, and they shy away from her in horror, mistaking her for a ghost. Finally realizing the danger, the girl takes refuge in the first house she comes across and becomes a witness. scary scene: Grab-Loaf and Sneak-on-the-Earth torture d'0r-jemon, who never paid the ransom. When Marie appears, the shuans scatter, and the old man leads her out through a secret passage and tells her the password so that she can hide in the hut of Naley-Zhban, ready to serve both the “whites” and the “blues”. Meanwhile, the Republicans, having beaten off the attack, go on the offensive, and Count de Bovan runs to Naley-Zhban to hide. Taking him prisoner with the help of one of the soldiers, Marie proves to him that she is the daughter of the Duke de Verneuil. The crushed aristocrat repents of having offended her in Vivetiere, and Marie demands that she be whitewashed in front of all the royalists. Then the earl invites the girl to a ball at his St. James estate, where her appearance makes a splash: everyone is amazed both by her beauty and noble origin. Montoran begs his beloved to forgive him, and Marie, in a fit of remorse, confesses everything: she was forced into a vile role, but she renounces the past - of course, the Marquis cannot marry her now, but she will not give him into the hands of the executioners. The shocked "Well Done" does not hold her back, and she returns to Fougères in deep sorrow.

The next day, Naley-Zhban comes to her - at two o'clock the marquis will be waiting for her in the hut. Unfortunately, Corentin, who entered at that moment, recognizes Chouan. When a perked-up Marie goes on a date, the "blues" follow her - in order to deceive the peasants, they dress up as Bretons, and the wife of Naley-Zhbana, mistaking them for her own, involuntarily betrays "Well done". And the lovers cannot look enough at each other: everything is behind - both mutual suspicions and resentment. Montoran announces to Marie that tomorrow they will be married by a priest in her house of glasses, and then they will leave these places, desecrated by a merciless war. At this moment, the soldiers creep up to the house, but the marquis miraculously breaks through their ranks. Annoyed Corentin understands that now Marie's help is indispensable: however, this suits a clever spy - he needs to dump a proud girl in the mud in order to more accurately take possession of her. Marie does not know the handwriting of the Marquis, and Corentin scribbles a fake message in which Montoran assures Madame du Ga that he won the bet - the corrupt girl is ready to give herself to him. Marie is brought this letter, allegedly intercepted from the Chouans, and the light fades before her eyes. She makes the final decision - the marquis who betrayed her must die.

Hulot and Corentin carefully prepare the ambush. Their son Naley-Zhbana becomes their liaison: Sneak-on-the-Earth and Grab-Loaf cut off the head of his father, accused of betrayal, and his mother, burning with a thirst for revenge, herself took the boy to the "blue" with the order to kill the shuans. Unsuspecting Montoran comes to Marie accompanied by three people - seeing the priest and witnesses, the girl falls to her knees with a cry of "sorry!". The Holy Father performs the wedding ceremony: Marie is unusually pale, but at such a solemn moment this does not surprise anyone. The couple's wedding night arrives, and only Marie knows that they only have six hours left to live. At dawn, they suddenly hear the cry of an owl, and hope awakens in Marie's heart - Sneak-on-the-Earth managed to get close to the house. Montoran puts on a Chouan dress, and Marie, in a selfless impulse, puts on his costume. A volley is heard, then shooting comes from somewhere far away. The soldiers inform Hulot that "Well done" was shot in the head. Taking off his hat from the imaginary marquis, the commander sees the long black braids of Marie de Verneuil. Soon they bring Montoran with broken legs - they put him next to his wife on a camp bed. The dying marquis asks Hulot to notify his younger brother of his death - let him serve the king, but never raise arms against France. And the old soldier tells Corentin to get away and never cross his path again. For a spy, this threat means absolutely nothing - Hulot is one of those decent people who will never make a career.

E. D. Murashkintseva

Tale (1830)

The lawyer Derville tells the story of the usurer Gobsek in the salon of the Vicomtesse de Granlie, one of the most noble and wealthy ladies in the aristocratic Faubourg Saint-Germain. One day, in the winter of 1829/30, two guests stayed with her: the handsome young Count Ernest de Restaud and Derville, who is easily accepted only because he helped the mistress of the house to return the property confiscated during the Revolution. When Ernest leaves, the viscountess reprimands her daughter Camilla: one should not show affection to the dear count so frankly, because not a single decent family will agree to intermarry with him because of his mother. Although now she behaves impeccably, in her youth she caused a lot of gossip. In addition, she is of low birth - her father was a grain merchant Goriot. But worst of all, she squandered her fortune on her lover, leaving the children penniless. Count Ernest de Resto is poor, and therefore not a match for Camille de Granlier. Derville, sympathetic to the lovers, intervenes in the conversation, wanting to explain to the viscountess the true state of affairs. He starts from afar: in his student years he had to live in a cheap boarding house - there he met Gobsek. Even then he was a deep old man of a very remarkable appearance - with a "moon face", yellow eyes like a ferret, a sharp long nose and thin lips. His victims sometimes lost their temper, cried or threatened, but the usurer himself always kept his cool - he was a "man-bill", a "golden idol". Of all the neighbors, he maintained relations only with Derville, to whom he once revealed the mechanism of his power over people - the world is ruled by gold, and the usurer owns the gold. As an edification, he tells how he collected a debt from a noble lady - fearing exposure, this countess without hesitation handed him a diamond, because her lover received the money on her bill. Gobsek guessed the future of the Countess from the face of a fair-haired handsome man - this dandy, spendthrift and player is able to ruin the whole family.

After graduating from a law course, Derville received a position as a senior clerk in the attorney's office. In the winter of 1818/19, he was forced to sell his patent - and asked for one hundred and fifty thousand francs. Gobseck lent money to the young neighbor, taking only thirteen percent from him "for friendship" - usually he took no less than fifty. At the cost of hard work, Derville managed to get even with his debt in five years.

Once, the brilliant dandy Count Maxime de Tray begged Derville to set him up with Gobsek, but the usurer flatly refused to give a loan to a man who had debts of three hundred thousand, and not a centime for his soul. At that moment, a carriage drove up to the house, the Comte de Tray rushed to the exit and returned with an unusually beautiful lady - according to the description, Derville immediately recognized in her the countess who issued the bill four years ago. This time she has pledged magnificent diamonds. Derville tried to prevent the deal, but as soon as Maxim hinted that he was going to take his own life, the unfortunate woman agreed to the onerous terms of the loan. After the lovers left, the countess's husband broke into Gobsek demanding the return of the mortgage - his wife had no right to dispose of the family jewels. Derville managed to settle the matter amicably, and the grateful usurer gave the count advice: to transfer all his property to a reliable friend through a fictitious sale deal is the only way to save at least children from ruin. A few days later, the count came to Derville to find out what he thought of Gobsek. The lawyer replied that in the event of an untimely death, he would not be afraid to make Gobsek the guardian of his children, for in this miser and philosopher there live two creatures - vile and sublime. The count immediately decided to transfer all rights to the property to Gobsek, wanting to protect him from his wife and her greedy lover.

Taking advantage of a pause in the conversation, the viscountess sends her daughter to bed - a virtuous girl does not need to know to what a fall a woman who has transgressed certain boundaries can reach. After the departure of Camille, there is no need to hide the names - the story is about the Countess de Resto. Derville, having never received a counter receipt about the fictitiousness of the transaction, learns that the Comte de Resto is seriously ill. The Countess, sensing a trick, does her best to prevent the attorney from approaching her husband. The denouement comes in December 1824. By this time, the Countess was already convinced of the meanness of Maxime de Tray and broke up with him. She so zealously looks after her dying husband that many are inclined to forgive her former sins - in fact, she, like a predatory beast, lies in wait for her prey. The count, unable to get a meeting with Derville, wants to hand over the documents to his eldest son - but his wife cuts off this path too, trying to influence the boy with caress. In the last terrible scene, the countess begs for forgiveness, but the count remains adamant. That same night he dies, and the next day Gobsek and Derville come to the house. A terrible sight appears before their eyes: in search of a will, the countess made a real rout in the office, not even ashamed of the dead. Hearing the steps of strangers, she throws papers addressed to Derville into the fire - the count's property thereby undividedly passes into the possession of Gobsek. The usurer rented out a mansion, and began to spend the summer like a lord - in his new estates. To all Derville's entreaties to take pity on the repentant countess and her children, he replied that misfortune is the best teacher. Let Ernest de Resto know the value of people and money - then it will be possible to return his fortune. Having learned about the love of Ernest and Camilla, Derville once again went to Gobsek and found the old man dying. The old miser bequeathed all his wealth to his sister's great-granddaughter - a public girl nicknamed "Spark". He instructed his executor Derville to dispose of the accumulated food supplies - and the lawyer really discovered huge stocks of rotten pate, moldy fish, and rotten coffee. By the end of his life, Gobsek's stinginess turned into mania - he did not sell anything, being afraid to sell too cheap. In conclusion, Derville reports that Ernest de Resto will soon regain his lost fortune. The viscountess replies that the young count must be very rich - only in this case he can marry Mademoiselle de Granlier. However, Camille is not at all obliged to meet with her mother-in-law, although the countess was not ordered to attend receptions - after all, she was received at Madame de Beausean's house.

E. D. Murashkintseva

(Eugenie Grandet)

Roman (1833)

Eugenie Grandet was considered the most enviable bride in Saumur. Her father, a simple cooper, made a fortune during the Revolution, buying for a song the confiscated church property - the best vineyards in the Saumur district and several farms. At the Consulate, he was elected mayor, and in the days of the Empire he was already called only Monsieur Grande - however, behind his back he was familiarly called "dad". No one knew exactly what capital the former cooper had, but smart people said that Papa Grande had six or seven million francs faithful. Only two people could confirm this, but the notary Cruchot and the banker de Grassin knew how to keep their mouths shut. However, both fawned so frankly before Grandet that the city of Saumur was filled with the deepest respect for the old man. The notary, with the support of numerous relatives, solicited the hand of Evgenia for his nephew, the chairman of the court of first instance. In turn, the wife of the banker de Grassin cleverly intrigued, hoping to marry her son Adolf to the rich heiress.

The citizens of Somyur followed the battle of the titans with interest and wondered who would get a tasty morsel. Some, however, claimed that the old man was going to marry his daughter to his nephew - the son of Guillaume Grandet, who had made a million-dollar fortune in the wholesale wine trade and settled in Paris. Kruchotintsy and Grassenists unanimously denied this, declaring that the Parisian Grande aims much higher for his son and may well intermarry with some "Duke by the grace of Napoleon." At the beginning of 1819, Father Grandet, with the help of the Cruchot family, acquired the magnificent estate of the Marquis de Froifon.

But this circumstance did not at all change the old man's habitual way of life: he is still in his dilapidated house with his wife, daughter and only servant Nanon, nicknamed Hulk for her tall stature and masculine appearance. Thirty-five years ago, Grande's father warmed up a poor peasant girl who was driven from all doors - and since then Nanetta has done any job for a tiny salary, tirelessly blessing the owner for her kindness. However, Evgenia and her mother sat all day long at needlework, and the old miser gave them candles according to the bill.

The event that turned Eugenia Grande's life around happened in the first half of October 1819, on her birthday. On the occasion of the holiday, Grande's father allowed the fire to be lit, although November had not yet arrived, and presented his daughter with the usual gift - a gold coin. Cruchot and de Grassins, ready for a decisive battle, came to a memorable dinner for all Saumurians. In the midst of a lotto game, there was a knock on the door, and the son of the Parisian millionaire Charles Grandet appeared before the astonished provincials. Handing his uncle a letter from his father, he began to look around, obviously struck by the poverty of the table and furnishings. Everything convinced the young man that the Saumur relatives were living in poverty - a mistake that would be fatal for Eugenia. At twenty-three, this timid, pure girl knew neither her wealth nor her beauty. The lovely graceful cousin seemed to her a stranger from another world. A still more vague feeling arose in her heart, and she begged Nanet to light the fireplace in Charles's bedroom - a luxury unheard of in this house.

The Parisian Grande, in a suicide letter, informed his brother of his bankruptcy and intention to shoot himself, begging for only one thing - to take care of Charles. The poor boy is spoiled by the love of his relatives and caressed by the attention of the world - he will not bear shame and poverty. In the morning everyone in Saumur knew about the suicide of Guillaume Grandet. The old curmudgeon told his nephew the terrible news with rude frankness, and the gentle youth could not help sobbing. Eugenia was imbued with such compassion for him that even the meek Madame Grandet considered it necessary to warn her daughter, for there is only one step from pity to love. And Charles was moved to the depths of his soul by the sincere participation of his aunt and cousin - he knew well with what indifferent contempt he would meet in Paris.

After listening to talk about her uncle's bankruptcy and reading Charles's letters furtively, Evgenia thought about money for the first time. She realized that her father could help her cousin, but the old miser was furious at the mere suggestion that he would have to fork out for the pathetic boy. However, Grande's father soon relented: after all, the good name of the family was affected here, and even with the arrogant Parisians it was necessary to get even. The banker de Grassin went to the capital to deal with the liquidation of the bankrupt company, and at the same time invest the old man's savings in state rent. The people of Saumur praised Grande to the skies - no one expected such generosity from him.

Meanwhile, Eugenie begged Charles to accept as a gift her savings - gold coins worth about six thousand francs. In turn, Charles handed her a golden travel bag with portraits of her father and mother to keep. For both young people, the spring of love has come: they swore fidelity to each other to the grave and sealed their vow with a chaste kiss. Soon Charles went to the East Indies in the hope of gaining wealth. And the mother and daughter began to wait with trepidation for the New Year: the old man used to admire Eugenia's gold coins on holidays. There was a horrific scene: Grande's father nearly cursed his daughter and ordered her to be imprisoned on bread and water. Even the downtrodden Madame Grandet could not bear this: for the first time in her life she dared to contradict her husband, and then fell ill with grief. Evgenia stoically endured her father's disfavor, finding solace in her love. Only when his wife became very ill did Father Grande change his anger to mercy - the notary Cruchot explained to him that Eugenia could demand the division of the inheritance after the death of her mother. To the great joy of the patient, the father solemnly forgave his daughter. But then Charles' casket caught his eye, and the old miser decided to tear off the golden records for remelting - only the threat of Eugenia to commit suicide stopped him. For the dying woman, this turned out to be the last blow - she faded away in October 1822, regretting only her daughter, left to be torn to pieces by a cruel world. After her death, Eugene resignedly signed a waiver of inheritance.

The next five years did nothing to change the monotonous existence of Eugenia. True, the Grassenist party suffered a complete collapse; having arrived in Paris on Grandet's business, the banker went on a rampage, and his wife had to abandon plans to marry Adolf to Eugenie. Papa Grande, by clever manipulation of his brother's bills, reduced the debt from four million to one million two hundred thousand. Feeling the approach of death, the old man began to acquaint his daughter with business and instilled in her his concepts of stinginess. At the end of 1827 he died at the age of eighty-two. By this time, Charles Grandet had already returned to France. The sensitive young man turned into a burnt businessman who got rich in the slave trade. He hardly mentioned Eugene. Only in August 1828 did she receive the first letter from him, to which a check was attached. From now on, Charles considered himself free from all childish oaths and informed his cousin that he wanted to marry Mademoiselle d'Obrion, who was much more suitable for him in age and position.

Already this letter was enough to crush all the hopes of Eugenia. Madame de Grassin, burning with a thirst for revenge, added fuel to the fire: Eugenia learned from her that her cousin had been in Paris for a long time, but the wedding was still far away - the Marquis d'06rion would never give his daughter to the son of an insolvent debtor, and Charles turned out to be so stupid that he did not want part with three thousand francs, which would have completely satisfied the remaining creditors. On the evening of the same day, Evgenia agreed to marry the chairman Cruchot and asked him to immediately leave for Paris - she wanted to pay off all her uncle's debt obligations, along with interest, and allocated two million for this purpose. Having handed Charles an act of satisfaction of financial claims, the chairman did not deny himself the pleasure of clicking on the nose of a stupid ambitious man: he announced that he was marrying Mademoiselle Grandet - the owner of seventeen million.

Mindful of the terms of the marriage contract, Monsieur Cruchot always showed the greatest respect for his wife, although in his heart he ardently wished for her death. But the all-seeing Lord soon took him away - Eugenia became a widow at the age of thirty-six. Despite her great wealth, she lives according to the schedule set by her father, although, unlike him, she generously donates to charitable causes. In Saumur they talk about her new marriage - the rich widow is being courted in every possible way by the Marquis de Froifon.

E. D. Murashkintseva

Roman (1834-1835)

The main events take place in the boarding house "mother" Voke. At the end of November 1819, seven permanent "freeloaders" were found here: on the second floor - a young lady Victorina Taifer with a distant relative of Madame Couture; on the third - a retired official Poiret and a mysterious middle-aged gentleman named Vautrin; on the fourth - the old maid Mademoiselle Michonnot, a former grain merchant Goriot and a student of Eugene de Rastignac, who came to Paris from Angouleme. All tenants unanimously despise Father Goriot, who was once called "Mr." She even entered into some of the costs of the common table, but the "vermicellier" did not appreciate her efforts. Disappointed mother Voke began to look askance at him, and he fully justified bad expectations: two years later he moved to the third floor and stopped heating in the winter. The vigilant servants and tenants guessed the reason for such a fall very soon: lovely young ladies occasionally came secretly to Papa Goriot - obviously, the old debauchee squandered his fortune on his mistresses. True, he tried to pass them off as his daughters - a stupid lie that only amused everyone. By the end of the third year, Goriot moved to the fourth floor and began to walk in rags.

Meanwhile, the measured life of the Voke house begins to change. Young Rastignac, intoxicated by the splendor of Paris, decides to enter the high society. Of all the rich relatives, Eugene can only count on the Viscountess de Beausean. After sending her a letter of recommendation from his old aunt, he receives an invitation to the ball. The young man longs to get close to some noble lady, and the brilliant Countess Anastasi de Resto attracts his attention. The next day, he tells his companions about her at breakfast, and learns amazing things: it turns out that old Goriot knows the countess and, according to Vautrin, recently paid her overdue bills to the usurer Gobsek. From that day on, Vautrin begins to closely monitor all the actions of the young man.

The first attempt to make a secular acquaintance turns out to be a humiliation for Rastignac: he came to the countess on foot, causing contemptuous grins from the servants, he could not immediately find the living room, and the mistress of the house made it clear to him that she wanted to be left alone with Count Maxime de Tray. Enraged Rastignac is imbued with a wild hatred for the arrogant handsome man and vows to triumph over him. To top it all off, Eugene makes a mistake by mentioning the name of Papa Goriot, whom he accidentally saw in the courtyard of the count's house. The dejected young man goes on a visit to the Viscountess de Beausean, but chooses the most inopportune moment for this: his cousin is in for a heavy blow - the Marquis d'Ajuda-Pinto, whom she passionately loves, intends to part with her for the sake of a profitable marriage. The Duchess de Langeais is pleased to break the news to her "best friend". The viscountess hastily changes the subject of the conversation, and the riddle that tormented Rastignac is immediately resolved: Anastasi de Resto in her maiden name was Goriot. This pathetic man also has a second daughter, Delphine, the wife of the banker de Nucingen. Both beauties actually renounced their old father, who gave them everything. The viscountess advises Rastignac to take advantage of the rivalry between the two sisters: unlike Countess Anastasi, Baroness Delphine is not accepted in high society - this woman will lick all the dirt on the surrounding streets for an invitation to the house of the Viscountess de Beausean.

Returning to the boarding house, Rastignac announces that from now on he takes father Goriot under his protection. He writes a letter to his relatives, begging them to send him one thousand two hundred francs - this is an almost unbearable burden for the family, but the young ambitious man needs to acquire a fashionable wardrobe. Vautrin, having unraveled Rastignac's plans, invites the young man to pay attention to Quiz Tyfer. The girl vegetates in a boarding house, because her father, the richest banker, does not want to know her. She has a brother: it is enough to remove him from the stage for the situation to change - Quiz will become the only heiress. Vautrin takes over the removal of the young Typher, and Rastignac will have to pay him two hundred thousand - a mere trifle compared to a million dowry. The young man is forced to admit that this terrible man said in a rude way the same thing that the Vicomtesse de Beausean said. Instinctively sensing the danger of a deal with Vautrin, he decides to win the favor of Delphine de Nucingen. In this he is helped in every possible way by Father Goriot, who hates both sons-in-law and blames them for the misfortunes of his daughters. Eugene meets Delphine and falls in love with her. She reciprocates his feelings, for he rendered her a valuable service by winning seven thousand francs: the banker's wife cannot pay off her debt - her husband, having pocketed a dowry of seven hundred thousand, left her practically penniless.

Rastignac begins to lead the life of a secular dandy, although he still has no money, and the tempter Vautrin constantly reminds him of Victoria's future millions. However, clouds are gathering over Vautrin himself: the police suspect that under this name there is a fugitive convict Jacques Collin, nicknamed Deceive Death - to expose him, the help of one of the "freeloaders" of the Voke boarding house is needed. For a substantial bribe, Poiret and Michonneau agree to play the role of detectives: they must find out if Vautrin has a brand on his shoulder.

The day before the fateful denouement, Vautrin informs Rastignac that his friend Colonel Franchessini challenged Typher's son to a duel. At the same time, the young man learns that Father Goriot did not waste time: he rented a lovely apartment for Eugene and Delphine and instructed the lawyer Derville to put an end to the atrocities of Nucingen - from now on, the daughter will have thirty-six thousand francs of annual income. This news puts an end to Rastignac's hesitations - he wants to warn the father and son of Tayferov, but the prudent Vautrin makes him drink wine with an admixture of sleeping pills. The next morning, they do the same trick with him: Michono mixes a drug in his coffee that causes a rush of blood to the head, the insensible Vautrin is undressed, and the stigma appears on his shoulder after clapping his palm.

Further events take place rapidly, and mother Voke suddenly loses all her guests. First, they come for Quiz Tyfer: the father calls the girl to him, because her brother is mortally wounded in a duel. Then the gendarmes burst into the boarding house: they were ordered to kill Vautrin at the slightest attempt to resist, but he demonstrates the greatest composure and calmly surrenders to the police. Imbued with an involuntary admiration for this "genius of penal servitude", the students who dine at the boarding house drive out voluntary spies - Michonneau and Poiret. And father Goriot shows Rastignac a new apartment, begging for one thing - to let him live on the floor above, next to his beloved Delphine. But all the old man's dreams are shattered. Pressed against the wall by Derville, Baron de Nucingen confesses that his wife's dowry has been invested in financial fraud. Goriot is horrified: his daughter is at the mercy of a dishonest banker. However, Anastasi's situation is even worse: saving Maxime de Tray from a debtor's prison, she pawns the family diamonds to Gobsek, and the Comte de Restaud finds out about this. She needs another twelve thousand, and her father spent the last of the money on an apartment for Rastignac. The sisters begin to shower insults on each other, and in the midst of their quarrel, the old man falls down like a wreck - he had a stroke.

Papa Goriot dies on the day when the Vicomtesse de Beauseant gives her last ball - unable to survive the separation from the Marquis d'Ajuda, she leaves the world forever. Saying goodbye to this amazing woman, Rastignac hurries to the old man, who in vain calls his daughters to him. The unfortunate father is buried for the last pennies by poor students - Rastignac and Bianchon. Two empty carriages with coats of arms escort the coffin to the Pere Lachaise cemetery. From the top of the hill Rastignac looks at Paris and takes an oath to succeed at any cost - and first goes to dine with Delphine de Nucingen.

E. L Murashkintseva

(Illusions perdues)

Roman (1835-1843)

To harbor illusions is the fate of provincials. Lucien Chardon was from Angouleme. His father, a simple apothecary, in 1793 miraculously saved the maiden de Rubempre, the last representative of this noble family, from the scaffold, and thereby received the right to marry her. Their children, Lucien and Eva, inherit the wondrous beauty of their mother. Chardonnay lived in great need, but Lucien was helped to his feet by his best friend, the owner of the printing house, David Sechard. These young men were born for great accomplishments, but Lucien overshadowed David with the brilliance of talents and dazzling appearance - he was a handsome man and a poet. The local socialite Madame de Bergeton drew attention to him and began to invite him to her house, to the great displeasure of the arrogant local nobility. Baron Sixte du Chatelet was more vicious than others - a man without roots, but who managed to make a career and had his own views on Louise de Bergeton, who gave a clear preference to a talented young man. And David passionately fell in love with Eve, and she answered him in return, guessing in this thick-set typographer a deep mind and an elevated soul. True, David's financial situation was unenviable: his own father actually robbed him, selling the old printing house at a clearly inflated price and ceding a patent for publishing a newspaper to competitors, the Cuente brothers, for a hefty bribe. However, David hoped to get rich by discovering the secret of producing cheap paper. This was how things stood when an event occurred that decided the fate of Lucien: one of the local noblemen, having found him on his knees in front of Louise, trumpeted this throughout the city and ran into a duel - Madame de Bergeton ordered the obedient old husband to punish the offender. But from that moment on, life in Angouleme became disgusting to her: she decided to leave for Paris, taking the charming Lucien with her. The ambitious young man neglected his sister's wedding, knowing that everyone would forgive him. Eva and David gave their brother the last money - he had to live on them for two years.

In the capital, the paths of Lucien and Madame de Bergeton diverged - provincial love, unable to withstand the first contact with Paris, quickly grew into hatred. The Marquise d'Espard, one of the most influential ladies of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, did not refuse the patronage of her cousin, but demanded the removal of the ridiculous youth, whom she had the stupidity to bring with her. Lucien, comparing his "divine" Louise with secular beauties, was already ready to cheat on her - but then, through the efforts of the Marquise and the ubiquitous Sixte du Chatelet, he was expelled from decent society with disgrace. The unfortunate poet had high hopes for the collection of sonnets "Daisies" and the historical novel "The Archer of Charles IX" - it turned out that Paris is full of its rhymes and hacks, and therefore it is extremely difficult for a novice author to break through. Having foolishly squandered all the money, Lucien hides in a hole and begins to work: he reads a lot, writes, and thinks.

In a cheap student canteen, he meets two young people - Daniel d'Artez and Etienne Lousteau. The fate of the weak-willed poet depends on what choice he makes. At first, Lucien is attracted to Daniel, a brilliant writer who works in silence, despising worldly fuss and momentary glory. Daniel's friends, albeit with hesitation, accept Lucien into their circle. Equality reigns in this chosen society of thinkers and artists: young men selflessly help each other and warmly welcome any good luck of their brother. But they are all in poverty, and Lucien is attracted by the brilliance of power and wealth. And he converges with Etienne - a seasoned journalist who has long parted with illusions about loyalty and honor.

Thanks to the support of Lousteau and his own talent, Lucien becomes an employee of a liberal newspaper. He quickly learns the power of the press: as soon as he mentions his grievances, his new friends begin a campaign of ruthless persecution - from issue to issue they amuse the public with stories about the adventures of "Otter" and "Heron", in which everyone easily recognizes Madame de Bergeton and Sixte du Chatelet. Before Lucien's eyes, the gifted novelist Raoul Nathan bows low to the influential critic Émile Blondet. Journalists are courted in every possible way behind the scenes of theaters - the failure or success of the play depends on the review of the performance. The most terrible thing happens when newspapermen attack their victim with the whole pack - a person who has fallen under such shelling is doomed. Lucien quickly learns the rules of the game: he is assigned to scribble a "peddling" article about Nathan's new book - and he lives up to the expectations of his colleagues, although he himself considers this novel wonderful. From now on, poverty is over: the poet is well paid, and the young actress Coralie falls passionately in love with him. Like all her friends, she has a wealthy patron, the silk merchant Camuso. Lousteau, who lives with Florina, uses other people's money without a twinge of conscience - Lucien follows his example, although he is well aware that it is shameful to be supported by the actress. Coralie dresses her lover from head to toe. The hour of celebration comes - on the Champs Elysees everyone admires the beautiful, exquisitely dressed Lucien. The Marquise d'Espard and Madame Bergeton are stunned by this miraculous transformation, and the young man is finally confirmed in the correctness of the chosen path.

Frightened by Lucien's success, the two noble ladies spring into action. The young Duke de Retore quickly gropes for the weakest string of the poet - ambition. If a young man wants to rightfully bear the name de Rubempre, he must move from the opposition camp to the royalist camp. Lucien takes this bait. A conspiracy is being drawn up against him, because the interests of many people converge: Florina is eager to get around Coralie, Lousteau is jealous of Lucien's talent, Nathan is angry with his critical article, Blondet wants to besiege a competitor. Having betrayed the liberals, Lucien gives his enemies a great chance to deal with him - they open aimed fire at him, and in confusion he makes several fatal mistakes. Coralie becomes the first victim: having driven Camuso away and indulging all the whims of her beloved, she comes to complete ruin, when hired clackers turn on her, she falls ill from grief and loses her engagement in the theater.

Meanwhile, Lucien had to resort to meanness in order to ensure the success of his beloved - in exchange for laudatory reviews, he was ordered to "kill" d'Artez's book. The magnanimous Daniel forgives his former friend, but Michel Chrétien, the most adamant of all the members of the circle, spits in Lucien's face, and then puts a bullet in his chest in a duel. Coralie and her maid Berenice selflessly look after the poet. There is absolutely no money: bailiffs describe the property of the actress, and Lucien is threatened with arrest for debts. By forging the signature of David Séchard, he counts three bills for a thousand francs each, and this allows the lovers to hold out for several more months.

In August 1822 Corali dies at the age of nineteen. Lucien has only eleven sous left, and he writes funny songs for two hundred francs - only with these vaudeville couplets can one pay for the funeral of an unfortunate actress. The provincial genius has nothing else to do in the capital - destroyed and trampled, he returns to Angouleme. Lucien has to walk most of the way. He enters his native land on the back of a carriage in which the new prefect of Charente Sixte du Chatelet and his wife, the former Madame de Bergeton, who managed to become a widow and remarry, travel. Only a year and a half had passed since Louise took the happy Lucien to Paris.

The poet returned home at the moment when his son-in-law was on the edge of the abyss. David is forced to hide in order not to go to prison - in the provinces such a misfortune means the last degree of the fall. It happened in the following way. The Cuente brothers, who had long been eager to seize Sechar's printing house and found out about his invention, bought back the bills forged by Lucien. Using the flaws of the judicial system, which allows you to drive the debtor into a corner, they brought the three thousand francs presented for payment to fifteen - an amount unthinkable for Séchard. David was besieged from all sides: he was betrayed by the compositor Cerise, whom he himself taught the printing business, and the miserly father refused to help his son out, despite all the pleas of Eve. It is not surprising that mother and sister greet Lucien very coldly, and this greatly offends the conceited young man who was once their idol. He assures that he will be able to help David by resorting to the intercession of Madame de Chatelet, but instead he unwittingly betrays his son-in-law, and he is taken into custody right on the street. The Cuente brothers immediately conclude an agreement with him: he will be granted freedom if he cedes all rights to the production of cheap paper and agrees to sell the printing house to the traitor Cerise. On this, David's misadventures ended: having given his wife an oath to forget about his experiences forever, he bought a small estate, and the family found peace. After the death of old Sechard, the young inherited two hundred thousand francs. The eldest of the Quente brothers, who had become unheard of rich thanks to David's invention, became a peer of France.

Only after David's arrest does Lucien realize what he's done. Reading the curse in the eyes of his mother and sister, he firmly decides to commit suicide and goes to the banks of the Charente. Here he meets with a mysterious priest: after listening to the story of the poet, the stranger offers to postpone suicide - it's never too late to drown yourself, but first it would be worth teaching those gentlemen who expelled the young man from Paris. When the demon-tempter promises to pay David's debts, Lucien casts away all doubts: from now on, he will belong in body and soul to his savior, Abbot Carlos Herrera. The events that followed this pact are recounted in the novel The Splendor and Poverty of the Courtesans.

E. D. Murashkintseva

(Splendours et misferes des courtisanes)

Novel (1836-1847; published in full in 1869)

In 1824, a dazzlingly handsome young man appears at a ball at the Opera, arm in arm with a lovely lady. To everyone's amazement, Lucien Chardin somehow managed to rise from the mud, and the king, by his decree, returned to him the surname of his ancestors from his mother's side. The young man easily puts old enemies in their place - the Baron Sixte du Chatelet and the Marquise d'Espard. However, he does not have the courage to besiege his former fellow journalists, and it is they who identify in his companion a public girl nicknamed Thorpil - this beautiful Jewess is famous for the most refined debauchery. Lucien takes the half-dead Esther home, and a short, obese man in a mask, who relentlessly accompanied his lovers, orders Rastignac to intercede for the Count de Rubempre - recognizing the terrible look of this man, Eugene is numb with horror. Mad with grief, Esther tries to poison herself with carbon monoxide, but she is saved by an unfamiliar priest, who explains to her that she almost ruined Ayusien's career - the world will not forgive him the second Coralie. Esther has only one way out - to become an honest woman. The unfortunate courtesan agrees to everything: she is placed in a monastery boarding house, where she is baptized and renounces her past. But she cannot forget Lucien and begins to languish. Abbe Carlos Herrera brings her back to life again, on the condition that she will live with Lucien in complete secrecy from everyone.

In May 1825, the lovers find each other in an apartment rented for them by a Spanish canon. However, Lucien already knows who is hiding under the false priest's cassock - however, the young man, intoxicated with success in the world and accustomed to luxury, does not find the strength to break with the patron, who guides him with an iron hand, protecting him from past mistakes. The abbot surrounds Esther with his trusted people: Copper-faced Asia will do the cooking, pretty Europe will act as a maid, and the tall Pakkar will accompany the hostess on walks. The idyll on Tetbu Street has been going on for four years. During this time, Lucien's position was strengthened so much that in the world they started talking about his marriage to the daughter of the Duke de Granlier. The most noble ladies covet the favors of the young handsome man: the Countess de Serisy, who won this honor in a fight with the Duchess de Montfrines, becomes his front mistress.

One fine night in August 1829, Baron de Nucingen, dozing in a carriage, meets a wonderful vision in the Bois de Vincennes - a woman of unearthly beauty. The banker falls in love for the first time in his life: he tries to find his "angel" with the help of the police, but all in vain - the stranger disappeared without a trace. The stock market predator is losing weight before our eyes, and worried friends at home convene a council: a man like Baron de Nucingen has no right to die suddenly - this is fraught with major troubles. Describing his beauty, the banker notices Lucien's smile and decides to set on him the most skillful police agents - Contanoon and Perade. For both detectives, the case seems profitable and safe - they do not suspect that the famous Jacques Collin, treasurer of three penal servitudes, is behind the young de Rubempre. Abbot Herrera wants to sell Esther to Nucingen, and the cowardly Lucien agrees - Clotilde de Granlier will be given for him only if he buys an estate worth a million. The banker is slipped a beautiful Englishwoman to discourage him from contacting the police, and then Esther is shown from a distance. Asia, transformed into a bawd, promises to bring Nucingen to his "object" - let only the rich man fork out. Meanwhile, Carlos issues bills of three hundred thousand francs to Esther and announces to the lovers that they are parting forever - for the sake of Lucien, Esther must again turn into Torpil.

Carlos starts the game with Nucingen with all the cards in his hands: the banker pays Asia to pander, and Europe to be brought into the house. Seeing Esther, Nucingen completely loses his head: when bailiffs burst into the courtesan, he resignedly lays out three hundred thousand on account of her "debt". The gang gets half a million in just one week - meanwhile the banker has not even touched his "goddess". He promises her mountains of gold - and she mentally vows to die on the very day when Lucien will have to change. The development of events is closely watched by wounded detectives: their pride is hurt, and the old man Perade was also deceived in his expectations - he got involved in a scam only for the sake of his daughter Lydia, hoping to get her a dowry. Perad's student and friend joins the investigation - the almighty and sinister Corentin, the genius of the police detective. He manages to find a weak spot in Carlos's cunning plan - Lucien, having bought the estate, tells everyone that his son-in-law and sister gave him the money. Perade, posing as a wealthy Englishman, takes on one of Esther's friends: together with Contenson, who has taken the form of a mulatto servant, they get very close to the gang.

Meanwhile, the Duke de Granlier, having received an anonymous letter about Lucien's sources of income, refuses the young man from the house. Enraged, Carlos orders the kidnapping of Perade's daughter - if in ten days Lucien does not marry Clotilde de Granlier, Lydia will be dishonored, and Perade himself will be killed. The old man, in despair, rushes to Corentin: they have contacted too dangerous people, and it is necessary to retreat temporarily. However, it is no longer possible to back up: Corentin and the attorney Derville went to Angouleme - there they quickly find out that the Séchars, although they live in abundance, do not have a million-dollar fortune. Corentin returns to Paris when Perade is dying from poison - before his death, his daughter, tormented and damaged in mind, was returned to him. Corentin vows to take revenge on both the abbe and Lucien - both of them will end their days on the scaffold.

Meanwhile, Esther finally yields to Nucingen's pleas, and the happy banker gives her an annuity of thirty thousand - having immediately sold the securities for seven hundred and fifty thousand, she leaves them to Lucien and takes the poison. Seeing the dead mistress the next morning, Europe and Pakkar hide with the money. Nucingen, suspecting something was wrong, calls the police. Along the way, it turns out that Esther is monstrously rich - she is the only heiress of the recently deceased usurer Gobsek. Carlos, who retained his composure at the time of the crash, writes a fake will - before her death, Esther allegedly refused her fortune to Lucien. Then the abbot tries to escape, but Contenson blocks his way - Jacques Collin, throwing the detective off the roof, orders Asia to give him such a drug so that he is mistaken for a dying man. The insensitive Spaniard is taken to prison. Frightened to death, Lucien is taken into custody on the road, where his last meeting with Clotilde, who is leaving for Italy, takes place.

The arrest of Lucien de Rubempre causes a stir - this young man occupied a prominent position in society, and the reputation of several noble ladies depends on the outcome of the case. Investigator Camuso is at a crossroads: on the one hand, the influential Marquise d'Espard is putting pressure on him, demanding that the stupid youth be severely punished, on the other hand, the prosecutor de Granville, a close friend of the Count and Countess de Serisy, transparently hints that he does not show much zeal follows. The accusation itself looks very shaky: in Esther's boudoir they find a farewell letter to Lucien, from which it is clear that the girl really committed suicide, as for the disappeared money, why should the heir steal from himself? In essence, everything depends on Carlos Herrera: if this is a Spanish diplomat, then an unfortunate mistake has occurred, if an escaped convict, Lucien is guilty, at least of complicity with the criminal. Carlos is called first: the false Spaniard leads his game flawlessly, and Lucien is actually saved. But Camuso, yielding to temptation, decides to interrogate the young man, and he instantly betrays his benefactor - yes, he fell into the clutches of a vile convict who entangled him with his nets. Camuso lets him read the minutes of the previous interrogation and promises to arrange a confrontation - only then Lucien realizes that he ruined everything with his cowardice. Returning to the cell, he draws up a statement with a refusal to testify and writes a will, and in a message addressed to the abbot, he says goodbye to him, calling him "the majestic statue of Evil and Vice." When the Countess de Serisy, distraught with grief and love, breaks into the prison, it's all over - Lucien hangs on his own tie, as his coat would hang.

Upon learning of Lucien's suicide, iron Carlos falls into complete prostration - he loved the weak-willed poet as his own son. Meanwhile, for Camuso, who clearly went too far, it is extremely important to prove that Abbé Herrera and Jacques Collin, nicknamed Deceive Death, are the same person. Sensing danger, the convict again becomes himself: he quickly brings his former comrades into obedience and saves the sentenced to death for the murder of Theodore Calvi - this young Corsican was his favorite before the appearance of Lucien. Having decided to surrender to the authorities, Deception-Death wants to take the post of head of the secret police, and circumstances favor him - he has tender messages from Lucien's beloved, capable of causing a scandal. With the help of one of these letters, this "convict Machiavelli" heals the Countess de Serisi, who was on the verge of insanity - she believed that Lucien truly loved only her. Carlos promises the prosecutor to solve several crimes that are too tough for justice, and at the same time restores order in his own ranks: his aunt Jaquelin, who shone in the role of Asia, finds Europe and Pakkar shaking with fear - they have long repented of momentary weakness and beg the leader for mercy. Carlos forgives them: he needs loyal people to deal with Corentin - the true culprit in the death of Lucien. There is a hard struggle ahead, but hatred helps to live. After serving in the secret police for a decade and a half, Jacques Collin retired in 1845.

E. D. Murashkintseva

Drama (1830)

Spain, 1519 Palace of Duke Ruy Gomez de Silva in Zaragoza. Late evening. The old man is not at home. Doña Sol, his niece and fiancee, is waiting for her beloved Ernani - today their fate must be decided. The duenna, having heard a knock on the door, opens and sees instead of Ernani a stranger in a raincoat and a wide-brimmed hat. This is King Don Carlos: inflamed with passion for Doña Sol, he wants to know who his rival is. The duenna, having received a purse of gold, hides the king in the closet. Ernani appears. He is gloomy - does he have a right to the love of doña Sol? His father was executed by order of the late king, he himself became an exile and a bandit, and the Duke de Silva has innumerable titles and wealth. Dona Sol vows to follow Ernani everywhere - even to the scaffold. At this moment, don Carlos, who is tired of sitting in a narrow closet, interrupts the conversation of lovers and playfully invites Dona Sol to share his heart for two. In response, Ernani draws his sword. Unexpectedly for everyone, the old duke returns to the palace. Don Rui angrily reproaches his niece and young people: in former times, not a single nobleman would have dared to desecrate the gray hair of an old man, infringing on the honor of his future wife. Don Carlos, not at all embarrassed, reveals his incognito: extremely important events have taken place - Emperor Maximilian has died, elections are coming and a difficult behind-the-scenes struggle for the throne. The king needs the support of such powerful vassals as Duke de Silva. The ashamed nobleman asks the king for forgiveness, and Ernani can hardly restrain his rage at the sight of his sworn enemy. Left alone, the young man utters a passionate monologue - now he must get even with the king not only for his father, but also for trying to seduce dona Sol.

The next night, Don Carlos sets up an ambush to prevent doña Sol from escaping with Ernani. Overhearing the conversation of lovers, he found out the agreed sign - three claps. Dona Sol falls for the king's trick. Don Carlos promises to make her a duchess, a princess, and finally a queen and empress. Indignantly rejecting the harassment of the monarch, the girl calls for help to Ernani, and he appears on time with six dozen loyal highlanders - now the king is in his full power. The noble robber offers to solve the case by a duel, but Don Carlos arrogantly refuses: yesterday he allowed himself to cross his sword with a stranger, but for a bandit this is too great an honor. Ernani, not wanting to be a murderer, releases the king, and he declares goodbye to him a merciless war. Dona Sol begs her lover to take her with him, but Ernani cannot accept such a sacrifice: from now on he is doomed - let Dona Sol marry her uncle. The girl swears that she will die on the same day as Ernani. The lovers part, exchanging the first and, perhaps, the last kiss.

Castle of the Duke de Silva in the mountains of Aragon. Dona Sol in white - today is her wedding day. Don Rui admires the chaste beauty of his bride, but the girl is preparing not for a wedding, but for death. A page enters and announces that a certain pilgrim is asking for shelter. The duke, faithful to the precepts of ancient hospitality, orders to receive the traveler and asks what is heard about the bandits. The page replies that the "mountain lion" Ernani is finished - the king himself is chasing him, and a reward of a thousand ecu has been appointed for his head. Ernani appears in the costume of a pilgrim: seeing dona Sol in a wedding dress, he calls his name in a thunderous voice - let him be betrayed into the hands of the king. Don Rui replies that no one in the castle will dare to betray the guest. The old man leaves to give the necessary orders for the defense of the castle, and a stormy explanation takes place between the lovers: the young man accuses Dona Sol of treason - when he sees the dagger she has prepared for the wedding night, he repents. The returning duke finds the bride in the arms of Ernani. Shocked by such treachery, he compares Ernani with Judas. The young man begs to kill him alone, sparing the innocent Doña Sol. At this moment, Don Carlos appears in front of the castle with his army. The duke hides his rival in a hiding place behind a painting and goes out to meet the king. He demands to extradite the rebel. Instead of answering, don Rui shows portraits of his ancestors, listing the exploits of each - no one dares to say about the last of the dukes that he is a traitor. The enraged king threatens him with all sorts of punishments, but at the sight of Dona Sol, he changes his anger to mercy - he is ready to spare the duke, taking his bride as a hostage. When the king retires with his prey, the old man releases Ernani. The young man begs not to kill him now - he must take revenge on Don Carlos. Handing over his hunting horn to the Duke, Ernani vows to give his life when Don Rui demands it.

Aachen. The king enters the tomb of Charlemagne, accompanied by Don Ricardo de Rojas. At night, conspirators will gather in the crypt - German princes and Spanish grandees who have sworn to kill Don Carlos. Recently, an old man and a young man appeared among them, who stand out for their determination. The king coldly replies that the scaffold awaits all traitors - if only to become emperor! The electors are conferring at this hour. On the 06th of their decision, the bell will announce: one blow means that the Duke of Saxony has been elected, two - Francis I wins, three - Don Carlos becomes emperor. The king, having sent Don Ricardo away, approaches the tomb of Charles: calling on the shadow of a powerful emperor, he begs to instruct him - how to cope with the monstrous burden of power? Hearing the steps of his killers, Don Carlos hides in the tomb. The conspirators draw lots - one of them must sacrifice himself and deliver a mortal blow. To Ernani's great joy, this honor falls to him. Don Rui touches the opponent to give in, but Ernani is adamant. At this moment the bell rings. On the third blow, Don Carlos comes out of the tomb - henceforth Emperor Charles V. From all sides, close associates rush to him, and Charles asks to bring Doña Sol - perhaps the title of Caesar will captivate her heart? The emperor orders only dukes and counts to be taken into custody - other conspirators are unworthy of his revenge. Ernani proudly steps forward: now he does not need to hide his name - Prince Juan of Aragon, Duke of Segorba and Cardona has the right to ascend the scaffold. Dona Sol falls on her knees before Don Carlos. Having risen above insignificant passions, the emperor forgives everyone and agrees to the marriage of dona Sol with Ernani, to whom he returns the lost titles. The former robber renounces his former enmity - only love remains in his heart. He does not notice the hating gaze of the old duke.

Palace of the Prince of Aragon in Zaragoza. Late evening. Ernani and doña Sol have just been married. The guests are animatedly discussing the miraculous transformation of a robber into a Spanish grandee. Praises are heard everywhere to the emperor and the beautiful young couple. Against the background of general fun, a gloomy figure in a mask stands out - no one knows who this person is, but he smells of death. Happy newlyweds appear: everyone congratulates them and hurries to leave them alone. Ernani and dona Sol are immensely happy. In the midst of the most ardent confessions, the sound of a hunting horn is heard. Ernani shudders and turns pale: having told his wife that an old wound has opened, he sends her away for a healing balm. A man in a mask enters - this is Don Ruy Gomez came for Hernani. Ernani takes the goblet of poison just as doña Sol returns. Seeing the old man, she instantly understands what danger hangs over her husband. Don Rui reminds the young man of the oath, doña Sol calls for love. Convinced of the futility of prayers and threats, she snatches out a goblet and sips up to half - the rest goes to Ernani. The lovers embrace and with a weakening tongue bless the sky for this last kiss. Seeing the terrible work of his hands, don Rui kills himself. A curtain.

E. D. Murashkintseva

(Notre-Dame de Paris)

Roman (1831)

In the back streets of one of the towers of the great cathedral, someone's long-decayed hand inscribed the word "rock" in Greek. Then the word itself disappeared. But out of it was born a book about a gypsy, a hunchback and a priest.

On January 6, 1482, on the occasion of the feast of baptism in the Palace of Justice, the mystery "The Righteous Judgment of the Blessed Virgin Mary" is given. A huge crowd gathers in the morning. Ambassadors from Flanders and the Cardinal of Bourbon should be invited to the spectacle. Gradually, the audience begins to grumble, and the schoolchildren rage the most: among them stands out the sixteen-year-old blond demon Jean, the brother of the learned archdeacon Claude Frollo. Nervous author of the mystery Pierre Gringoire orders to begin. But the unfortunate poet is unlucky; as soon as the actors uttered the prologue, the cardinal appears, and then the ambassadors. The townspeople from the Flemish city of Ghent are so colorful that the Parisians stare only at them. General admiration is evoked by the hosiery Maitre Copinol, who, without demeanor, converses in a friendly way with the disgusting beggar Clopin Trouillefou. To Gringoire's horror, the accursed Fleming honors his mystery with the last words and offers to do a much more fun thing - to elect a buffoon's pope. They will be the one who makes the most terrible grimace. Applicants for this lofty title stick their physiognomy out of the window of the chapel. The winner is Quasimodo, the bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, who does not even need to grimace, he is so ugly. The monstrous hunchback is dressed in an absurd robe and carried on his shoulders in order to pass, according to custom, through the streets of the city. Gringoire is already hoping for a continuation of the ill-fated play, but then someone shouts that Esmeralda is dancing in the square - and all the remaining spectators are blown away by the wind. Gringoire, in anguish, wanders to the Place de Greve to look at this Esmeralda, and an inexpressibly lovely girl appears before his eyes - either a fairy, or an angel, who, however, turned out to be a gypsy. Gringoire, like all the spectators, is completely fascinated by the dancer, but the gloomy face of a not yet old, but already bald man stands out in the crowd: he angrily accuses the girl of witchcraft - after all, her white goat beats a tambourine with a hoof six times in response to the question of what day it is today. number. When Esmeralda begins to sing, a woman's voice full of frenzied hatred is heard - the recluse of the Roland Tower curses the gypsy offspring. At this moment, a procession enters the Place Greve, in the center of which Quasimodo flaunts. A bald man rushes towards him, frightening the gypsy, and Gringoire recognizes his teacher of sealants - father Claude Frollo. He tears off the tiara from the hunchback, tears the mantle to shreds, breaks the staff - and the terrible Quasimodo falls on his knees before him. The day, rich in spectacle, comes to an end, and Gringoire, without much hope, wanders after the gypsy. Suddenly, he hears a piercing scream: two men are trying to cover Esmeralda's mouth. Pierre calls the guards, and a dazzling officer appears - the head of the royal shooters. One of the kidnappers is captured - this is Quasimodo. The gypsy does not take her enthusiastic eyes off her savior - Captain Phoebus de Chateauper.

Fate brings the ill-fated poet to the Court of Miracles - the kingdom of beggars and thieves. The stranger is seized and taken to the Altyn King, in whom Pierre, to his surprise, recognizes Clopin Trouillefou. Local morals are severe: you need to pull out a wallet from a scarecrow with bells, so much so that they do not ring - a noose awaits the loser. Gringoire, who made a real chime, is dragged to the gallows, and only a woman can save him - if there is one that she wants to take as her husband. No one coveted the poet, and he would have been swinging on the crossbar if Esmeralda had not released him out of the kindness of her soul. The emboldened Gringoire tries to claim marital rights, but the fragile songstress has a small dagger in this case - in front of the astonished Pierre, the dragonfly turns into a wasp. The ill-fated poet lies down on a skinny bedding, for he has nowhere to go.

The next day, Esmeralda's kidnapper is put on trial. In 1482 the disgusting hunchback was twenty years old, and his benefactor Claude Frollo was thirty-six. Sixteen years ago, a little freak was placed on the porch of the cathedral, and only one person took pity on him. Having lost his parents during a terrible plague, Claude was left with the baby Jean in his arms and fell in love with him with a passionate, devoted love. Perhaps the thought of his brother made him pick up the orphan, whom he named Quasimodo. Claude fed him, taught him to write and read, put him on the bells, so Quasimodo, who hated all people, was dog-like devoted to the archdeacon. Perhaps more he loved only the Cathedral - his home, his homeland, his universe. That is why he unquestioningly carried out the order of his savior - and now he had to answer for this. The deaf Quasimodo gets to the deaf judge, and it ends in tears - he is sentenced to whips and pillory. The hunchback does not understand what is happening until they start flogging him to the hooting of the crowd. The torment does not end there: after the scourging, the good townspeople throw stones and ridicule at him. He hoarsely asks for a drink, but is answered with bursts of laughter. Suddenly, Esmeralda appears in the square. Seeing the culprit of his misfortunes, Quasimodo is ready to incinerate her with his eyes, and she fearlessly climbs the stairs and brings a flask of water to his lips. Then a tear rolls down the ugly physiognomy - the fickle crowd applauds "the majestic spectacle of beauty, youth and innocence, which came to the aid of the embodiment of ugliness and malice." Only the recluse of the Roland Tower, barely noticing Esmeralda, bursts into curses.

A few weeks later, at the beginning of March, Captain Phoebus de Chateaupere is courting his fiancee Fleur-de-Lys and her bridesmaids. For fun, for the sake of the girl, they decide to invite a pretty gypsy girl who dances on Cathedral Square into the house. They quickly repent of their intention, for Esmeralda overshadows them all with grace and beauty. She herself gazes intently at the captain, puffed up with complacency. When the goat puts together the word "Phoebus" from the letters - apparently well known to her, Fleur-de-Ais faints, and Esmeralda is immediately expelled. She also attracts the eye: Quasimodo looks at her with admiration from one window of the cathedral, Claude Frollo gloomily contemplates her from the other. Next to the gypsy, he spotted a man in a yellow-and-red tights - before she always performed alone. Going downstairs, the archdeacon recognizes his disciple Pierre Gringoire, who disappeared two months ago. Claude eagerly asks about Esmeralda: the poet says that this girl is a charming and harmless creature, a true child of nature. She keeps chastity, because she wants to find her parents through an amulet - and he allegedly helps only virgins. Everyone loves her for her cheerful disposition and kindness. She herself believes that in the whole city she has only two enemies - the recluse of the Roland Tower, who for some reason hates the gypsies, and some priest who constantly pursues her.

With the help of a tambourine, Esmeralda teaches her goat tricks, and there is no witchcraft in them - it took only two months to teach her how to add the word "Phoebus". The archdeacon becomes extremely excited - and on the same day he hears how his brother Jean friendly calls out to the captain of the royal shooters by name. He follows the young rake to the tavern. Phoebus gets drunk a little less than the schoolboy, because he has an appointment with Esmeralda. The girl is so in love that she is ready to sacrifice even an amulet - since she has Phoebus, why does she need a father and mother? The captain begins to kiss the gypsy, and at that moment she sees h

A month passes. Gringoire and the Court of Miracles are in terrible anxiety - Esmeralda has disappeared. One day, Pierre sees a crowd at the Palace of Justice - they tell him that they are trying a she-devil who killed a military man. The gypsy stubbornly denies everything, despite the evidence - a demonic goat and a demon in a priest's cassock, which was seen by many witnesses. But she cannot stand the torture with a Spanish boot - she confesses to witchcraft, prostitution and the murder of Phoebus de Chateauper. According to the totality of these crimes, she is sentenced to repentance at the portal of Notre Dame Cathedral, and then to hanging. The goat must be subjected to the same punishment. Claude Frollo comes to the casemate, where Esmeralda is looking forward to death. On his knees, he begs her to run away with him: she turned his life upside down, before meeting her he was happy - innocent and pure, lived only by science and fell, seeing the wondrous beauty that was not created for human eyes. Esmeralda rejects both the hated priest's love and his proposed salvation. In response, he angrily shouts that Phoebus is dead. However, Phoebus survived, and the fair-haired Fleur-de-Lys again settled in his heart. On the day of the execution, the lovers coo gently, looking out the window with curiosity - the jealous bride will be the first to recognize Esmeralda. The gypsy, seeing the beautiful Phoebus, falls unconscious: at that moment Quasimodo picks her up in her arms and rushes to the Cathedral with a cry of "refuge". The crowd greets the hunchback with enthusiastic cries - this roar reaches the Greve Square and the Roland Tower, where the recluse does not take her eyes off the gallows. The victim slipped away, hiding in the church.

Esmeralda lives in the Cathedral, but cannot get used to the terrible hunchback. Not wanting to annoy her with his ugliness, the deaf man gives her a whistle - he is able to hear this sound. And when the archdeacon pounces on the gypsy, Quasimodo almost kills him in the dark - only the ray of the moon saves Claude, who begins to be jealous of Esmeralda for the ugly ringer. At his instigation, Gringoire raises the Court of Miracles - beggars and thieves storm the Cathedral, wanting to save the gypsy. Quasimodo desperately defends his treasure - young Jean Frollo dies from his hand. Meanwhile, Gringoire secretly takes Esmeralda out of the Cathedral and involuntarily hands her over to Claude, who takes her to the Place Greve, where he offers his love for the last time. There is no salvation: the king himself, having learned about the rebellion, ordered to find and hang the sorceress. The gypsy recoils in horror from Claude, and then he drags her to the Roland Tower - the recluse, sticking her hand out from behind the bars, tightly grabs the unfortunate girl, and the priest runs after the guards. Esmeralda begs to let her go, but Paquette Chantfleurie only laughs angrily in response - the gypsies stole her daughter from her, let their offspring die now. She shows the girl her daughter's embroidered slipper - Esmeralda has exactly the same one in her amulet. The recluse almost loses her mind with joy - she has found her child, although she has already lost all hope. Too late, mother and daughter remember the danger: Paquette tries to hide Esmeralda in her cell, but in vain - the girl is dragged to the gallows, In the last desperate impulse, the mother sinks her teeth into the executioner's hand - she is thrown away, and she falls dead. From the height of the Cathedral, the archdeacon looks at the Greve Square. Quasimodo, who has already suspected Claude of kidnapping Esmeralda, sneaks after him and recognizes the gypsy - a noose is put around her neck. When the executioner jumps on the girl's shoulders, and the body of the executed woman begins to beat in terrible convulsions, the priest's face is distorted with laughter - Quasimodo does not hear him, but he sees a satanic grin, in which there is nothing human anymore. And he pushes Claude into the abyss. Esmeralda on the gallows, and the archdeacon prostrate at the foot of the tower, that was all the poor hunchback loved.

E. D. Murashkintseva

Poetry collection (1853)

On December 2, 1851, the President of the Republic, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon I, carried out a coup d'état, dissolving the National Assembly and arresting the leaders of the parliamentary opposition. On December 4, the army crushed the uprising that began in Paris - many unarmed citizens, including women and children, were killed. Victor Hugo was one of a small group of deputies - passionate opponents of the new monarchical system. The December shootings made further struggle impossible. The writer had to flee the country - he returned from exile only after the inglorious fall of the Second Empire, in 1870. The collection of poems "Retribution" was written in hot pursuit of the events. The titles of the books ironically play on the solemn assurances of Napoleon III, the prologue and epilogue are preceded by the symbolic names "Nox" and "Lux" - "Night" and "Day" in Latin.

The miserable pygmy, the insignificant nephew of the great uncle, attacked the defenseless Republic in the darkness with a knife. The homeland is flooded with blood and mud: a despicable clique feasts in the palace, and under the cover of night, the corpses of the innocently killed are dumped into a mass grave. When the numb people wake up, the sacred moment of retribution will come. In the meantime, only the poet has no rest: although even the elements call him to humility, he will not bow his head - let his angry muse become a worthy heiress of Juvenal and erect pillory for the villains.

France has fallen, the heel of a tyrant has been driven into her forehead. This degenerate will end his days in Toulon - where the glory of Napoleon began. The gangster-nephew is impatiently awaited by convicts in scarlet jackets and shackles - soon he will drag the cannonball on his leg. Retribution inevitably follows the crime - thieves, cheaters and murderers who dealt a treacherous blow to the homeland will be damned. But while corrupt saints are smoking incense for them, their cross serves Satan, and not wine, but blood, glows in the chalices. They planned to destroy progress, swaddle the spirit, deal with the mind. Martyrs for the faith perish in vain - in France they sell Christ, crucifying him again with greed and hypocrisy. There is nowhere to look: the courtiers vying with each other flatter Caesar, the stock market robbers grow fat on the bones of the people, the soldiers get drunk, trying to forget their shame, and the working people obediently put their neck under the collar. France is now no different from China, and throughout the rest of Europe scaffolds have been erected for her best sons. But the iron step of the days to come is already heard, when the kings will turn to flight and the trumpet of the archangel will rattle in heaven.

A joyous song is pouring - the Senate, the Council of State, the Legislative Corps, the Town Hall, the Army, the Court, the Bishops were born in a laudatory hymn. In response, they hear the mournful thousand-mouthed "Miserere" (Lord, have mercy) - but the madmen do not heed. Wake up, people, rise like the buried Lazarus, for the Lilliputians are torturing you. Remember how on December 4, the soldiers, drunk with blood, fired at defenseless people - look at how a grandmother sobs over her dead grandson. When rot has penetrated into all souls, it is better to be an exile on the island and admire the free flight of seagulls from a cliff in the ocean. The holy republic of the fathers is betrayed, and this is the work of the army - the very army whose glory thundered through the ages. Ragged soldiers marched under the banner of Liberty, and old Europe trembled under their victorious march. Now everyone has forgotten about these warriors - they were replaced by heroes who effortlessly cope with women and children. They go to attack the Motherland, storm the laws - and the despicable thief generously rewards his Praetorians. It remains only to avenge this shame - to smash the new empire and the beast in the golden crown with harsh verse.

Once upon a time, there was an impoverished prince who took the famous Julia by deceit. And so he plotted, committed "a wonderful villainy", entered the Louvre in the make-up of Napoleon ... The ancient leaders, the great dictators of past centuries marvel: on the pediment of the temple there is a swindler in holey pantaloons - no, this is not Caesar, but only Robert Maker (character play "Adre's Inn" - a type of cynically boasting robber and murderer). He looks like a monkey that put on a tiger skin and took up robbery until the hunter reined it in. To the foundling of the scaffold, those who are all the uglier and meaner reached out - an honest person can only recoil from them in disgust. They furiously work with their elbows, trying to get closer to the throne, and each upstart is supported by its own party: lackeys stand behind one mountain, corrupt girls stand behind another. And the peaceful bourgeois grumble with displeasure as soon as a free article falls into their hands: of course, Bonaparte is a mazurik, but why shout about it to the whole world? Cowardly baseness has always been the backbone of crime. It's time to settle down in slavery - whoever spreads himself on his belly will succeed. All rogues and bandits will find a place next to money, and the rest will face severe, hopeless poverty. But one should not appeal to the shadow of Brutus: Bonaparte is not worthy of a dagger - a pillory awaits him.

The people do not need to kill the ferocious tyrant - let him live, marked with the seal of Cain. His henchmen in judicial robes refer to the certain death of the innocent: the wife goes to hard labor, who brought bread to the barricade for her husband, the old man who gave shelter to the exiles. And corrupt journalists sing hosannas, hiding behind the Gospel - they climb into the soul to turn out their pockets. Fetid leaflets, delighting saints and hypocrites with tales of miracles, sell the Eucharist and make their sideboard out of the temple of God. But the living struggle, they bring great love or sacred work into the future, and only through their asceticism is the Ark of the Covenant preserved. On the road invisible in the darkness, the Future hurries with an order inscribed in eternal writings - the judgment of the Lord is approaching over a despicable gang of robbers and murderers.

Robert Maker pulled on the crown, causing a commotion in the old cemetery: all the bandits of the past are eager to get to the coronation of their brother. And a general flight begins from Paris: Reason, Right, Honor, Poetry, Thought go into exile - only Contempt remains. The tyrant is waiting for retribution for suffering and tears, for the death of the martyr Pauline Roland - this beautiful woman, the apostle of truth and goodness, died out in exile. And the great shadow of Napoleon is bitterly tormented: neither the death of the army in the snowy fields of Russia, nor the terrible defeat at Waterloo, nor the lonely death on the island of St. Helena - nothing can compare with the shame of the Second Empire. The dwarfs and jesters dragged the emperor from the power column by the legs in order to give him the role of a king in their booth. Retribution for the coup of the eighteenth brumaire has happened - the buffoons take an example from the titan.

The miserable scum is now called Napoleon III - Marengo and Austerlitz are harnessed to a tattered cab. Europe is shaking with laughter, the States are laughing, the cliffs are wiping away a tear: a buffoon sits on the throne in an embrace with crime, and the empire has turned into one huge den. The French people, who once shattered the granite of the bastille and forged the rights of nations, now tremble like a leaf. Dignity is retained only by women - they execute scoundrels with a contemptuous smile. And the thunderous voice of the poet is heard: caution - this pitiful virtue of cowards - is not for him. He hears the call of the wounded motherland - she begs for help. The blackest darkness heralds the dawn: France, harnessed to the wagon of a drunken satrap, will be reborn and gain wings. The bent people will straighten up and, having shaken off the sticky mud of the current garbage heap, will appear in all its splendor before the admiring world.

The strongholds of Jericho will crumble to the sound of the trumpets of Joshua. Thinkers, replacing each other, lead a human caravan: Luther follows Jan Hus, Voltaire follows Luther, Mirabeau follows Voltaire - and with each step forward the darkness thins. But sometimes Evil comes out of an ambush with its vile offspring - jackals, rats and hyenas. Only a lion, the stern lord of the desert, can disperse these creatures. The people are like a lion; hearing his roar, a gang of petty crooks will scatter and disappear forever. It is necessary to survive the shameful years without staining oneself: the wandering son will not return to mother France while the self-proclaimed Caesar rules in it. Let a thousand, a hundred, a dozen stubborn ones remain - the poet will be among them; and if all the voices of protest fall silent, one will continue the struggle.

A holy dream shines in the distance - you need to clear the way to it. A crimson ray sparkles in the darkness - the star of the world Republic. Free humanity will become a single family, and the whole earth will flourish. This will inevitably happen: freedom and peace will return, the slave and the beggar will disappear, love will descend from heaven, the holy cedar of Progress will overshadow America and Europe. Perhaps today's people will not live to see such happiness: but even they, waking up for a moment in their graves, kiss the holy roots of the tree.

E. D. Murashkintseva

Roman (1862)

In 1815, Charles-Francois Miriel, nicknamed Bienvenue for his good deeds, was the bishop of the city of Digne. This unusual man in his youth had many love affairs and led a secular life - but the Revolution turned everything around. Mr. Miriel left for Italy, from where he returned as a priest. At the whim of Napoleon, the old parish priest occupies the bishop's throne. He begins his pastoral activity by giving up the beautiful building of the episcopal palace to the local hospital, and he himself moves to a cramped little house. He distributes his considerable salary entirely to the poor. Both the rich and the poor knock at the bishop's door: some come for alms, others bring it. This holy man enjoys universal respect - he is granted to heal and forgive.

In the first days of October 1815, a dusty traveler enters Digne - a stocky, dense man in the prime of life. His beggarly clothes and sullen weather-beaten face make a repulsive impression. First of all, he goes to the city hall, and then tries to get somewhere for the night. But he is driven from everywhere, although he is ready to pay with a full-fledged coin. This man's name is Jean Valjean. He spent nineteen years in hard labor because he once stole a loaf of bread for the seven hungry children of his widowed sister. Embittered, he turned into a wild hunted animal - with his "yellow" passport, there is no place for him in this world. Finally, a woman, taking pity on him, advises him to go to the bishop. After listening to the gloomy confession of a convict, Monseigneur Bienvenue orders to feed him in the guest room. In the middle of the night, Jean Valjean wakes up: he is haunted by six silver cutlery - the only wealth of the bishop, kept in the master bedroom. Valjean tiptoes over to the bishop's bed, breaks open the silver cabinet and wants to smash the good shepherd's head with a massive candlestick, but some strange force holds him back. And he flees through the window.

In the morning, the gendarmes bring the fugitive to the bishop - this suspicious person was detained with clearly stolen silver. Monseigneur can send Valjean to hard labor for life. Instead, Mr. Miriel brings out two silver candlesticks, which yesterday's guest allegedly forgot. The last parting word of the bishop is to use the gift to become an honest person. The shocked convict hurriedly leaves the city. In his hardened soul, a complex painful work is going on. At sunset, he automatically takes away a coin of forty sous from a boy he meets. Only when the baby runs away with a bitter cry does Valjean realize the meaning of his act: he sinks heavily to the ground and cries bitterly - for the first time in nineteen years.

In 1818, the town of Montreil flourished, and it owes this to one person: three years ago, an unknown person settled here, who managed to improve the traditional local craft - the manufacture of artificial jet. Uncle Madeleine not only became rich himself, but also helped many others to make a fortune. Until recently, unemployment was rampant in the city - now everyone has forgotten about the need. Uncle Madeleine was unusually modest - neither the deputy chair nor the Order of the Legion of Honor attracted him at all. But in 1820 he had to become mayor: a simple old woman shamed him, saying that it was a shame to back down if there was an opportunity to do a good deed. And Uncle Madeleine turned into Mister Madeleine. Everyone was in awe of him, and only the police agent Javert looked at him with extreme suspicion. In the soul of this man there was only room for two feelings, taken to extremes - respect for authority and hatred for rebellion. A judge in his eyes could never make a mistake, and a criminal could never correct himself. He himself was blameless to the point of disgust. Surveillance was the meaning of his life.

One day, Javert repentantly informs the mayor that he must go to the neighboring city of Arras - the former convict Jean Valjean, who robbed the boy immediately after his release, will be tried there. Javert had previously thought that Jean Valjean was hiding under the guise of Monsieur Madeleine - but that was a mistake. After releasing Javert, the mayor falls into deep thought, and then leaves the city. At the trial in Arras, the defendant stubbornly refuses to recognize himself as Jean Valjean and claims that his name is Uncle Chammatier and there is no fault for him. The judge is preparing to pronounce a guilty verdict, but then an unknown person stands up and announces that he is Jean Valjean, and the defendant must be released. Word quickly spreads that the venerable mayor, Monsieur Madeleine, has turned out to be an escaped convict. Javert triumphs - he deftly arranged the snares for the criminal.

The jury decided to exile Valjean to the galleys in Toulon for life. Once on the Orion ship, he saves the life of a sailor who has fallen off the yard, and then throws himself into the sea from a dizzying height. The Toulon newspapers report that the convict Jean Valjean has drowned. However, after some time, he appears in the town of Montfermeil. A vow brings him here. During his time as mayor, he was excessively strict with a woman who gave birth to an illegitimate child, and repented, remembering the merciful Bishop Miriel. Before her death, Fantine asks him to take care of her girl Cosette, whom she had to give to the innkeepers Thenardier. The Thénardiers embodied cunning and malice, combined in marriage. Each of them tortured the girl in his own way: she was beaten and forced to work half to death - and the wife was to blame for this; in winter she went barefoot and in rags - the reason for this was her husband. Taking Cosette, Jean Valjean settles on the most remote outskirts of Paris. He taught the little girl to read and write and did not stop her from playing as much as she could - she became the meaning of the life of a former convict who kept the money earned in the production of jet. But Inspector Javert haunts him here too. He arranges a night raid: Jean Valjean is saved by a miracle, imperceptibly jumping over a blank wall into the garden - it turned out to be a convent. Cosette is taken to a monastery boarding school, and her adoptive father becomes a gardener's assistant.

The respectable bourgeois, Mr. Gillenormand, lives with his grandson, who bears a different surname - the boy's name is Marius Pontmercy. Marius's mother died, and he never saw his father: Mr. Gillenormand called his son-in-law "the Loire robber", since the imperial troops were taken to the Loire to disband. Georges Pontmercy reached the rank of colonel and became a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He almost died at the Battle of Waterloo - he was carried out from the battlefield by a marauder who was picking out the pockets of the wounded and killed. Marius learns all this from the dying message of his father, who turns for him into a titanic figure. The former royalist becomes an ardent admirer of the emperor and begins to almost hate his grandfather. Marius leaves home with a scandal - he has to live in extreme poverty, almost in poverty, but he feels free and independent. During daily walks in the Luxembourg Gardens, the young man notices a handsome old man, who is always accompanied by a girl of about fifteen. Marius passionately falls in love with a stranger, but natural shyness prevents him from getting to know her. The old man, noticing Marius's close attention to his companion, moves out of the apartment and ceases to appear in the garden. It seems to the unfortunate young man that he has lost his beloved forever. But one day he hears a familiar voice behind the wall - where the large family of Jondrets lives. Looking through the gap, he sees an old man from the Luxembourg Gardens - he promises to bring money in the evening. Obviously, Jondrette has the ability to blackmail him: an interested Marius overhears how the villain conspires with members of the Cock Hour gang - they want to set up a trap for the old man to take everything from him. Marius notifies the police. Inspector Javert thanks him for his help and hands him pistols just in case. Before the eyes of the young man, a terrible scene is played out - the innkeeper Thenardier, who took refuge under the name of Jondrette, tracked down Jean Valjean. Marius is ready to intervene, but then the policemen, led by Javert, burst into the room. While the inspector deals with the bandits, Jean Valjean jumps out the window - only then Javert realizes that he has missed a much larger game.

In 1832, Paris was in turmoil. Friends of Marius rave about revolutionary ideas, but the young man is occupied with something else - he continues to stubbornly search for the girl from the Luxembourg Gardens. Finally, happiness smiled at him. With the help of one of Thenardier's daughters, the young man finds Cosette and confesses his love for her. It turned out that Cosette had also been in love with Marius for a long time. Jean Valjean suspects nothing. Most of all, the former convict is concerned that Thenardier is clearly watching their quarter. Coming June 4th. An uprising breaks out in the city - barricades are being built everywhere. Marius cannot leave his comrades. Alarmed, Cosette wants to send him a message, and Jean Valjean finally opens his eyes: his baby has grown up and found love. Despair and jealousy strangle the old convict, and he goes to the barricade, which is defended by young republicans and Marius. Javert in disguise falls into their hands - the detective is seized, and Jean Valjean again meets his sworn enemy. He has every opportunity to deal with the man who caused him so much harm, but the noble convict prefers to release the policeman. Meanwhile, government troops are advancing: the defenders of the barricade are dying one after another - among them is the glorious little boy Gavroche, a true Parisian tomboy. Marius's collarbone was shattered by a rifle shot - he finds himself in the complete power of Jean Valjean.

The old convict carries Marius from the battlefield on his shoulders. Punishers are prowling everywhere, and Valjean descends underground - into terrible sewers. After much ordeal, he gets to the surface only to find himself face to face with Javert. The detective allows Valjean to take Marius to his grandfather and stop by to say goodbye to Cosette - this is not at all like the ruthless Javert. Great was Valjean's astonishment when he realized that the policeman had let him go. Meanwhile, for Javert himself, the most tragic moment in his life comes: for the first time he broke the law and set the criminal free! Unable to resolve the contradiction between duty and compassion, Javert freezes on the bridge - and then there is a dull splash.

Marius has been between life and death for a long time. In the end, youth wins. The young man finally meets Cosette and their love blossoms. They receive the blessing of Jean Valjean and M. Gillenormand, who, in joy, completely forgave his grandson. On February 16, 1833, the wedding took place. Valjean confesses to Marius that he is an escaped convict. Young Pontmercy is horrified. Nothing should overshadow Cosette's happiness, so the criminal should gradually disappear from her life - after all, he is just a foster father. At first, Cosette is somewhat surprised, and then gets used to the increasingly infrequent visits of her former patron. Soon the old man stopped coming at all, and the girl forgot about him. And Jean Valjean began to wither and fade away: the doorkeeper invited a doctor to see him, but he only shrugged it off - this man, apparently, had lost his most precious creature, and no medicine would help here. Marius, on the other hand, believes that the convict deserves such an attitude - undoubtedly, it was he who robbed Mr. Madeleine and killed the defenseless Javert, who saved him from the bandits. And then the greedy Thenardier reveals all the secrets: Jean Valjean is neither a thief nor a murderer. Moreover: it was he who carried Marius from the barricade. The young man generously pays the vile innkeeper - and not only for the truth about Valjean. Once upon a time, a scoundrel did a good deed, rummaging through the pockets of the wounded and killed - the name of the man he saved was Georges Pontmercy. Marius and Cosette go to Jean Valjean to beg for forgiveness. The old convict dies happy - his beloved children took his last breath. A young couple commissions a touching epitaph for the sufferer's grave.

E. L. Murashkintseva

(Quatrevvingt-treize)

Roman (1874)

In the last days of May, soldiers and a squire of the Parisian battalion "Red Hat" stumble upon a Breton peasant woman with three children - a baby girl and two boys a little older - in the Sodrey forest. Michel Flechard's husband was killed and the hut burned down - left without a piece of bread, the unfortunate wanders aimlessly. At the suggestion of Sergeant Radub, the battalion adopts Georgette, Rene-Jean and Gros-Alain. On June 1, the Claymore military frigate, disguised as a merchant ship, sails from England: it is to deliver a passenger to France - a tall old man in peasant clothes and with the posture of a prince. On the way, misfortune occurs: one of the gunners did not fix the cannon badly, the huge colossus breaks down, and the damaged ship loses control. The blundered gunner is trying to fix things - at the decisive moment, the majestic old man, risking his life, throws a bag with fake banknotes under the wheels, and the cannon is put in place. The captain turns to the old man for orders: he awards the gunner with the cross of St. Louis, and then orders him to be shot. The frigate, which has lost precious time, dies in an unequal battle with the French squadron, but before that, the royalists quietly lower the boat to save the old man - the future leader of the rebellious Vendée. One of the sailors volunteers to accompany him: when they are alone, he takes out a pistol - the killed gunner was his brother. The old man calmly explains that the culprit just got what he deserved. If the sailor is not afraid of eternal damnation, let him take revenge - then his native Brittany will be seized by the bloodthirsty atheists-republicans. Before the iron logic of these arguments, Galmalo cannot resist - kneeling down, he begs for forgiveness and swears allegiance to the "monseigneur". The old man instructs him to notify all adherents of the faith and the king that the castle of Turg is appointed as a collection point. Galmalo nods happily: this is the property of his lord, the Marquis de Lantenac, he grew up there and as a child often climbed into an underground passage that no one knows about ... The old man interrupts the sailor: there is nothing like this in Turga, these are ordinary stories of local peasants. Having landed on the shore, the aristocrat and the sailor part: Galmalo sets off on an errand, and the old man goes to the nearest village. A beggar blocks his way - Mr. Marquis cannot go there, a reward has been appointed for his head. The good Telmarch hides Lantenak in his own shack, because he is disgusted by the thought of betrayal. The next morning, the marquis sees an order for his execution, signed by the commander of the expeditionary corps Gauvin - this name makes a strong impression on the old man. Suddenly, from all sides, as if from under the ground, people appear - the Bretons, having learned about the appearance of the leader, rushed to the place of his landing and destroyed the republican detachment standing in the village. Lantenac orders the prisoners to be shot, without making an exception for two women. He is informed about three children: he orders to take them with him - then it will be seen what to do with them.

Europe is at war with France, and France is at war with Paris. The city breathes with revolution - here they even smile heroically, and small children babble "sa ira". There is no shortage of tribunes and preachers; among them stands out the former priest Cimourdain - a man of fierce righteousness and frightening purity. He has only one affection: in his younger years he was the tutor of the little viscount, whom he loved with all his heart. When the boy grew up, the teacher was shown to the door, and he lost sight of his student. Then a great storm broke out: Cimourdain, having renounced his dignity, devoted himself entirely to the cause of the insurgent people - in 93 he became one of the most influential members of the Episcopate, which, along with the Convention and the Commune, has full power in the revolutionary capital. On June 28, a secret meeting takes place in a tavern on Peacock Street: a sleek young man in a sky-blue tailcoat, a red-faced giant with a lion's mane of hair and a disgusting dwarf in a women's knitted sweater - Robespierre, Danton and Marat are sitting at the table. The leaders quarrel: Robespierre believes that the main danger comes from the Vendée, Danton claims that there is nothing worse than an external enemy, and Marat craves dictatorship - the revolution will be destroyed by discord. The appearance of Cimourdain interrupts the argument. The former priest takes the side of Robespierre: if the Vendée rebellion is not crushed, the infection will spread throughout the country. the Marquis de Lantenac knows perfectly well what needs to be done - it is enough for him to win back a small foothold on the coast, and English troops will land in France. Robespierre, instantly appreciating the merits of Cimourdain, appoints him as the authorized representative of the Convention in the Vendée - he will be with a young commander who has great military talents, but is distinguished by excessive condescension towards prisoners. This young man is from the former nobles, and his name is Gauwen. Hearing this name, Cimourdain turns pale, but does not refuse the order. Nothing escapes Marat's gaze: at his insistence, the Convention adopts a decree the very next day that any commander who releases an enemy captured with weapons in his hands should be beheaded on the guillotine.

In early July, an unfamiliar rider stops at an inn, not far from the Breton city of Dole. The owner advises the traveler to go around Dole sideways: they are fighting there, and two former ones clashed - the Marquis de Lantenaki, Viscount de Gauvin. They are also relatives - Gauvin is Lantenac's great-nephew. While the young republican is more lucky - he is pushing the old royalist, not allowing him to gain a foothold on the coast. Perhaps everything would have turned out differently if the Marquis had not ordered the execution of a woman - the mother of three children. He took the children with him, and the surviving soldiers of the "Red Hat" battalion are now fighting with such frenzy that no one can withstand their onslaught. Having thanked the innkeeper, the stranger gallops to Dole and, falling into the thick of the battle, takes upon himself the blow of the saber intended for Gauvin. The touched young man recognizes his beloved teacher. Cimourdain also cannot hide his feelings: his sweet boy has become a man and turned into a true angel of the Revolution. Both passionately desire the Republic to triumph, but they embody the two poles of truth: Cimourdain stands for the republic of terror, and Gauvin for the republic of mercy. However, in relation to Lantenac, the young man is as implacable as his former mentor: unlike the ignorant peasants, the marquis acts quite consciously, and there will be no mercy for him. A few weeks later, the Vendean rebellion is almost over - the peasants scatter, unable to resist the regular troops. On one of the August days, the siege of the castle of Turg begins, where Lantenac took refuge with several associates. The position of the Marquis is hopeless, and Cimourdain eagerly awaits the arrival of the guillotine from Paris. But there are three children of Michel flasher in the castle: they are placed on the second floor of the tower, in a library with a massive iron door, and combustible materials are stored on the first and third floors. The besieged then issue an ultimatum: if they are not allowed to leave freely, the hostage children will die. Gauvin sends for a ladder to the nearest village, and Cimourdain is ready to let go of all the rebels, except for Lantenac. The Vendeans, scornfully rejecting these conditions, accept a hopeless battle. When they confess, preparing for imminent death, the stone in the wall moves aside - the underground passage really exists, and Galmalo arrived in time. The ferocious Imanus is called to delay the attackers for a quarter of an hour - this is enough for a retreat. Sergeant Radub is the first to break into the castle, but the agonizing Vendée manages to light the fuse. The Republicans watch the fire in impotent rage. Lantenac has slipped away, and the children will inevitably perish: the iron door cannot be broken open, and the second floor cannot be reached without a ladder—it was burned down by the peasants who ambushed the guillotine, which reached the castle safely. The most terrible moment comes when the mother sees the doomed children - Michelle Flechard, who survived the execution, finally found Georgette, Rene-Jean and Gros-Alain. Hearing her animal cry, Lantenac returns through the underground passage to the iron door, unlocks it with a key and disappears into the flames - after that, the floors collapse with a roar. The old man saves the children by using the ladder that was in the library, and then descends himself - right into the hands of Cimourdain. Marquis is waiting for a military court (pure formality), and then the guillotine. At night, Gauvin releases Lantenak: a pure young man cannot allow the Republic to stain itself by responding with execution to an act of great self-sacrifice. The young commander is put on trial: Cimourdain's voice is decisive, and he without hesitation sentences the young man to death.

E. D. Murashkintseva

(Les trois mousquetaires)

Roman (1844)

On the first Monday in April 1625, the population of the town of Meng on the outskirts of Paris seemed excited as if the Huguenots had decided to turn it into a second fortress of Larochelle: a young man of eighteen years old rode into Meng on a red gelding without a tail. His appearance, clothes and manners caused a flurry of ridicule in the crowd of townspeople. The rider, however, does not pay attention to them, as befits a nobleman who considers it shameful to sort things out with commoners. Another thing is an insult inflicted by an equal: d'Artagnan (that is the name of our hero) rushes with a bared sword at a noble gentleman in black; however, several townspeople with a club come running to help him. Waking up, d'Artagnan does not find either the offender, or - what is much more serious - a letter of recommendation from his father to an old comrade-in-arms, the captain of the royal musketeers, Mr. de Treville, with a request to determine the offspring who has come of age for military service.

His Majesty's Musketeers are the color of the guard, people without fear or reproach, for which they get away with independent and reckless behavior. At that hour, when d'Artagnan is waiting for a reception at de Treville, Mr. Captain inflicts another thrashing (which, however, does not entail sad consequences) on his three favorites - Athos, Porthos and Aramis. De Treville, it should be noted, was outraged not by the fact that they had a fight with the guards of Cardinal Richelieu, but by allowing themselves to be arrested ... What a shame!

Conversing with de Treville (who received the young d'Artagnan very affectionately), the young man sees a stranger from Meng outside the window - and rushes headlong into the street, hitting three musketeers in turn on the stairs. All three challenge him to a duel. The stranger in black manages to sneak away, but at the appointed hour, Athos, Porthos and Aramis are waiting for d'Artagnan at the appointed place. The case takes an unexpected turn; the swords of all four are unsheathed against the ubiquitous guards of the Duke of Richelieu. The musketeers are convinced that the young Gascon is not only a bully, but also a real brave man who owns weapons no worse than they are, and they accept d'Artagnan into their company.

Richelieu complains to the king: the musketeers are completely insolent. Louis XIII is more intrigued than upset. He wants to know who is this unknown fourth, who was with Athos, Porthos and Aramis. De Treville introduces the Gascon to His Majesty - and the king enlists d'Artagnan to serve in his guard.

To d'Artagnan, who has stopped at his house, about whose valor rumors are already creeping around Paris, the haberdasher Bonacieux addresses: yesterday his young wife, the maid of Her Majesty Queen Anne of Austria, was kidnapped. By all accounts, the kidnapper is a stranger from Meng. The reason for the kidnapping is not the charms of Madame Bonacieux, but her closeness to the queen: in Paris, Lord Buckingham, beloved of Anna of Austria. Madame Bonacieux can lead on his trail. The queen is in danger: the king has left her, she is pursued by Richelieu who lusts for her, she loses her faithful people one by one; in addition to everything (or above all) she is a Spaniard in love with an Englishman, and Spain and England are the main opponents of France in the political arena. Monsieur Bonacieux himself was kidnapped after Constance; in their house, a trap is set up for Lord Buckingham or someone close to him.

One night, d'Artagnan hears a fuss in the house and the muffled screams of women. It was Madame Bonacieux, who had escaped from custody, again fell into a mousetrap - now in her own house. D'Artagnan wrests her from Richelieu's men and hides her in Athos' apartment.

Watching all her exits into the city, he lies in wait for Constance in the company of a man in a musketeer's uniform. Did friend Athos take it into his head to recapture the saved beauty from him? The jealous man quickly resigns himself: Madame Bonacieux's companion is Lord Buckingham, whom she takes to Dover on a date with the queen. Constance initiates d'Artagnan into the secrets of the heart of her mistress. He promises to protect the Queen and Buckingham as her own; this conversation becomes their declaration of love.

Buckingham leaves Paris, taking away a gift from Queen Anne - twelve diamond pendants. Having found out about this, Richelieu advises the king to arrange a big ball, to which the queen should appear in pendants - those that are now stored in London, in Buckingham's box. He foresees the disgrace of the queen who rejected his claims - and sends one of his best secret agents, Milady Winter, to England: she is to steal two pendants from Buckingham - even if the remaining ten miraculously return to Paris for the big ball, the cardinal will be able to prove the faulty queen. Racing with Milady Winter rushes to England d'Artagnan. Milady succeeds in what the cardinal has entrusted to her; however, time works for d'Artagnan - and he delivers ten queen pendants and two more exactly the same, made by a London jeweler in less than two days, to the Louvre! The cardinal is put to shame, the queen is saved, d'Artagnan is accepted into the musketeers and rewarded with the love of Constance. There are, however, losses: Richelieu learns about the prowess of the newly minted musketeer and instructs the insidious Milady Winter to patronize him.

Whipping intrigues against d'Artagnan and instilling in him a strong and contradictory passion, Milady at the same time seduces the Count de Wardes - a man who served as an obstacle to the Gascon on his journey to London, sent by the cardinal to help Milady. Cathy, milady's maid, being crazy about the young musketeer, shows him the letters of her mistress de Ward. D'Artagnan, under the guise of Comte de Wardes, comes on a date to Milady and, not recognized by her in the dark, receives a diamond ring as a token of love. D'Artagnan hurries to present his adventure to his friends as a funny joke; Athos, however, glooms at the sight of the ring. Milady's ring evokes a painful memory in him. This is a family jewel, given by him on the night of love to the one whom he considered an angel and who in reality was a branded criminal, thief and murderer who broke the heart of Athos. Athos' story is soon confirmed: on Milady's bare shoulder, her ardent lover d'Artagnan notices a brand in the form of a lily - the seal of eternal shame.

From now on, he is the enemy of milady. He is privy to her secret. He refused to kill Lord Winter in a duel - he only disarmed, after which he reconciled with him (the brother of her late husband and the uncle of her little son) - and she has long been striving to take over the entire fortune of the Winters! Nothing came of Milady's plan to pit d'Artagnan against de Bardes either. Milady's pride is wounded, but so is Richelieu's ambition. Inviting d'Artagnan to go to serve in his regiment of the guards and having been refused, the cardinal warns the young insolent: "From the minute you lose my protection, no one will give even a broken penny for your life!" ...

The place of a soldier is in war. Taking leave from de Treville, d'Artagnan and his three friends set off for the vicinity of Larochelle, a port city that opens the gates to the French borders for the British. Closing them to England, Cardinal Richelieu completes the work of Joan of Arc and the Duke of Guise. Victory over England for Richelieu is not so much about ridding the king of France from the enemy, but about taking revenge on a more successful rival in love with the queen. Buckingham is the same: in this military campaign he seeks to satisfy personal ambitions. He prefers to return to Paris not as an envoy, but as a triumphant. The true stake in this bloody game played by two mightiest powers is the benevolent glance of Anna of Austria. The British besiege the fortress of Saint-Martin and Fort La Pre, the French - La Rochelle.

Before his baptism of fire, d'Artagnan summarizes the results of his two-year stay in the capital. He is in love and loved - but does not know where his Constance is and whether she is alive at all. He became a musketeer - but he has an enemy in the person of Richelieu. Behind him are many extraordinary adventures - but also the hatred of my lady, who will not miss the opportunity to take revenge on him. He is marked by the patronage of the queen - but this is a bad defense, rather, a reason for persecution ... His only unconditional acquisition is a ring with a diamond, whose brilliance, however, is overshadowed by the bitter memories of Athos.

By chance, Athos, Porthos and Aramis accompany the cardinal on his nightly walk incognito in the vicinity of Larochelle. Athos in the tavern "Red Dovecote" hears the conversation of the cardinal with milady (it was Richelieu who went to meet her under the protection of musketeers). He sends her to London as an intermediary in negotiations with Buckingham. The negotiations, however, are not entirely diplomatic: Richelieu presents an ultimatum to his opponent. If Buckingham dares to take a decisive step in the current military confrontation, the cardinal promises to make public documents discrediting the queen - evidence not only of her favor to the duke, but also of her collusion with the enemies of France. "And if Buckingham gets stubborn?" asks milady. - "In this case, as has happened more than once in history, a femme fatale should appear on the political stage, who will put a dagger into the hand of some fanatic killer ..." Milady perfectly understands Richelieu's hint. Well, she is just such a woman! ..

Having accomplished an unheard-of feat - having dined on a bet on a bastion opened to the enemy, repulsing several powerful attacks from the Larochels and returning to the army unscathed - the musketeers warn the Duke of Buckingham and Lord Winter about the mission of milady. Winter manages to arrest her in London. The young officer Felton is entrusted to protect milady. Milady learns that her guardian is a puritan. She is called his co-religionist, allegedly seduced by Buckingham, slandered and branded as a thief, while in reality she suffers for her faith. Felton is smitten by my lady on the spot. Religiosity and strict discipline have made him a man inaccessible to ordinary seductions. But the story told to him by Milady shook his hostility towards her, and with her beauty and ostentatious piety she conquered his pure heart, the felton helps Milady Winter to escape. He instructs a familiar captain to deliver the unfortunate captive to Paris, and he himself penetrates to the Duke of Buckingham, whom, in fulfillment of Richelieu's scenario, he kills with a dagger.

Milady is hiding in the Carmelite convent in Bethune, where Constance Bonacieux also lives. Having learned that d'Artagnan should appear here any hour, Milady poisons the beloved of her main enemy and flees. But she fails to escape retribution: musketeers rush in her footsteps.

At night, in a dark forest, a trial is being held against my lady. She is responsible for the death of Buckingham and Felton seduced by her. She is responsible for the death of Constance and the instigation of d'Artagnan to kill de Wardes. Another - her very first victim - a young priest seduced by her, whom she persuaded to steal church utensils. Condemned to penal servitude for this, the shepherd of God laid hands on himself. His brother, an executioner from Lille, made it his life's goal to take revenge on Milady. Once he had already overtaken her and branded her, but the criminal then hid in the castle of the Count de la Fere - Athos and, keeping silent about the ill-fated past, married him. Unintentionally discovering the deceit, Athos, in a rage, committed lynching over his wife: he hung her on a tree. Fate gave her another chance: the Countess de la Fere was saved, and she returned to life and her vile deeds under the name of Lady Winter. Having given birth to a son, milady poisoned Winter and received a rich inheritance; but this was not enough for her, and she dreamed of a share belonging to her brother-in-law.

Having presented all the above charges to her, the Musketeers and Winter entrust Milady to the executioner of Lille. Athos gives him a purse of gold - a payment for hard work, but he throws the gold into the river: "Today I am not doing my trade, but my duty."

The blade of his wide sword shines in the moonlight ... Three days later, the Musketeers return to Paris and present themselves to their captain de Treville. "Well, gentlemen," the brave captain asks them. "Did you have a good time on vacation?" - "Incomparable!" - Responsible for himself and for friends Athos.

M. K. Pozdnyaev

(Vingt ans après)

Roman (1845)

Mid XNUMXth century Incited by the Fronde, the people of Paris grumble:

deputies, merchants, the judiciary are outraged by the policy of Cardinal Mazarin, who sucks all the juice out of taxpayers. The Queen, walking to Mass in Notre Dame Cathedral, was pursued by a crowd of women crying out for justice. The people crowded on the way of the young King Louis XIV, who was returning to the palace from Parliament, where he announced several verdicts, one more ruinous than the other. Even the first President of the Parliament openly spoke out against the intervention of the king in the rights of deputies. In the Palais-Royal, the merchant foreman threatens with unrest and a real riot if Mazarin does not stop his hostile actions. And the unrest is already visible on the streets of the capital ...

Mazarin - hated by all, a foreigner of low origin, who suffers ridicule, a weak shadow of the most powerful Richelieu - feels the earth shaking under his feet. He needs reliable support. Dressed in a musketeer's uniform, he summons Lieutenant d'Artagnan, who once rendered invaluable services to Her Majesty the Queen. Mazarin asks him to bring de Rochefort, who is imprisoned there, from the Bastille: he and d'Artagnan are two boots of steam in the intrigues of the past. It is time for them to serve the new times. Rochefort tells the cardinal that Athos, Porthos and Aramis accompanied d'Artagnan in all his exploits - but where are they now? God knows! .. To the amazement of Rochefort, he is escorted back to prison; and he had already managed to extend the hand of a friend to his long-time adversary d'Artagnan and swear in eternal peace! However, d'Artagnan is only an executor of Mazarin's orders; a cardinal, not a musketeer, is a fierce enemy of Rochefort. On the way to the Rochefort prison, rampaging Parisians beat off the guards: everyone who sits in the Bastille is their idol. At a new meeting with d'Artagnan, Rochefort confirms the oath given to him and undertakes to help find his three friends. Finding them is the will of Mazarin, and therefore, of Her Majesty the Queen, the beloved cardinal and the actual ruler of France until her son reaches adulthood.

The natural instinct of d'Artagnan and his ability to unleash any language lead him in turn to the three musketeers, who said goodbye to a stormy life: Aramis - the abbot, Athos and Porthos taste the quiet joys of being on their estates.

Porthos ingenuously agrees to be a companion of d'Artagnan: they are both soldiers, and, moreover, they serve France by no means unselfishly. Other cut - Aramis and Athos.

Athos expresses himself much more sharply than Aramis: the honor of a nobleman does not allow him to serve Mazarin - this scoundrel, this usurer, who does not put a penny on the queen and is about to unleash an internecine war in France. Barely waiting for the departure of d'Artagnan, who had fulfilled only a third of the order of the cardinal, the Count de Lafer - Athos informs his adopted son Raoul, Viscount de Brazhelon: "In the evening we are going to Paris."

Upon arrival in the capital, he introduces Raoul to the Comtesse de Chevreuse; from their conversation one can guess that the viscount is the fruit of one frivolous adventure, one love night experienced by them in their youth. Athos entrusts the Countess with the care of Raoul while he is away; He is on a perilous journey...

Meanwhile, Rochefort arranges an escape from prison for the Duke de Beaufort, who was the queen's favorite after the death of Louis XIII, hidden behind bars by Her Majesty's new idol, Mazarin. The cardinal sends d'Artagnan and Porthos to search for the dangerous fugitive. Leaving Paris, d'Artagnan, at full gallop, knocks down a passer-by. Had he died under the hooves, history would have flowed differently; but this man, councilor of the Parliament of Brussels, lives on. Paris regards the incident as a political assassination, the entire Fronde is paying visits to Brussels these days, the air is electrified by threats against the cardinal.

Driving one horse after another, the Musketeers overtake the Duke de Beaufort. The forces, alas, are not equal: he is accompanied by a detachment of fifty people, among whom d'Artagnan and Porthos recognize not only Rochefort, but also Aramis and Athos. This circumstance saves their lives. "Princes, ministers, kings, like a muddy stream, will sweep and disappear - and we will remain the same," the four heroes are convinced. trouble! We will be faithful to our union to the end! .. "

Vicomte de Bragelon - at the end of the war with Spain. On the battlefield, he picks up a mortally wounded priest and takes him to an inn. The Holy Father wishes to confess. The case turns up by itself: Raoul and his friend de Guiche meet a wandering monk on the road. Taking the confession of a dying man, this monk learns that before him is his mother's executioner, Milady Winter. Hiding under a monastic cassock, the English spy John-Francis Winter-Mordaunt kills the one whose confession he has accepted. Before dying, the repentant executioner tells who he is and who his killer is, Grimaud, the squire of Athos, Raoul's companion on a military campaign. Grimaud rushes to Paris; he guesses that the son of milady is directing his steps there, this threatens the lives of several witnesses to the execution of Lady Winter ...

In Paris, Mordaunt's uncle, Lord Winter, brother of the ill-fated Milady. He was sent by King Charles I of England to ask the French queen and Cardinal Mazarin for military and political assistance in confronting the army of rebels led by Cromwell. The Queen of England, who lives in exile in a Carmelite convent in Paris, is in despair: Lord Winter failed to persuade France to the side of Charles I, who is losing his crown. Winter tries to console his empress: there are still people in France who are ready to help us! This is d'Artagnan and his friends, who once proved their courage and true nobility to the British Empire. Lord Winter visits Athos. An old friend upsets him: d'Artagnan and Porthos are the cardinal's servants. But Aramis and I are at your disposal!

At the quay in Boulogne, Aramis, Athos and Winter lie in wait ready to avenge their mother Mordaunt (he brought a secret letter to Mazarin from Cromwell demanding to remain neutral at this moment of the fall of Charles, and the letter played a role in the decision taken by the queen). Mordaunt fails to board the ship that his uncle and two musketeers are leaving for England. He is ready to follow in their footsteps on the next free ship.

At this time, Brussels is arrested in Paris. People take to the streets and clash with the army. Rochefort, at the head of the Fronde, together with other instigators of the unrest, demands the immediate release of his leader. The queen is forced to sign the ultimatum presented to her, but harbors in her heart hatred for the distraught subjects: "The young king and I must leave Paris. The mob will be confused when they see that their ruler is not on the throne - and then I will incinerate this vile city!" Accompanied by the indispensable d'Artagnan, she leaves the capital with her ten-year-old son and finds refuge in Saint-Germain. A few hours earlier, by the same d'Artagnan, he was miraculously taken out of Paris and Mazarin ...

Returning to Paris, d'Artagnan receives a letter from Athos and Aramis: they are in a dangerous mess, they entrust him with the care of Raul and bequeath to take revenge on Mordaunt. They deliberately do not disclose their address, knowing that the duty of friendship may expose their friends to the same danger that now threatens them. It was at this time that D'Artagnan was sent by Mazarin to England with a secret message. They make the sea route with Porthos in the company of Mordaunt, who was waiting for them in Boulogne. Then their route is to Newcastle, to the camp of Charles I. Athos and Aramis have already appeared here, accompanied by Lord Winter. His Majesty knights two brave Musketeers. Regrettably, they will not be able to serve the King of England for long: the Scottish guards go over to the side of Cromwell, the king is captured. Lord Winter, who was protecting him, is killed by Mordaunt. All four Musketeers captured along with Charles I manage to escape. Now their duty is to rescue the king.

At the military council, the plan is ripening to ingratiate himself with the guards of the captured Charles, to strike up friendship with the soldiers and to disarm rivals while playing a card game. This plan is thwarted at the last moment by Mordaunt, who ran into the guardhouse shouting: "This is treason!" ...

The king is sentenced to death. On the night before the execution of his sentence, Aramis, dressed as a bishop, appears in White Hall and warns that his escape is being prepared. People loyal to the king will kidnap the executioner at dawn, the execution will be postponed for a day - and a day is enough to save His Majesty from death!

Four musketeers, disguised as carpenters, occupy their designated places near the scaffold and under its flooring. To their horror, another executioner ascends the scaffold. Karl touchingly says goodbye to the people and lays his head on the chopping block. Athos, hiding under the scaffold, feels that his forehead is wet; runs his hand over it - this is the blood of a decapitated monarch.

The executioner - as it soon turns out - is none other than Mordaunt. Having met with him, the musketeers cast lots: which of them will be the first to fight this scoundrel. The choice falls on d'Artagnan. Retreating closer and closer to the wall, Mordaunt suddenly disappears into thin air: he managed to escape through a secret door.

Pursuing Mordaunt, the Musketeers find themselves on the ship where he is hiding. The captain immediately informs Mordaunt about their penetration into the ship. He is preparing a grandiose farewell performance: he sets fire to the fuse leading to the barrels of gunpowder. The Musketeers, by pure chance, are initiated into this plan - and jump onto the boat tied to the side of the ship before Mordaunt can do it. From a safe distance, friends look at his death ... but is he not the devil? Moments later, they see his head above the water. He was one of the entire team survived. He swims towards them, he begs them for help, he grabs the hand of Athos, which is outstretched to him, and drags him into the water. It seems like an eternity is not seen either one or the other. Finally, the corpse of Milady's son, her fiend, emerges from under the water, with a dagger in his heart ... and then - alive and unharmed Athos.

From the fire - and into the frying pan: from the troubled England - to the rebellious Paris. It is the duty of the Musketeers to extinguish this flame. They are taking daring steps: they are fleeing the imprisonment to which the queen has subjected them for preferring the call of the heart to the highest commands and non-fulfillment of the orders of Her Majesty and His Eminence. At the same moment, as all four are free, their prisoner becomes ... Mazarin.

In the castle of Porthos in Pierrefonds, the cardinal signs the act of his surrender to Parliament - an agreement drawn up by the deputation of the Fronde. To the enthusiastic cries of yesterday's furious people, the queen and the little king enter Paris. Returns to his palace and Mazarin. The last violent crowd, led by Rochefort, makes an attempt to pull the cardinal out of the carriage - but their leader runs into d'Artagnan's sword. The black rushes in all directions. Bleeding Rochefort manages to utter: "This is fate. I was cured three times after the pricks of your sword. The fourth time, apparently, a miracle will not happen ..." D'Artagnan is sincerely upset:

"Count, I did not see that it was you. I would not want you to leave this life with a feeling of hatred towards me!"

Eternal enemies shake hands friendly...

The little king, returning to the Palais Royal, remarks to his mother: "Monsieur d'Artagnan is brave." “Yes, my son,” replies Queen Anne. “Be kind to him.”

Ten years pass, and Louis XIV will be fully convinced of how important this is - and how difficult ...

M. K. Pozdnyaev

(Le comte de Monte Cristo)

Roman (1845-1846)

On February 27, 1815, the three-masted ship "Pharaoh" returned to Marseille from the next voyage. Captain Leclerc was not destined to set foot on his native land: he died of a fever on the high seas. The young sailor Edmond Dantes took command, fulfilling another last will of the captain: the "pharaoh" enters the island of Elba, where Dantes passes the package received from the hands of Leclerc to Marshal Bertrand and meets with the disgraced emperor himself. Dantes is given a letter to be delivered to Paris, Mr. Noirtier - one of the conspirators preparing the return to the throne of Napoleon.

The owner of the "Pharaoh" Morrel invites Dantes to officially assume the position of captain of the ship. Envy-ridden accountant of the shipping company Danglars decides to remove Dantes. Together with a retired soldier, and now a simple fisherman, Fernand Mondego, who competes with Dantes for the right to marry the beautiful Mercedes, and the tailor Caderousse, who robbed Edmond's father during the voyage, Danglars composes an anonymous letter to the assistant prosecutor Marcel de Villefort. The meaning of the denunciation: Dantes is a secret agent of the Bonapartists. During the interrogation, Dantes, without concealment, tells Villefort about his visit to Elba. There is no corpus delicti; Villefort is ready to release the prisoner, but, after reading Marshal Bertrand's letter, he realizes that his happiness and life itself depend on this game of chance. After all, the addressee, Mr. Noirtier, a dangerous conspirator, is his father! It is not enough to burn the accursed letter, one must also get rid of Dantes, who can involuntarily announce the whole story - and as a result, de Villefort will lose not only his place, but also the hand of his bride Rene de Saint-Meran (she is the daughter of an old royalist; the views of Mr. Noirtier , his relationship with the groom is a mystery to them). Dantes is sentenced to life imprisonment in the Château d'If, a political prison in the middle of the sea, near Marseille...

Five years pass. Dantes is close to despair, he decides to die of starvation. Suddenly, one evening, a dull rattle behind the wall reaches his ears. He is not alone here, someone is clearly digging a hole in the direction of his dungeon. Edmond starts digging the opposite tunnel. Many days of work are rewarded with the joy of meeting a comrade in misfortune. Abbe Faria - that's the name of the prisoner from the next cell - spent four years longer than Dantes in the Chateau d'If. Digging his hole, he hoped to break through to the outer wall of the prison, jump into the sea and swim to freedom. alas, he made a mistake in his calculations! Edmond comforts the abbot: there are now two of them, which means they can continue what they started with double energy. The abbot's strength is running out, soon - when he is close to salvation, he becomes seriously ill. Before his death, he initiates Dantes into the secret of the myriad treasure hidden by Cardinal Spada on the island of Monte Cristo three hundred years ago.

Having transferred the body of the abbot to his cell, Dantes hides in a bag in which the dead man was placed. In the morning, not noticing the substitution, they throw him into the sea - this is how the inhabitants of the Chateau d'If have been buried since the founding of the prison. Edmond is saved! He is picked up by smugglers. One of them, Jacopo, becomes a loyal companion of Dantes. A few months later, Edmond finally reaches the island of Monte Cristo. The treasures of the abbot faria are truly innumerable.

During the long years of Dantes's absence, significant changes also took place in the fate of those who were guilty of his suffering, Fernand Mondego rose to the rank of general (now his name is Comte de Mor-ser). Mercedes became his wife and bore him a son. Danglars is a wealthy banker. De Villefort is the royal prosecutor. Caderousse said goodbye to the tailor's needle and scissors and runs a rural inn... God sends a strange guest to Caderousse. Abbot Busoni, who, according to him, confessed the dying Edmond Dantes, must fulfill the last will of the deceased. Dantes handed him a diamond, the money from the sale of which should be divided into five parts: equally - Mercedes, Danglars, Fernand, Caderousse and old Dantes. Caderousse is blinded by the brilliance of the diamond. He tells Abbot Busoni that Dantes was slandered by those whom he decided to do good, that Mercedes did not remain faithful to him. Yes, he, Caderousse, was a witness to the writing of the denunciation - but what could he do! Danglars and Fernand would have killed him on the spot if he had hinted at the unseemliness of their maliciousness! As for old Dantes, he did not have the strength to endure the blow of fate (in fact, Caderousse robbed him to the skin, and Edmond's father died of hunger). He, he, Caderousse, is the only heir of poor Dantes! Abbe Busoni hands Caderousse the diamond and disappears in the morning...

At the same time, Lord Wilmore, an agent of the banking house of Thomson and French, comes to the mayor of Marseille. He asks permission to look through the investigation file of the Abbe Faria, who died in If prison. He also has another assignment: to pay the debts of Mr. Morrel, the owner of a shipping company that is on the verge of collapse. Morrel's last hope was on his flagship - the three-masted "Pharaoh", but that one - oh evil rock! - dies in a shipwreck. Wilmore hands Morrel a six-figure promissory note, draws up a three-month grace period. But what can be done in three months! On the day the reprieve expires, Morrel's daughter receives a letter signed "Sinbad the Sailor" with the address where she will find the purse destined for her illustrious father. In the purse - a check for the amount owed by Morrel and a diamond the size of a walnut: the dowry of Mademoiselle Morrel. Everything that happened is like a fairy tale: but this is not enough. The "Pharaoh" enters the port of Marseilles safe and sound! The city is a witness to this miracle. Lord Wilmore, aka Abbot Busoni, aka Count of Monte Cristo, aka Edmond Dantes, looks at the sailboat that has risen from the abyss with a smile: "Be happy, noble man! You deserve this happiness! .. And now - goodbye, philanthropy! Let the god of vengeance give way to me so that I punish the villains! .. "With documents from his investigative file, which was stored along with the case of Abbé Faria, Edmond leaves Marseilles ...

The young Parisian aristocrat Baron Franz d'Epinay, going to the carnival in Rome, set out to visit the legendary Elba. However, he changes his route: the ship sails past the island of Monte Cristo, where, according to rumors, a man who calls himself Sinbad the Sailor lives in a fabulous palace. The owner of the island receives Franz with such cordiality and luxury, which, it seems, never dreamed of by any of the most powerful inhabitants of the earth. In Rome, Franz unexpectedly meets Sinbad, who lives in the same hotel with him under the name of the Count of Monte Cristo. Franz's friend, Viscount Albert de Morser, is captured by robbers from a gang of ataman Luigi Vampa, who terrifies the inhabitants of Rome. The Count of Monte Cristo saves Albert: "Ataman, you have violated our agreement, my friend's friend is my friend." Wumpa is in dismay, he sternly reprimands his thugs: "We all owe our lives to the Count! How could you act so recklessly!" Albert invites the Count to visit Paris and be his guest of honor.

In the capital (where the count has not appeared before), Albert introduces him to his friends, including Morrel's son Maximillian. This acquaintance deeply excited the count - young Morrel is no less excited when he learns that the count uses the services of the Thomson and French banking house, which saved the life of their entire family.

The Count of Monte Cristo acquires several apartments in Paris and a house in Auteuil, at 28 Rue Fontaine, formerly owned by the Marquis de Saint-Meran. The Count's steward, Bertuccio, sees their move to this house as bad luck. Many years ago, he witnessed how de Villefort buried a newborn baby in the garden of his father-in-law's house - an illegitimate son from an unknown lady, Bertuccio hurried to dig out the box - the baby was still alive. Bertuccio's sister-in-law raised the boy, whom they named Benedetto. The offspring of eminent parents embarked on an unrighteous path and landed in jail. But this is only one of two terrible stories hidden by Bertuccio from the count. In June 1829, he stopped at the tavern of Caderousse - the day after the abbot Busoni had been there (Bertuccio does not realize that the abbot, who rescued him a long time ago from hard labor, and the count are one person). The Abbe Caderousse diamond was sold for 45 thousand francs to a reliable jeweler, and on the same night he stabbed him. Now Caderousse is where Bertuccio also happened to be: in hard labor. The count is sure that this is not the last drop in the cup that Caderousse must drink; as for Benedetto - if he is alive - then he will serve as a weapon of God's punishment ...

The city is full of rumors about the mysterious count and his wealth. At the Danglars bank, the Count opens "unlimited credit". Danglars questions the capabilities of the count: everything in the world has its limits. The count ironically: "For you - maybe, but not for me." - "No one has counted my cash register yet!" - Danglars is wounded. "In that case, I'm the first one to do it," the Count promises him. Monte Cristo draws closer not only to Danglars, who did not recognize poor Edmond in him, but also to the de Villefort family. The count wins the favor of Madame de Villefort: the servant of Count Ali saved her from an accident and his son Villefort from marrying her (Villefort also has a daughter from his first marriage - Valentina, bound by bonds of love with Maximillian Morrel, but forced by relatives to marry Franz d' Epine). It is as if fate itself opens wide the doors in the houses of his sworn enemies for the Count of Monte Cristo, informs him of their other victims. The pupil of Dantes-Monte Cristo, the daughter of Pasha Janina, the marvelous beauty Gaide (there are rumors in Paris that she is the mistress of the count) recognizes in the Opera the man who gave the Turks a fortress that defended the city where her father ruled for two thousand purses of gold, and Gaide herself was twelve years old as a girl sold into slavery to the Turkish sultan. This man's name was Fernand Mondego; he is now known as Comte de Morcert, lieutenant-general, member of the House of Peers. Gaide was redeemed by Monte Cristo from the Sultan, the count swore revenge on the one who killed her father and languished in captivity herself. He is not in the least surprised that this scoundrel is Fernand: a betrayer once runs the risk of remaining a traitor to the end.

Luxurious lunch at the house of Monte Cristo. The first blows prepared by the count for his offenders. Villefort turns pale when the count informs all the guests that he has found the skeleton of a baby in the garden, buried alive under the previous owner. Danglars learns that, playing on the stock exchange, he suffered losses in the amount of over a million francs (the count placed false information in the newspaper about the coup in Spain, and Danglars hurried to get rid of the shares of the Madrid Bank). Villefort informs Madame Danglars that the count seems to be privy to their secret: the unfortunate child was their illegitimate son. "You buried my child alive! God, this is your revenge!" exclaims Madame Danglars. "No, revenge is still waiting for us, and the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo will have to carry it out!" Villefort undertakes at all costs to find out the whole truth about the count; but the Abbé Busoni and Lord Wilmore, who found themselves in Paris, give him very contradictory information. The Count not only remains unrecognized by playing these two roles, but also confuses the tracks.

A young man named Andrei Cavalcanti appears in Paris (one count, who showered him with bounty, knows that this is the runaway convict Benedetto). Immediately, Caderousse also grows out of the ground, assuring Benedetto that he is his offspring, and defrauding the young villain of money under the threat of breaking the brilliant career that has opened before him. Cavalcanti-Benedetto de Villefort is forced to obey: he laid eyes on the daughter of Danglars, a girl with a rich dowry. Wouldn't it be better, he suggests to Caderousse, to give the Count a good shake than to steal money from him with which the madman Monte Cristo lends him? Caderousse climbs into the Count's house - and comes face to face with the Abbé Busoni. The old convict betrays the young; he writes, under the abbot's dictation, a letter to Danglars, explaining who his son-in-law is in fact. Leaving the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, Caderousse runs into Benedetto's knife. Before he expires, the abbot lets him make sure that he, Monte Cristo and Edmond Dantes are one person ...

A hail of misfortune rains down on de Villefort's head: one after another, his father-in-law and mother-in-law suddenly die, then an old footman who drank lemonade from a decanter in the room of his father Noirtier. The doctor comes to the conclusion: they were all poisoned. The perpetrator lives in this house. All the servants of Villefort immediately ask for their resignation. The case gets a lot of publicity. And here - a new blow: Noirtier upsets the wedding of Valentina and Franz d'Epinay (he promised this to his beloved granddaughter). A document is kept in Noirtier's secretary, stating that in February 1815 he killed General de Quesnel, Baron d'Epinay, in a fair duel, who did not want to join the Bonapartist conspiracy.

Now it's Fernand's turn. There was a scandal in the House of Peers: the newspapers published a report about his low behavior during the siege of the fortress of Ioannina by the Turks. Hyde comes to the hearings in the Chamber and presents documents to the peers that confirm: all this is true, the position of General de Morser in society was bought at the price of betrayal. Albert de Morser challenges the Count to a duel, standing up for his father, but, after the whole truth about Fernand Mondego is revealed to him, he asks Dantes for forgiveness. Edmond is begging for this and Madame de Morser, who still loves him Mercedes. The Count accepts Albert's apology; on the same day he and his mother leave Paris. Morcer repeats his son's challenge, but after the Count of Monte Cristo reveals his true name to him, the dishonored general puts a bullet in his forehead.

Danglars is on the verge of ruin. He has to pay all the new bills with which the count's trusted representatives come to him. His last hope is that he will be able to make a decent party for his daughter: the young Cavalcanti is the confidant of Monte Cristo, and the hand of the giver is unlikely to become impoverished. After the signing of the marriage contract, the words from Caderousse's letter sound like a bolt from the blue: "Andrea Cavalcanti is a runaway convict!" Eugenie leaves Paris. Danglars no longer has a daughter or money. He leaves a farewell note to his wife (“I let you go the way I married you: with money, but without a good reputation”) and runs aimlessly. Andrea-Benedetto also runs, hoping to cross the border; but the gendarmes stop him. At the trial, he says: his father is the prosecutor de Villefort!

The last, most terrible blow of fate in the heart of de Villefort: Valentine is poisoned. He no longer has any doubts: the killer is his wife, who obtained an inheritance for herself and her son in such a terrible way (old Noirtier declared his granddaughter the only heiress). De Villefort threatens his wife with a scaffold. In desperation, Madame de Villefort takes poison and poisons the boy: "A good mother does not abandon a child for whom she has become a criminal." Villefort loses his mind; wandering around the garden of the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, he digs graves in one place or another ...

The act of retribution is done. Villefort is insane. Caderousse and Fernand are dead. Danglars was captured by robbers from the gang of Luigi Vampa and spends the last money on bread and water: the thugs sell him a pink salmon for a thousand francs, and in total he has less than fifty thousand in his pocket. The Count of Monte Cristo grants him life and freedom. Turned gray in one night, Danglars drags out the existence of a beggar.

Evil is punished. But why did the young Valentina de Villefort burn in his flame, not at all sharing the guilt of her father and stepmother? Why should Maximillian Morrel, the son of the one who made attempts to rescue Dantes from prison for many years in a row, grieve for her all his life? Leaving Paris, the Count performs the miracle of Valentina's resurrection. Her death was staged by him in a community with the old man Noirtier: a terrible poison was neutralized by a miraculous medicine - one of the generous gifts of the abbot Faria.

Returning to the island of Monte Cristo, having given happiness to Maximillian and Valentine, Edmond Dantes, the martyr of the Chateau d'If and the Parisian angel of vengeance, leaves a letter to young people that sounds both like his confession and like a mandate to two pure hearts: "In the world there is neither happiness nor misfortunes. Everything is known in comparison. Only one who has suffered immeasurably is able to experience bliss. One must feel the taste of death in order to enjoy life with pleasure. All wisdom is in a nutshell: wait and hope!.."

M. K. Pozdnyaev

(La reine Margot)

Roman (1846)

1570, the era of civil wars in France, bloody clashes between Catholics and Huguenots. Over the past ten years, the leaders of the warring parties have died. In Saint Germain, a peace is made, to secure which the sister of King Charles IX, Princess Margaret, is married to Henry of Navarre. This marriage astonishes and outrages the fighters in both camps in equal measure. Something crazy is going on in the court! More recently, Admiral Coligny was sentenced to death in absentia, a generous reward was appointed for his head by the king, and now the king calls him father in the Louvre and entrusts him with command of the combined troops in the upcoming campaign in Flanders.

King Henry of Navarre speaks with his young wife. Their marriage is a political union, they are indifferent to each other. Heinrich is not without reciprocity in love with Madame de Sauve, wife of the Secretary of State; Margarita has her own secrets of the heart. But this is a marriage of two honest and pure-hearted people - so why shouldn't they be allies? Margarita promises Heinrich to support him to the end.

These days, an intrigue is rapidly unfolding in the palace, the inspirer of which is Catherine of Siena, the dowager queen who hates the Huguenots. The patience of the opponents was barely enough for a week: an attempt was being made on Admiral Coligny. King Charles IX entrusts this matter to Morvel, an officer in the firecracker squad. Rumors of new bloody feuds spread throughout the kingdom. Two young noblemen suddenly arrive in Paris: Count Lerac de La Mole, a Huguenot, with letters to King Henry and Admiral Coligny, and Count Annibal de Coconnas, a Catholic, with a secret message to the Duke de Guise, Coligny's fierce enemy. Having settled in the hotel "Guiding Star", the young people quickly approach each other and at the card game inform each other that at night they both have very important audiences at the Louvre. It was a night - from 24 to 25 August - the night of St. Bartholomew, the bloody night of the massacre of the Huguenots.

Drawn into the carnage, La Mole and Coconnas turn their weapons against each other. alas, La Mole is alone, and Coconnas is at the head of a detachment of Catholic soldiers. Bleeding La Mole escapes the chase in the chambers of Queen Margaret of Navarre. However, Coconnas is also seriously wounded - and he finds shelter in the house of Margarita's closest friend, the Duchess Henriette of Nevers. To the slogans of the warring camps, two beauties, who fell in love with the soldiers they saved, oppose their motto: "Eros-Cupido-Amor".

To Margot after a terrible night is her brother, the Duke of Alencon. What happened, he says, is only a prologue to great upheavals. King Charles is ill, he is tormented by seizures. The defeat of the Huguenots made de Guise the de facto ruler. Marriage to a Huguenot is now both reprehensible, and out of time, it can still be replayed. Margo refuses to betray her husband. She clearly saw the troubles that threatened her and Henry: Charles IX did not prevent the massacre, conceived by the Queen Mother and de Guise; Guise and her brother François, Duke of Alençon are ready to extract as much benefit as possible from the spilled blood; as soon as the king of Navarre is gone - and everything tends to that - his possessions will be seized, and she, a widow, will be sent to a monastery. Madame de Sauve informs Margot of the highest order to appoint Henry of Navarre a meeting in her chambers: she suspects that this is a provocation and they want to kill him. Margarita hides her husband in her bedroom, where he is surprised and indignantly discovered by the Queen Mother, who has orchestrated this malice. What an embarrassment: the king of the Huguenots spends the night not with his mistress, but with his lawful wife! He is perfect - and she has nothing to blame him. After her departure, Margarita introduces Heinrich La Mole, hidden in one of the neighboring rooms. The young man belatedly gives the king a letter warning him of mortal danger. Ah, if the king had not been busy at the hour when La Mole first appeared in the Louvre, the history of France could have turned out differently! .. Queen Margot's lover sleeps that night in her bed at the feet of her husband-king - like his comrade unfortunately, a loyal subject and a new friend, but not a rival in love.

Dowager Queen Catherine is furious. Everything - both the events of the past night and the predictions of the sorcerer Rene - is against her will, against her passionate desire to get rid of Henry of Navarre. Another of her adventures fails: the poisoned lipstick sent by her to Madame de Sauves, deadly both for the beauty and for her frequent guest Heinrich, for some reason does not work (Catherine is unaware that the master Rene himself at the last minute replaced the sinister bottle with another, quite harmless). Even his conversion to Catholicism cannot reconcile the Queen Mother with her son-in-law.

Accepts Catholicism at the same time as his king and La Mole: he vowed to accept the faith of the deceased mother in the event of a miraculous deliverance from death. He and Coconnas were healed of wounds by the same master Rene - and yesterday's enemies become inseparable friends, whose union is sealed in addition by the tender feelings of their beautiful ladies, Marguerite and Henriette. La Mole is still unable to believe that his love was answered by the most beautiful of the queens. Friends turn to the clairvoyant Rene for a final answer. There is no doubt that Margot loves La Mole as passionately as he loves her.

The proof is a wax figurine in a crown and a mantle with a heart pierced by a sharp needle. Like an icon, La Mole hides this doll in his house - the image of Marguerite of Navarre, whom he adores ...

In Paris - de Muy, the head of the Huguenots, seeking political revenge. Having overheard his conversation with Henry, the Duke of Alencon tries to convince de Mouy that he is a more worthy contender for the throne when it is empty after the death of his brother Charles. To make it easier for de Mouy to enter the Louvre, Duke Francois advises him to sew the same cherry parade ground as that of Marguerite's favorite, La Mole. Heinrich is alarmed: someone has again stood in his way, and he knows who. Behind François, the figure of his mother is clearly visible. He is not mistaken: right now, in the office of King Charles, the queen mother, frightening him with the news of his appearance in the Louvre de Mouy, is forcing her son to issue a decree on the arrest of Henry, instructing Morvel to capture him - dead or alive.

Karl the next day has to regret his decree: while hunting, Henry saves him from the fangs of a boar. Thus, the King of Navarre not only saved the life of a man, but also prevented the change of sovereigns in the three kingdoms, but most importantly, he saved the life of himself and Margot. Henry speaks confidentially with the Duke of Alençon: de Mouy offered him a conspiracy against Charles - he rejected these proposals. But de Mouy will not calm down, he will direct his eyes in the other direction, for example, at the Prince of Condé ... or at someone else. François turns pale: it seems that Heinrich has unraveled the evil intentions of him and his mother. He ardently persuades the King of Navarre to become the head of the Huguenot movement in order to guide it. The Huguenots trust Henry, King Charles loves him, Francois himself has already prepared an act of his renunciation of the throne in his favor: "Fate is in your hands!" The interlocutors shake hands - at this moment Catherine of Siena enters the room. Hypocritically moved by the handshake of the brother-kings, she internally triumphs over the victory over Henry. At night, Morvel breaks into his bedroom with guards and stumbles upon de Mouy. Two guards are killed, Morvel is seriously wounded. The incident becomes another palace scandal. In fact, Henry owes his salvation not only to the leader of the Huguenots, but also to the king of the Catholics: Charles took him away from the palace late in the evening. He decided to entrust his secret to Heinrich - to introduce him to the charming Marie Touchet and their illegitimate son. Something funny happened to them along the way. The Duke of Guise and the Duke of Anjou (brother of Charles and François, King of Poland at five minutes to five minutes) met by them on one of the dark streets lead them to the house where, according to them, a meeting of two very distinguished ladies with two gentlemen entering the Louvre takes place (speech , of course, is about Marguerite and Henriette, having dinner in the company of La Mole and Coconnas). An attempt to break into the house is met with a resolute rebuff: pots, basins and food are flying on the heads of the king and his retinue from the windows ...

Returning to the palace, Heinrich learns of de Mouy's nocturnal prowess. However, the Duke of Alencon inspires him with the suspicion that it could be La Mole: the brave man who almost killed Morvel was wearing a cherry cloak. The King of Navarre hurries to his wife: "A terrible suspicion hangs over our friend!" - "It's impossible: he was at night in another place." Margot falls at her mother's feet: "La Mole is innocent. He spent the night with me. If he is arrested, he will be forced to confess." - "Calm down, my daughter, - Queen Catherine answers. - I stand guard over your honor!"

It becomes clear to the Queen Mother: La Mole does not separate her daughter from Henry, on the contrary, he is their ally. The Duke of Alencon, at the instigation of his mother, invites La Mole to his place - and lies in wait for him with several faithful people in the twilight of the corridor. The plan is unraveled by the King of Navarre, he warns La Mole of the danger and advises him to hide. Having entered into an agreement with de Mouy, La Mole is preparing to join the Huguenots, watching from a safe distance for his beloved, who every evening goes on a date with him "in Spanish" on the balcony of the palace.

Maitre Rene tells fortunes to the queen mother, predicting the imminent death of her son Karl - a violent death. Making some other predictions, Rene, among other things, tells Queen Catherine about fortune-telling on the subject of Marguerite at the request of La Mole. We must hurry to break all the knots: in Paris - Polish ambassadors who arrived for the coronation of the Duke of Anjou, she is obliged to ensure the future of her sons! At her request, Master René impregnates an old falconry manual with poison, which she instructs to hand over to the King of Navarre. But this book ends up in the hands of Charles IX. The terminally ill king arranges a falconry. De Mouy, La Mole and Coconnas are waiting for King Henry in the forest to escape to the Huguenot camp. This plan was thwarted by the Duke of Alençon, who was initiated into the conspiracy and at the decisive moment refused to keep Henry company.

La Mole and Coconnas in the fortress. King Charles also imprisons Henry there: this is the only way to save his life, in prison he is at least under guard. Interrogations of the captured conspirators begin. One of the evidence of La Mole's evil intentions is a wax doll in royal regalia. The letter "M" in place of the heart, pierced by a needle - means, of course, "death" (morte)! La Mole cannot dismiss this accusation: Queen Marguerite, his divine beloved, must remain above suspicion. Two friends are decapitated. Having received them from the hands of the executioner, Marguerite and Henriette irrigate them with tears ...

Close death hour and Charles IX. He finally realizes that his illness is the result of poisoning, that his mother poisoned him and that the poison was passed on to him by his younger brother. He calls to himself the kind Anrio - King of Navarre and announces the decision to declare him regent and heir to the throne until the return of the Duke of Anjou from Poland. If the Duke of Anjou begins to challenge the power of Henry, the latter will be able to present the Pope's letter of his rights (the letter is already on the way). The Duke of Alençon must be imprisoned in a fortress, the Queen Mother exiled to a monastery. The dying Karl declares his will to his mother and brother Francois. On the way to Paris, a detachment of Huguenots led by de Mouy. Everything suggests that Henry is the king of France! However, the train of the Duke of Anjou is ahead of the Huguenots: he was informed by his mother that his brother Charles was dying, and hurried, leaving Poland, to arrive at the Louvre to inherit the crown.

The Queen Mother rejoices: at least one of the gloomy prophecies of the master Rene did not come true! She makes a last attempt to eliminate Heinrich by dictating a letter to Morvel addressed to the Councilor of State de Sauve: his wife is in the Guiding Star Hotel in the company of a dandy from among his friends. What was allowed to Henry under King Charles is not allowed under King Henry III, the namesake and rival of the King of Navarre in the struggle for the throne. The calculation is simple: a jealous spouse will rush to the place of rendezvous - and the lover whom he endured for so many years will be killed! De Mouy and two of his officers stand guard at the door of the inn. Heinrich, warned of the danger, jumps from the window and breaks down. De Mouy pursues Morvel, who came with the guards to commemorate Monsieur de Sauve for the insulted honor, and kills him. Returning to the hotel, Heinrich sees the dying Charlotte: she was stabbed by the MRK who was walking behind Morvel.

Among those who arrived in time from the palace to the place of the atrocity is the master Rene. Heinrich, shocked by what happened, ready to leave Paris again, exclaims: "And you said that I would become king?! I am an unfortunate exile ?!" "No, sir, I'm not the one talking. She's the one!" - and Master Rene points to a star in the gap of black clouds, announcing the coming glorious King of France and the beautiful Queen Margaret, who does not love him, but is infinitely faithful to him ...

M. K. Pozdnyaev

(Le viconte de Bragelonne, ou Dix ans apres)

Roman (1850)

... May 1660. The beginning of the independent reign of the young Louis XIV. Living in exile incognito, the heir to the English throne, Charles II, meets with his cousin, the king of France, and asks him for support in restoring the throne. The powerful Cardinal Mazarin refuses Louis the financing of this plan. King Charles appeals for help to Count de La Fere - Athos, one of those who proved their loyalty to the executed Charles I, being by his side until the last minute, standing at the foot of his scaffold. Before his death, Charles I told Athos that a million gold was buried in the dungeon of Newcastle Castle - his son "for a rainy day"; these funds are just enough for the business now conceived by the heir to the British crown. Simultaneously with Athos, which he does not know about, the retired lieutenant d'Artagnan is sent to England. By confusing cards to each other, by common efforts they help Charles II ascend the throne. The king showers favors on the aging heroes.

Louis XIV urgently summons d'Artagnan to Paris. Shortly before that, Mazarin dies, having bequeathed to the king, in addition to a significant sum of money, his devoted secretary de Colbert, appointed by Louis to the post of intendant of finance - the third place in the state after the king himself, superintendent and royal prosecutor Fouquet. Colbert begins his service with the death penalty for the abuse of two friends of Fouquet and with a denunciation to the king that Fouquet is spending funds from the treasury, strengthening Belle-Ile, a fortress on the coast. War with England is not part of the king's calculations; therefore, this is an excessive waste! The King sends d'Artagnan to inspect Belle-Ile. To the astonishment of d'Artagnan, these works are led by Aramis (now Bishop of Vannes) and Porthos. Having sent Porthos with a letter to Fouquet, Aramis hurries after him. "I have no doubt that d'Artagnan was sent to Belle-Ile by the king," says Aramis Fouquet. "I have no doubt that these are the intrigues of Colbert." "What am I to say to the king?" Fouquet is confused. "Nothing. Give him Belle-Ile."

Fouquet follows the wise advice of his Eminence, in addition to donating more than one and a half million livres for the wedding of Prince Philippe, Duke of Orleans. In addition, Fouquet shows the king the fortification plans of Belle-Ile - the very ones that the brave d'Artagnan went to Brittany for. Arriving at the Louvre, he is stung: "My king does not trust me?" - "On the contrary. I appoint you the captain of the musketeers!" ...

The son of Athos, Viscount Raoul de Bragelon, in a retinue of courtiers, meets Princess Henriette, sister of the King of England and daughter-in-law of the King of France, in Le Havre. The coquettish princess inflames the flame of love in the hearts of the Duke of Buckingham and the Comte de Guiche accompanying her. Soon it ceases to be a secret for the court. If it is not difficult to remove Buckingham to England (the Queen Mother Anne of Austria asks him to do this by right of his late father's beloved), things are much more complicated with the subjects of Louis XIV. The Vicomte de Bragelonne involuntarily eavesdrops on de Guiche's conversation with the Viscount de Wardes, who speaks too frivolously not only about the princess, but also about d'Artagnan. "In the heart of Guiche, you inspire passion for the bride of his master," Raul remarks to de Vardo. "You want to set me against a close friend of my father." Buckingham will intervene in Raoul's quarrel with de Ward, leaving France, where duels are prohibited: he is at the service of de Ward! In a duel on the seashore, both are seriously wounded. Buckingham returns to London, de Wardes heals his wounds away from Paris, holding back his impatience to return there as soon as possible.

They inflicted another wound on Raul. Having offended the honor of d'Artagnan, de Wardes offended Raoul and Athos along the way: "No one knows from what parents the Viscount de Bragelonne, adopted by the Count de La Fere, was born. As for the Chevalier d'Artagnan, he once ruined one noble the lady my father loved." - "This lady, usually called Milady," replies the enraged Athos, "made an attempt on the life of d'Artagnan three times and put a knife in the hand of Buckingham's murderer! She was a criminal ..."

In addition to all these shocks, Raoul is upset that the king advised Athos to postpone the day of his wedding with Louise de La Vallière, the lady-in-waiting of Princess Henriette. Fatally, this decision coincides with the conversation between the king and the princess, complaining to His Majesty about a jealous spouse. To put an end to gossip, the king has only one means: to take the princess under his protection. Suddenly - as happens only among royalty - between him and his daughter-in-law, more than a kindred feeling flares up ... But even in this case, a decent cover is needed. It turns itself: let the court think that the king postponed the marriage of the Vicomte de Bragelon, having views of Louise.

De Bragelonne goes to Calais with letters to Charles II from his sister and Fouquet. Before leaving, at an audience with Princess Henrietta, he complains: for a month now, since the king has postponed his wedding, he is burning with love. "How? Already a month?" the princess is surprised. So the king lied to her! It means that he has been in love with her maid of honor for a month already! ..

Meanwhile, one favorable look from the young king was enough for a love to be born in Louise's soul, incomparable with the sympathy that she had hitherto experienced for her fiancé. She confesses to the king this feeling that has gripped her. The king is flattered and ready to reciprocate her. As luck would have it, it was at this moment that Aramis, wanting to strengthen Fouquet's influence on the king, gives him the idea of ​​writing a love letter to Louise and giving her a rich gift: in matters of politics, all means are good. "I want to see on the throne a king who will be devoted to Monsieur Fouquet, who in turn will be devoted to me. I have the power to carry out what has been said. As for your beloved, Mr. explain everything to her, and she will not doubt you ... "

Aramis really has power over money and position at court. D'Artagnan learns about his secret financial relationship with the commandant of the Bastille, Bezmo, that Bezmo was actually bought by Aramis, that the Bastille contains a certain mysterious prisoner named Marchiali, imprisoned by Cardinal Mazarin, who is much better, but also stricter than other prisoners. Who is he? And what connects him with Aramis? ..

In Fontainebleau, not far from the residence of the king, seven important people settle in a hotel - each with a retinue. Aramis and an old Franciscan friar are the last to stop at the Red Peacock. All these people, including the Bishop of Vannes, an ex-musketeer, are members of the Jesuit order. The monk is the general of the order, called upon to appoint, on the eve of death, his successor. Each of the candidates must tell him in private a secret on which not only the future of the Order, but also the fate of Europe depends. The choice falls on Aramis: he owns a truly great and terrible secret. D "Artagnan becomes a witness to the monk's funeral. The presence of Aramis at the burial inflames his curiosity even more ...

Aramis is annoyed. D'Artagnan intervened in his affairs in Belle-Isle, and now he also introduces to His Majesty the excellent engineer and cartographer Porthos, who, under the patronage of the captain of the musketeers, receives a high title! D'Artagnan, even for the Bishop of Vannes, manages to put in a good word to the king. "You will become a cardinal," Louis XIV promises Aramis. "And thank Mr. Fouquet for his diligence."

Aramis' plans change dramatically: Fouquet's letter to Louise de Lavalier must be returned. But Louise claims that she did not receive the letter. So the letter was stolen by someone? And for what purpose? Is there a new political intrigue behind this?

The duel of de Guiche with de Bard, who returned to Paris, adds fuel to the fire of the king's inflamed passion for Louise. De Wardes informed Raoul that His Majesty's radiant gaze was now turned not to the princess, but to her lady-in-waiting. Not only two ladies are offended, but also the young Viscount de Brazhelon. Opponents in a duel seriously wounded each other. The king learns that the duel happened because of Louise. This is a scandal! The queen mother, Princess Henrietta and the young queen are doubly outraged: "Madam de La Vallière must be removed away from the capital." The king takes the sweeping away of Louise for cooling:

"Does she still love de Bragelona?!" Louise flees the palace in desperation and hides in a Carmelite convent. D'Artagnan finds an opportunity to inform his master about this: subjects should not suffer because of the whims of their master. The King begs Louise for forgiveness. In the palace, in strict secrecy, chambers are arranged for secret meetings between Louis XIV and Madame de La Vallière.

De Bragelonne in London receives two letters at once. The first is from de Guiche: "I am wounded, sick, come back soon." The second is anonymous: "The castle of your love is under siege." In addition, Charles II was informed by his sister: "It is necessary to immediately send de Brazhelona to Paris."

De Guiche is trying to calm his friend: there are all sorts of gossip, but, believe me, in reality we are talking about innocent things. D'Artagnan, in response to de Bragelonne's inquiries about what was going on in Paris in his absence, is indignant: "Do you really want me to inspire you with disgust for your dear and teach you to curse women, which is the happiness of our life?" Louise's friend Ora Montale sends Raoul to their mistress, Princess Henriette, for all the information. The princess leads him to Louise's chambers and shows him a secret staircase, a trapdoor into his bride's bedroom, and a portrait of her commissioned by the king.

Raul intends to fight a duel with the Marquis of Saint-Aignan, who is involved in this story. Saint-Aignan, in fear, turns to the mercy of the king - His Majesty promises to settle everything easily. alas, everything is not so simple. Athos comes to the king: "Your honor is the honor of the nobility! Why did you have to remove the viscount to London?" - "You forget: in front of you is your king!" - "And you forget that building your happiness on someone else's, broken by you, is a mortal sin! .." Athos breaks his sword on his knee and lays it at the feet of the king, choking with anger and shame. Not two people - two eras of France collide sharply this evening at the Louvre ...

The Duchess de Chevreuse appears at the same hour to Aramis as a shadow of the past time. She saw Aramis at the funeral of a Franciscan friar, she is a secret agent of the Jesuit order, she returned to Paris to restore her squandered fortune. She has letters from Mazarin, from which it follows that Fouquet once borrowed thirteen million from the treasury (exactly the money that Colbert handed over to the king in the will of the cardinal; but only Fouquet knows about this - and he is not able to deflect the accusation). The Duchess offers Aramis to buy her letters - but receives a firm refusal.

Aramis hurries to inform Fouquet of this visit. Fouquet is crushed by the news of Aramis: it was precisely this morning that he managed to sell to the husband of his mistress, Mr. Vanel, one of the places he occupies at court, the most important in his present position, the position of prosecutor. Aramis and Fouquet beg Vanel to replay the case - he persists. They offer him twice as much. A speckled sheet of paper falls out of Vanel's wallet. This is a draft of his deal with Fouquet, written by Colbert's hand - Fouquet's death sentence and at the same time a decree on Colbert's occupation of the post No. 1 in France ...

The Duchess de Chevreuse visits Colbert, who buys Mazarin's letters from her, and then enters the Queen Mother's chambers. The Duchess is the keeper of her secret, the secret of the second heir to King Louis XIII, the second Dauphin, the twin brother of the current ruling Louis XIV - the unfortunate prisoner of the Bastille. "How can I pay for the years of your exile, your heartbreak?" - asks the weeping Anna of Austria. "Visit my estate. True, it has fallen into decay, funds are needed to restore it." "Don't worry about that..."

D'Artagnan puts an ultimatum before the king: either his resignation - or pardoning the impudent Athos and guaranteeing the immunity of Aramis and Porthos. Reluctantly, the king gives the floor to the captain of the musketeers. Athos retires. Raul, after a sincere conversation with Louise and her confession of eternal love for the king, goes on an African campaign.

The royal retinue visits Fouquet at his castle in Vaud. Aramis, using the services of the commandant of the Bastille, kidnaps a prisoner named Marchiali from prison, and in his place, with the help of Porthos, is the king of France, stolen from the chambers in the castle of Fouquet. Fouquet, initiated by Aramis into what he had done last night, exclaims: "That changes nothing! The king is made by the retinue! D'Artagnan already guesses everything! Run to Belle-Ile!" As soon as Aramis and Porthos leave the castle, Fouquet launches a frantic activity to free the king. The one who ruled France for less than a day is exiled forever to a prison on the island of St. Margaret.

Instead of thanking Fouquet for his deliverance, the king rages with an imaginary rival in love (the missing letter is to blame). Colbert portrays Fouquet in the eyes of the king as a vile embezzler. D'Artagnan is ordered to arrest Fouquet. He is forced to submit; but, learning that, in pursuance of another order, the musketeers staged a pogrom in the house of Fouquet, where the king was visiting, and thereby covered themselves with shame, exclaims: "Your Majesty has branded his faithful servants with dishonor!" Once again, he asks for his resignation, but in response he receives a new order from the king: to overtake the fugitives in Belle-Ile and take them into custody. "You curbed me, sir," d'Artagnan admits with a sigh. "Thus, you belittled me in my own eyes. But what to talk about it! My honor is a thing of the past. You are the master, I am your slave ..."

Everything comes to an end; he is also in the history of the three musketeers and d'Artagnan.

Porthos dies in Bel-Ile, crushed by the rubble of a cave into which he lured almost a hundred soldiers sent by the king, and blew up a powder store. Aramis managed to escape; a few years later he would return to his homeland from Spain under the name of Duke d'Alameza. Colbert, to whom Aramis presents his successor in the rank of general of the Jesuits, will become the first minister. Fouquet save life by replacing the scaffold with a link. Returned by the king from exile and de Guiche. Retired Athos at the hour of death is his son, ascending into the starry sky: that is, the news of the death of Raul in the war.

Louise will often come to the two tombs, crying about irrevocable happiness. D'Artagnan, who once met her in the family vault of La Ferov, will be killed on the battlefield by a cannonball on a campaign against Holland. The weakening hand of the hero for the first time will squeeze the marshal's baton, sent to him on the eve of the fight by de Colbert.

M. K. Pozdnyaev

(Chronique du renge de Charles IX)

Roman (1829)

1572 In France, religious wars between Catholics and Huguenots are in full swing. There is a fierce struggle for power in which the interests of the three main parties clash - the Protestants or Huguenots (led by the valiant Admiral Gaspard de Coligny after the death of the Prince of Condé), the royal party, the weakest of the three, and the ultra-royalist party of the Dukes of Guise. King Charles IX, following the principle of Louis XI "divide and rule", diligently incites enmity between the extreme parties. A large part of the nation is involuntarily drawn into it. Passions are heated, skirmishes on religious grounds constantly occur on the streets, in taverns, private houses, at court.

A young man from a poor noble family - his name is Bernard de Merge - goes to Paris to serve under Admiral Coligny. He also hopes to be presented to the court. His brother Georges lives in Paris. Bernard, like his father, is a staunch Protestant, and Georges is considered an apostate by the family because he converted to Catholicism. On the way, Bernard, because of his frivolity, loses his horse and all the money. But the first person he meets is his brother Georges, whom he once dearly loved and whom, even after his apostasy, he cannot consider an enemy. Georges and his friends invite Bernard to dine. At that moment, a masked stranger rides by on a mule. Georges informs his brother that this is Countess Diane de Turgis, one of the most beautiful ladies at court. Her blue eyes, beautiful black hair and snow-white skin amaze the imagination of a young provincial. Georges brings Bernard home and tells him that the reason for his defection was the misbehavior of the Prince of Condé, who brutally humiliated him. In general, he does not believe in anything, and Rabelais replaces the Bible for him. It's just that Catholicism is more convenient for him, because, observing external rites, you can not put your soul into religion. Admiral Coligny Bernard is favorably received thanks to his father's letter of recommendation, as well as the courage he himself showed - he does not hesitate to print the message brought to the admiral, which others consider poisoned, because it comes from the Guises, known for their deceit and hatred for Coligny.

Bernard becomes the admiral's cornet. The brothers go on a royal hunt, where Georges intends to introduce Bernard to court. The meeting is scheduled at the Madrid Castle. The center of attention of the courtiers is the beautiful Diana de Turgis. As she passes Bernard, she drops her glove. Roughly pushing Bernard away, she is picked up by an impudent admirer of Diana Komenge. They explain to Bernard that he must challenge the offender to a duel, which he does. During the hunt, Diana is left alone with Bernard and gives him a miraculous amulet. In a duel, the amulet saves Bernard's life - a deadly rapier glides over it and only slightly touches the young man. He kills Komenzhe with a blow from the Toledo dagger. The wounded Bernard is placed in a secluded house, where he is cared for by a healer who knows a lot about white magic. One night, the recovering Bernard accidentally sees a scene of witchcraft - Diana and the healer conjure secret powers to heal Bernard and bewitch him to Diana. However, the young man is already passionately in love. He faces severe punishment for killing in a duel. Georges is trying to obtain a pardon for Bernard, but Admiral Coligny, to whom he asks for intercession before the king, abruptly and humiliatingly refuses him. Georges is furious, but does not give vent to his feelings. Bernard is pardoned by the king at the request of the queen, or rather, Diane de Turgis.

After the duel, Bernard is noticed at court. He is shown signs of attention and slightly joked about his provincial naivety. Diana gives Bernard the key and makes an appointment. The King invites Georges to an audience. He shows Georges an arquebus and, as if by chance, invites him to take revenge on Admiral Coligny for the insult by killing him with a shot in the back. Georges resolutely refuses.

The king orders him to bring to Paris a light-horse detachment, which he commands, after a while. Returning home, Georges warns the admiral of the danger with an anonymous note, but Coligny ignores it. On August 22, he was wounded by a shot from an arquebus by Morvel, who was nicknamed for this "a murderer in the service of the king." Clouds are gathering in Paris, but the enamored Bernard does not notice anything around. Every night, Bernard and Diana meet in a secluded house. Diana leaves no hope of converting her lover to her faith, but she fails. After a shot at Coligny, skirmishes arise between young nobles - Protestants and Catholics. A brutal crowd of townspeople pounces on Bernard, and he is only miraculously saved from death.

On the evening of August 24, by order of the king, Georges brings his detachment to Paris. One of the most terrible pages in the history of France is approaching - St. Bartholomew's Night. Everything is ready for the action, which is known only to a narrow circle of initiates: the troops loyal to the king are pulled together, the militias are armed, the houses of the Huguenots are marked with white crosses. Morvel brings Georges an order, together with his detachment and militias, to exterminate the Protestants at night - the enemies of the king. Georges indignantly refuses, rips off the insignia and leaves the soldiers, who are embarrassed by the commander's act, but overpowered by the desire to rob the Huguenot houses.

Bernard goes on a date with Diana. Along the way, he meets a Catholic friend who strongly advises him to leave the city in a hurry. Diana begs Bernard to change his faith, otherwise he will die, like his like-minded people. Fires are already blazing in the city and the roar of a frenzied crowd is heard. Bernard is relentless. He is ready to die, but he cannot change himself. In the end, Diana says in despair that this way she loves him even more. George appears. He brings a child to Diana's house, which was given to him by a dying mother. Diana promises to take care of him.

The massacre continues night, day and several more days, from Paris it goes into the provinces. Murderers revel in the blood of dissenters, and Protestants, many of whom showed miracles of courage in war, die without a murmur without resisting. Charles IX himself "shoots at game" from his favorite long arquebus. Georges is imprisoned for disobedience to the king. Bernard waits a few days at Diana's house, and then goes to the fortress of Da Rochelle, the staunchest stronghold of the Huguenots in southern France. Together with the determined inhabitants of the city and the fugitives like him, he is going to sell his life dearly in the event of a siege of the fortress. The king is trying to persuade the rebellious city to peace and sends there a friend of Admiral Coligny, a brave Protestant warrior Lan. He leads the city's defenses to inspire the trust of the Larochelles, and finds himself between two fires. Bernard becomes his adjutant and does not spare himself in risky sorties against the Catholics who besieged the city. One of the attacks turns out to be fatal for him. With a group of soldiers, he ambushes a detachment of Catholics. When he orders the soldiers to shoot, the leader of the detachment is struck down with two bullets. Bernard recognizes him as Georges. Georges dies in La Rochelle. A Protestant priest and a Catholic monk dispute the right of the last communion, but Georges refuses it. Before his death, he utters bitter words: "I am not the first Frenchman who was killed by my brother ... I believe that not the last." And then, to console Bernard: "Madame de Turgy asked me to tell you that she still loves you." Bernard is inconsolable. After a while, La Rochelle leaves La Rochelle, the royal army lifts the siege, a peace is signed, and soon Charles IX dies. The author invites readers to decide for themselves what were the further fates of Bernard and the beautiful Diane de Turgy.

B. T. Danchenko

Novella (1845)

In the early autumn of 1830, an inquisitive scientist (Mérimo himself is guessed in him) hires a guide in Cordoba and goes in search of ancient Munda, where the last victorious Spanish battle of Julius Caesar took place. The midday heat makes him seek refuge in a shady gorge. But the place by the stream is already taken. Towards the narrator, a dexterous and strong fellow with a gloomy proud look and blond hair rises warily. The traveler disarms him with an offer to share a cigar and a meal with him, and then they continue on their way together, despite the guide's eloquent signs. They stop for the night in a remote vent. The companion puts a blunderbuss next to him and falls asleep with the sleep of the righteous, but the scientist cannot sleep. He leaves the house and sees a crouching guide who is going to warn the uhlan post that the robber José Navarro has stopped in the vent, for the capture of whom two hundred ducats are promised. The traveler warns the companion of danger. Now they are bound by the bonds of friendship.

The scientist continues his search in the library of the Dominican monastery in Cordoba. After sunset, he usually walks along the banks of Guadalquivir. One evening, on the embankment, a woman approaches him, dressed as a grisette, and with a bunch of jasmine in her hair. She is short, young, well built, and has huge, slanting eyes. The scientist is struck by her strange, wild beauty and especially her gaze, which is both sensual and wild. He treats her to cigarettes, finds out that her name is Carmen, that she is a gypsy and knows how to tell fortunes. He asks permission to take her home and show him his art. But fortune-telling is interrupted at the very beginning - the door swings open, and a man wrapped in a cloak bursts into the room with curses. The scientist recognizes him as his friend José. After a furious skirmish with Carmen in an unfamiliar language, Jose takes the guest out of the house and shows the way to the hotel. The scientist discovers that in the meantime, his golden watch with a fight, which Carmen liked so much, has disappeared from him. Disappointed and ashamed, the scientist leaves the city. A few months later, he again finds himself in Cordoba and learns that the robber José Navarro has been arrested and is awaiting execution in prison. The curiosity of the researcher of local customs prompts the scientist to visit the robber and listen to his confession.

José Aizarrabengoa tells him that he is a Basque, was born in Elizondo and belongs to an old noble family. After a bloody fight, he flees from his native land, joins the dragoon regiment, serves diligently and becomes a brigadier. But one day, to his misfortune, he was assigned to guard the Seville tobacco factory. That Friday, he sees Carmen for the first time - his love, torment and death. Together with other girls, she goes to work. She has an acacia flower in her mouth, and she walks with her hips moving like a young Cordoba mare. Two hours later, a squad is called in to stop a bloody quarrel at the factory. Jose must take to prison the instigator of the quarrel, Carmen, who mutilated the face of one of the workers with a knife. On the way, she tells Jose a touching story that she, too, is from the Basque country, all alone in Seville, she is being poisoned like a stranger, which is why she took up the knife. She lies, as she has lied all her life, but José believes her and helps her escape. For this, he was demoted and sent to prison for a month. There he receives a gift from Carmen - a loaf of bread with a file, a gold coin and two piastres. But Jose does not want to run - military honor keeps him. Now he serves as a simple soldier. One day he stands on the clock outside his colonel's house. A carriage arrives with gypsies invited to entertain the guests. Among them is Carmen. She appoints José a meeting, they spend together recklessly happy day and night. When parting, Carmen says: "We are quits. Farewell ... You know, son, I think I fell in love with you a little. But <...> a wolf and a dog cannot get along," José tries in vain to find Carmen. She only appears when the smugglers need to be led through the gap in the city wall, which is guarded by José.

So, for Carmen's promise to give him a night, he violates the military oath. He then kills the lieutenant, who is brought in by Carmen. He becomes a smuggler. For a while, he is almost happy, as Carmen is sometimes affectionate with him - until the day when Garcia Curve, a disgusting freak, appears in the smuggling squad. This is Carmen's husband, whom she finally manages to get out of prison. Jose and his "companions" are engaged in smuggling, robbing and sometimes killing travelers. Carmen serves as their liaison and gunner. Rare meetings bring short happiness and unbearable pain. One day, Carmen hints to Jose that during the next "case" it would be possible to substitute a crooked husband under enemy bullets. José prefers to kill his opponent in a fair fight and becomes Carmen's gypsy husband, but she is increasingly burdened by his obsessive love. He invites her to change her life, to leave for the New World. She makes fun of him: "We are not created to plant cabbage." After some time, José finds out that Carmen is infatuated with the matador Lucas. José is furiously jealous and again offers Carmen to go to America. She replies that she is fine in Spain, but she will not live with him anyway. José takes Carmen to a secluded gorge and asks again and again if she will follow him. “I can’t love you. I don’t want to live with you,” Carmen replies and rips off the ring he gave him. Enraged, José stabs her twice with a knife. He buries her in the forest - she always wanted to find eternal rest in the forest - and puts a ring and a small cross in the grave.

In the fourth and final chapter of the novel, the narrator enthusiastically shares with readers his observations on the customs and language of the Spanish gypsies. In the end, he cites a meaningful gypsy proverb: "A move is ordered into the tightly closed mouth of a fly,"

V. T. Danchenko

(Mysteres de Paris)

Roman (1842-1843)

Mid 30s. of the last century, the Parisian slums, where bandits and murderers do their dirty deeds, and honest poor people lead a severe struggle for existence.

Prince Rodolphe of Gerolstein, a thirty-seven-year-old handsome man with "big yellowish-brown eyes", who is fluent in fistfighting, arrives incognito in Paris with the goal of "rewarding good, chasing evil, comforting the afflicted, comprehending the ulcers of mankind in order to try to save at least a few souls from death" and thieves' slang.

In his youth, the heir to the Grand Dukes of Gerolstein committed a rash act - having learned that his beloved Sarah was expecting a child, he secretly married her. The old duke did not recognize this union, and Rodolphe dared to draw his sword against his father. The teacher of Rodolphe, the insidious Polidori, with the help of whom the marriage was concluded, told the angry father that the priest who performed the ceremony was not a priest, and therefore the marriage was invalid. He also showed the young prince Sarah's correspondence with her brother, from which he realized that Sarah did not love him, but only sought to achieve a high position. Since then, the prince has been filled with remorse and is trying to atone for his guilt. In addition, his life is overshadowed by indestructible grief - Sarah did not want to give him her daughter, who was born to her, and soon announced that the girl had died ...

Wishing to help the unfortunate Mrs. Georges find her son, kidnapped from her by her criminal husband, the prince, disguised as a craftsman, descends to the bottom of Paris. Here he meets an honest fellow, nicknamed the Knife Cutter, who served time for the murder of a sergeant. No matter how hard it was for the Bladesman, he never stole. But, while working in the slaughterhouse, he had become accustomed to the sight of blood, and when a sergeant treated him roughly in the army, in a fit of rage, he grabbed a knife and stabbed him. The ghost of the murdered man still torments the honest fellow. Admired by the fighting talents of Rodolphe, touched by his praise ("You retained courage and honor ..."), the Knifemaker voluntarily becomes Rodolphe's faithful dog, ready to follow the owner anywhere.

On the same evening, Rodolphe meets a charming girl, Lilia-Maria, nicknamed Pevunya. Not knowing her parents, she grew up in the care of a vixen nicknamed Sychikha, who tortured her, forced her to beg and steal. Lilia-Maria goes to prison and leaves when she is sixteen years old. Unable to find work, she accepts the invitation of Ogre's procuress and sets out on the path of vice.

Seeing how the girl suffers from her situation, Rodolphe buys her from the Ogre and takes her to the village, to the farm in Bouqueval, where he entrusts her to the care of Madame Georges.

Sarah wants to find her daughter or, if she died, marry her to any other girl of suitable age in order to soften the heart of Rodolphe and force him to marry her. Her searches lead her to Sychikha and her boyfriend, a murderer and robber nicknamed Literacy. With the help of the Knife Cutter, Rodolphe breaks Sarah's plan and implements his own - he invites the bandits to rob a rich and unguarded house. Of course, we are talking about one of the Parisian houses of Rodolphe, where the prince's people will wait in ambush for the villains. Not trusting Rodolphe, Sychikha and Gramotey lure him into the "Bleeding Heart" brothel and throw him into the basement with water, and they themselves go to rob the indicated house ahead of the agreed time. The knifemaker's devotion and ingenuity saves not only Rodolphe, but also his assistant and friend, Sir Walter Murph, who was attacked by Literate.

Rodolphe himself administers justice. He knows that Literate is the ex-husband of Madame Georges. This vicious man decided to take revenge on his virtuous wife: he kidnapped their son in order to raise a thief out of him. However, François Germain - that is the name of the young man - managed to escape, and now, as it was possible to find out the Literate, he lives on the Rue Temple. By order of Rodolphe, his black doctor David blinds Gramotey. Then the prince hands the wallet to the unfortunate man and releases it on all four sides.

The Prince wishes to reward the Bladesman and gives him a butcher's shop. There, the confused young man finds terrible memories of the murdered sergeant, and he refuses the gift. Then Rodolphe offers him a farm in Algeria, he agrees to accept it and leaves.

Disguised as a traveling salesman, Rodolphe comes to the house on the Rue Temple, enchants the fussy and good-natured porter, Madame Piplet, her shoemaker husband, and also a pretty and industrious seamstress named Laughtushka,

Mrs. Piple tells the imaginary salesman about the tenants of the house. Under the very roof, in horrendous poverty, lives the gem-cutter Morel and his unfortunate family, consisting of his wife, her crazy mother, five young children and an adult daughter, Louise. Louise lives as a servant of the notary Jacques Ferran, who is reputed to be a holy man, but in fact a vile lecher. Morel is in debt all around, they want to put him in a debtor's prison. Louise becomes a victim of harassment by a notary, she gives birth to a dead baby. Wanting to get rid of the girl, Ferrand accuses her of killing the child, and Louise is taken to prison. After paying off Morel's creditors, Rodolphe promises to deal with Louise's fate.

The unfortunate girl is also trying to help Francois Germain, who also serves at Ferrand. In the evening, he takes some coins from the notary's cash desk for Louise, in order to return them the next day from his own savings. His money was not needed, but when he returns it in the morning, the notary accuses him of embezzling a huge amount, and Germain is imprisoned.

Rodolphe learns about the fate of Germain from Laughter, to whom he writes a letter, where he explains what happened to him and asks the girl not to think badly of him. The honest grisette, who has always had friendly feelings for the young man, is shocked by what happened. Seeing her sincere grief, Rodolphe promises her to take care of Germain's case.

By order of Sarah, who was jealous of Lily-Maria for Rodolphe, the blind Literate and Sychiha kidnap Pevunya, and she again ends up in prison. Sarah goes to the notary Ferrand: once he was entrusted with the rent intended for Lily-Maria. Sarah accuses the notary of deliberately killing the girl and embezzling the money. The frightened Ferrand admits that the girl did not die, but was given to Sychikha to be raised. Sarah meets with Sychikha, takes her to her place and shows her a portrait of little Lily-Maria, in which she recognizes Pevunya. Writing down the story of the old vixen, Sarah turns her back on her, she stabs her with a stylet, takes the jewelry and leaves.

But the days of Sychikha are numbered. She goes to the "Bleeding Heart" brothel, where a blind Literate is sitting on a chain in the basement. The owl wants to hide the jewelry there and, as always, mock the blind man with impunity. The enraged Literate, having contrived, grabs the vile old woman and literally tears her to shreds.

Meanwhile, the notary, having achieved the release of Pevunya, sends his devoted maid, Mrs. Serafen, for the girl. This little respectable lady, who once gave Lilia-Maria to Sychikha, must assure the girl that she is taking her back to Bukeval, but in fact lure her to the river and drown her with the help of the Marsial family of river pirates. The old woman does not know that the owner ordered to drown her along with the girl.

The notary's plan was successful, but only halfway: the fallen woman Wolf, whom Singer, sitting with her in prison, managed to persuade to an honest life, pulls her out of the water. Lilia-Maria ends up in a hospital for the poor.

Rodolphe decides to put an end to Ferran's vileness by making him a victim of his own passions. To this end, with the help of Mrs. Piplet, he introduces into his house under the guise of a servant the Creole Cecily, the depraved wife of Dr. David, who, for this, arranges an escape from the Gerostein prison, where Rodolphe imprisoned her. Having inflamed the notary's lust, the girl lures his wallet with documents from him and runs away. From unsatisfied passion, Ferrand begins to have a fever, and he dies in terrible agony.

By the will of fate, Clemence, the young wife of one of the prince's friends, the Marquise d'Arville, initiates Rodolphe into the woeful secrets of her family life. It turns out that d'Harville suffers from hereditary epilepsy. Clemence found out about her husband's illness only after the wedding, and her life turned into a pitch hell. Rodolphe reflects bitterly on the imperfection of human laws, which cannot save the victim of deceit from "unnatural matrimony." Wishing to help a young woman, to whom he feels sincere sympathy, he invites her to do charity work and become his accomplice "in some mysterious intrigues of this kind."

Jealous of his wife, d'Harville overhears their conversation. He is convinced that Clemence's thoughts are pure, but she will never love him, because she cannot forgive him for not honestly confessing his illness to her before the wedding. Wanting to earn the forgiveness of his wife, he decides on a terrible identification of Singer. Writing down the story of the old vixen, Sarah turns her back on her, she stabs her with a stylet, takes the jewelry and leaves.

But the days of Sychikha are numbered. She goes to the "Bleeding Heart" brothel, where a blind Literate is sitting on a chain in the basement. The owl wants to hide the jewelry there and, as always, mock the blind man with impunity. The enraged Literate, having contrived, grabs the vile old woman and literally tears her to shreds.

Meanwhile, the notary, having achieved the release of Pevunya, sends his devoted servant, Madame Serafen, for the girl. This lady of little respect, who once gave Lilia-Maria to Sychikha, must assure the girl that she is taking her back to Bukeval, but in fact lure her to the river and with drown with the help of the Marsial family of river pirates. The old woman does not know that the owner ordered to drown her along with the girl.

The notary's plan was successful, but only halfway: the fallen woman Wolf, whom Singer, sitting with her in prison, managed to persuade to an honest life, pulls her out of the water. Lilia-Maria ends up in a hospital for the poor.

Rodolphe decides to put an end to Ferran's vileness by making him a victim of his own passions. To this end, with the help of Mrs. Piplet, he introduces into his house under the guise of a servant the Creole Cecily, the depraved wife of Dr. David, who, for this, arranges an escape from the Gerostein prison, where Rodolphe imprisoned her. Having inflamed the notary's lust, the girl lures his wallet with documents from him and runs away. From unsatisfied passion, Ferrand begins to have a fever, and he dies in terrible agony.

By the will of fate, Clemence, the young wife of one of the prince's friends, the Marquise d'Arville, initiates Rodolphe into the woeful secrets of her family life. It turns out that d'Harville suffers from hereditary epilepsy. Clemence found out about her husband's illness only after the wedding, and her life turned into a pitch hell. Rodolphe reflects bitterly on the imperfection of human laws, which cannot save the victim of deceit from "unnatural matrimony." Wishing to help a young woman, to whom he feels sincere sympathy, he invites her to do charity work and become his accomplice "in some mysterious intrigues of this kind."

Jealous of his wife, d'Harville overhears their conversation. He is convinced that Clemence's thoughts are pure, but she will never love him, because she cannot forgive him for not honestly confessing his illness to her before the wedding. Wanting to earn the forgiveness of his wife, he decides to take a terrible step - suicide and, calling his friends to witness, furnishes it as an accident.

Shocked by her husband's act, Clemence devotes herself to charity with even greater fervor. She goes to the women's prison, where she takes custody of Louise Morel, visits the infirmary, where she meets Pevunya, and from her story she understands that this is the same girl who disappeared from the Bukeval farm and whom Rodolphe is unsuccessfully looking for.

Francois Germain sits in a common cell among bandits and murderers. The villains, feeling the young man's instinctive disgust for them, decide to kill him, especially since many have nothing to lose - they are sentenced to death. Germain is constantly visited by Laughter; young people feel that they love each other. Now Germain is ready to kiss the whole world. But a conspiracy against him has already been drawn up, and only the intervention of the Bladesman saves the young man from reprisal.

The cutler, having reached Marseilles, realizes that he cannot leave Rodolphe. He returns to Paris, where the prince gives him a task - to go to prison and protect Germain there.

Dying Sarah calls Rodolphe and tells him that their daughter is alive: this is Lilia-Maria. Rodolphe, who considers the girl dead, curses Sarah for throwing the girl into the abyss of poverty and vice. He guesses that the notary Ferran was responsible for the fall of his daughter.

Inconsolable Rodolphe is about to leave Paris, staying in this city becomes unbearable for him. He even refuses to go to the wedding of Laughter and the son of Mrs. Georges, which should take place in Bukeval, although it was thanks to him that François Germain was acquitted and released from prison. The prince also generously favored the newlyweds.

Rodolphe doesn't even want to see Clemence d'Harville. She must understand that the death of her daughter is a fatal retribution and he must atone for his guilt alone!

Suddenly Madame d'Harville enters Rodolphe's office. She brought the recovered Pevunya to the prince. Upon learning that the girl is the daughter of the prince, Clemence falls to her knees and thanks God that it is she who has the good fortune to bring him good news: his daughter is alive!

Clemence brings Lily-Maria, and Rodolphe informs her that her father has been found. However, the girl is not happy - she does not know this man, does not know how he will react to her past. And Mr. Rodolphe did everything for her, did not disdain her when he found out how low she had fallen, and therefore she loves only Mr. Rodolphe. Unable to bear it, Rodolphe tearfully tells her that he is her father. From unexpected happiness, Lilia-Maria faints.

Rodolphe informs Sarah that their daughter is alive. For her sake, he is ready to marry Sarah legally. The priest called to the house performs the ceremony, the witnesses sign a contract declaring the birth of Lily-Mary legal. Repentant, Sarah dies without seeing her daughter.

On the day of the carnival, Rodolphe and his daughter leave Paris. The carriage is stopped by a crowd of raging mob, a dump begins at the door. One of the bandits brandishes a knife at the prince. But the blow falls in the chest to the Knife Cutter. Overwhelmed by anxious forebodings, the brave fellow again could not leave his beloved master and again saved him - now for the last time. Rodolphe and his daughter leave Paris forever.

In honor of his mother, Rodolphe names his daughter Amelia. He and his wife, the former Marquise d'Arville, do everything so that the girl can forget about her past. Princess Amelia is constantly involved in charity work, founding a shelter for poor girls, everyone loves and reveres her. Prince Heinrich, in love with her, awakening a reciprocal feeling in her heart, asks for her hand. However, the girl cannot forget the past, cannot forgive herself for her fall. She refuses the prince and goes to the monastery. There, she was unanimously elected abbess. Considering herself unworthy of such an honor, Amelia falls ill and quietly fades away. Rodolphe and Clemence weep at her grave.

E. V. Morozova

Roman (1832)

The action of the novel takes place in the era of the Restoration, a time when everyone still remembers both the events of the revolution and the reign of Napoleon. Three people are sitting in the living room of the Château de la Brie near Paris: the owner of the house, Colonel Delmare, once a gallant military man, and now "heavy and bald", his nineteen-year-old wife, a charming fragile Indiana Creole, and her distant relative Sir Ralph Brown, "a man in the full bloom of youth and vigor."

The servant reports that someone has climbed into the garden, and the colonel, grabbing a gun, runs away. Knowing her husband's stern disposition, Indiana is afraid that he would kill someone in the heat of the moment.

The Colonel is back. Behind him, the servants carry an insensible young man "with fine noble features." Blood is oozing from a wound on his arm. Justifying himself, the colonel claims that he fired only salt. Nun the Creole, Indiana's foster sister and maid, and her mistress fuss around the wounded man. The gardener reports that this "very handsome man" is Monsieur de Ramière, their new neighbour. Jealousy wakes up in the colonel.

Having regained consciousness, de Ramier explains his misdeed by the desire to penetrate the colonel's factory located next to the house and find out the secret of its prosperity, because his brother has the same enterprise in the south of France, but it only brings him losses. Delmare once already refused to talk on this topic with Ramier, so he, wanting to help his brother, dared to violate the borders of the colonel's possessions. M. Delmare is satisfied with his explanation.

The truth is that the "brilliant and witty", "endowed with various talents" Raymond de Ramier is in love with Nun, and the ardent Creole reciprocates. That evening they had an appointment in the Delmares garden.

The young man's feelings are so strong that he even thinks about going to a misalliance and legitimizing their relationship. However, his passion gradually fades away, he begins to be weary of Nun and hurries back to Paris. The inconsolable Creole writes him sincere but clumsy letters that only make her lover laugh.

Secular lion de Ramier meets Indiana in one of the Parisian salons. The young people reminisce about their first meeting at the Château de la Brie. Indiana is captivated by the charm of Raymond, love awakens in her soul. Married early to Mr. Delmare, "stupid, tactless and ill-mannered," the young Creole loves for the first time, because she feels exceptionally friendly feelings for her faithful friend Sir Ralph. Raymond is also captivated by the timid beauty.

The lovers explain. Indiana's love is pure and selfless; there is a fair amount of vanity and selfishness in Raymond's feelings. The situation of the young man is complicated by the presence of Nun, who, seeing him at Madame Delmare, decides that he came to the house for her sake.

Thinking that Raymond still loves her, Nun, in the absence of the owners, invites him to the castle of Delmares. Fearing that Indiana would not become aware of his affair with her maid, Raymond agrees to come to Nun, hoping that this meeting will be their last. During a wild night of love in Indiana's bedroom, a Creole confesses to her lover that she's expecting a baby. Raymond is horrified, he wants to send Nun away from Paris, but she does not agree.

Madame Delmare suddenly returns. Nun, unaware of Ramier's new passion, is about to confess everything to the hostess. Raymond forbids it. Finding the young man in his bedroom, Indiana decides that he entered here for her sake, and accuses Nun of complicity in the dishonest plans of the young man. However, the maid's behavior betrays the true reason for Raimon's appearance in the castle. His embarrassment confirms Indiana's suspicions, her feelings are hurt, and she drives him away. De Ramier wants to talk to Indiana, but the arrival of Sir Ralph forces him to leave the castle in a hurry. Nun realizes that she has nothing to hope for, and throws herself into the river.

Indiana still loves Raymond, but Nun's death, for which she rightly blames the young man, fills her with disgust for him. She refuses to see him. In an effort to regain the favor of Madame Delmare, Raymond resorts to the help of his mother. As neighbors, they pay a visit to the colonel together. As the mistress of the house, Indiana is forced to go out to the guests.

Having shown interest in the work of the factory and respectfully speaking of the overthrown Bonaparte, Ramier wins the sympathy of Mr. Delmare and the right to easily visit his house; he finds his way back to Indiana's heart and receives her forgiveness. Sophisticated in secular tricks, the Frenchwoman would not have succumbed so easily to his seductions, but the inexperienced Creole believes him. Indiana expects Raymond to love her "undividedly, irrevocably, unconditionally," ready for any sacrifice for her. Captured by the "irresistible charm" of a young woman, de Ramier promises everything that is required of him.

Raymond desires proof of Indiana's love. But all his attempts to spend the night with his beloved are unsuccessful due to the vigilance of Sir Ralph, who, as a relative and friend of the house, constantly takes care of Indiana. Sensing a rival in him, Raymond tries to humiliate him in Indiana's eyes. Instead of answering, she tells him the story of Sir Ralph Brown.

The childhood and youth of Ralph and Indiana were spent on the distant island of Bourbon, in the Caribbean. An unloved child in the family, Ralph became attached to little Indiana, raised and protected her. Then he left for Europe, where he married at the insistence of his relatives. But he did not find happiness in marriage, and when his wife and even earlier his son died, he returned to Indiana. By this time, she had already been married to Colonel Delmare. Sir Ralph bluntly asked Indiana's husband for permission to settle next to them and come to them as a relative. When things went badly for the colonel in the colonies and he and his wife went to Europe, Sir Ralph followed them. He has no relatives or friends, Indiana and her husband are all his society, all his affections. According to Madame Delmare, he is content with his present life beside her; he does not interfere in her relationship with her husband, and happiness and joy for him lie in peace and "the comforts of life."

Nevertheless, Raymond manages to plant a seed of distrust in Indiana's soul for the Childhood Friend. Sir Ralph, imperturbable in appearance, suffers deeply from Indiana's cooling towards him, but even more zealously protects her from the ardent de Ramière.

Raymond is fed up with a reclusive life and sublime love with no hope of rapprochement. He leaves for Paris. Indiana is desperate; in order to see her lover again, she is already ready to confess her love to her husband. But the colonel suddenly goes bankrupt and is forced to go to Paris. Then, having settled matters and sold the castle, he is going to leave for the island of Bourbon, where he has a house left.

Usually submissive Indiana flatly refuses to go with her husband. Failing to get her consent, the enraged colonel locks her in a room. Indiana gets out through the window and runs to her lover. She spends the whole night in his bedroom, and when Raymond returns in the morning, she tells him that she is ready to stay with him forever. "The time has come, and I want to receive a reward for my trust: tell me, do you accept my sacrifice?" she asks Ramier.

Frightened by such determination and wanting to get rid of his annoying beloved as soon as possible, Raymond, under the pretext of caring for her reputation, dissuades her from such a step. However, Indiana foresaw everything - the night she spent in the house of a young man had already compromised her in the eyes of the world and her husband. Raymond is furious: he is caught in the web of his own vows. Having lost power over himself, he tries to take over Indiana. Realizing that Ramier no longer loves her, she breaks out and leaves.

In desperation, Indiana wanders sadly along the river bank: she wants to follow the example of Nun. Sir Ralph, who has been looking for her since early morning, saves her from a fatal step and escorts her home. Instead of explaining, Indiana coldly declares to the indignant Delmare that she is ready to sail with him to the colony. Faithful Sir Ralph rides with the Dalmars.

With his worries, Sir Ralph does his best to brighten up Indiana's life on Bourbon Island. Suddenly, a young woman receives a letter from Raymond: he writes that he is unhappy without her. The smoldering fire of a former love flares up in Indiana's soul with renewed vigor.

Raymond's letter falls into Delmar's hands. Jealous husband beats up Indiana. Having learned about the monstrous cruelty of the colonel, the indignant Ralph wants to kill him, but Delmar suffers an apoplexy. Forgetting about hatred, Indiana takes care of her sick husband. But one night, taking her meager savings, she sails to France, to Raymond.

The political winds are changing and Ramier is on the brink of ruin. In order to improve things, he favorably marries the adopted daughter of a wealthy bourgeois who bought the Delmar estate.

Arriving in Bordeaux, Indiana falls ill with inflammation of the brain and, without documents, ends up in a hospital for the poor. A month later, without money and the most necessary, she finds herself on the street. Fortunately, the ship on which she arrived has not yet sailed back, and the honest captain returns her things and money left on board to her.

When she reaches Paris, she learns that Raymond bought the Château de la Brie that belonged to her husband, and decides that he did this in the hope of her return. However, when she arrives at the castle, she meets not only Raymond, but also his wife...

Out of her wits, Indiana returns to Paris and stays at a cheap hotel. Here she is found by Sir Ralph. Having discovered the disappearance of Indiana and knowing about Raymond's letter, he realized that she had fled to Europe to her lover. Sir Ralph informs Indiana that her husband died without regaining consciousness, she is free and can marry her chosen one. "Monsieur de Ramière is married!" Indiana yells back.

Indiana despises Ramier and is desperate and wants to die. Sir Ralph invites her to die together, having done it on their native island, in the gorge, where they played as children. Indiana agrees and they cross the ocean again. Along the way, Indiana begins to appreciate the courageous and noble character of Ralph, and the last memories of her blind love for Raymond are extinguished in her soul.

On Bourbon Island, Ralph and Indiana, preparing to end their lives, climb a picturesque mountain. Here Ralph, in a final rush, confesses that he has always loved Indiana. The young woman sees him for the first time so passionate and sublime. She realizes that she should have loved him, not Raymond. "Be my husband in heaven and on earth!" Indiana exclaims, kissing Ralph. He takes her in his arms and goes to the top.

A year later, wandering in the mountains of Bourbon Island, a young traveler unexpectedly comes across a hut; Sir Ralph and Indiana live in it. Happiness was given to them at the cost of many efforts, but now their days are "equally calm and beautiful." Their life flows without grief and without regrets, and they enjoy an unknown happiness, which they owe only to themselves.

E. V. Morozova

Roman (1842-1843)

The action takes place in 40-50 years. XNUMXth century Together with his heroine, the outstanding singer Consuelo, the reader from sunny Venice finds himself in the gloomy Bohemian forest, along the roads of the Czech Republic, Austria and Prussia.

Consuelo, the daughter of a gypsy who did not know her father, is naturally endowed with amazing musical abilities and has a wonderful voice. Hardworking and modest, she becomes a favorite student of the famous teacher-musician Porpora, who, having guessed her true talent, gives her lessons for free. The girl's mother is dead and she lives alone; she is guarded by the orphan boy Anzoletto, who also has a wonderful voice, but has neither the perseverance nor the diligence of Consuelo. Children love each other with pure, innocent love.

Having entered the time of youth, Anzoletto becomes a real handsome man, Consuelo, who was previously considered a plain woman, also became extraordinarily prettier. Andzoletto gets used to easy victories - both over women and in the musical field. His patron, Count Dzustinani, invites him to his theater. Andzoletto's singing was favorably received in the salons of Venice.

Almost simultaneously with Anzoletto, Consuelo makes her debut, after whose performance everyone understands that she has no equal either in skill or in voice. Consuelo is alien to vanity, while envy awakens in Andzoletto's soul.

Friendly feelings fed by Anzoletto to a childhood friend develop into passion. Consuelo agrees to become his wife, but Anzoletto does not want to think about legal marriage, trying to convince her lover that this will interfere with their artistic career. Consuelo agrees to wait. Her whole and clear nature is disgusted by lies and hypocrisy, while her friend has long been accustomed to cunning and dodging. And now, secretly from Consuelo, he started an affair with the prima donna, the mistress of Count Dzustinani Corilla. At the same time, he consoles himself with the fact that Count Zustinani liked Consuelo, which means that he will certainly make her his mistress. Therefore, he, Anzoletto, has the right to recapture his beloved from the count.

Corilla falls more and more in love with Andzoletto, arranges scenes of jealousy for him. Anzoletto is increasingly jealous of the success of Consuelo, accompanying her, wherever she performs - in the temple or on the stage of a comic opera. Count Dzustinani begs Consuelo to give him his love. Faced with the backstage life of the theater so alien to her, Consuelo is horrified and flees from Venice. On the recommendation of Porpora, she travels to the ancient castle of Giants, located on the border of the Czech Republic and Germany, in order to temporarily become a companion and music teacher of the young Baroness Amalia, the bride of the young Count Albert. Porpora himself is going to leave for Vienna after a while, where his beloved student will come to him later.

The Giant Castle belongs to the Rudolstadt family, of Czech origin, but for the sake of saving the heirs, they "Germanized" their surname during the Thirty Years' War. Since then, the Rudolstadts have been living on their estate, being an example of faithful Catholics and devoted servants of Maria Theresa.

The last representative of this noble and valiant family, young Albert, the only son of Count Christian, "reached the age of thirty, not knowing and not looking for any other honor and glory, except that which he possessed by birth and condition." To many, Albert's behavior seems strange: he surrounds himself with people from the common people, tries to distribute as much money as possible to the poor, he often has "seizures of deep sleep", he confuses years and decades, takes himself for his distant ancestor Podebrad. Every now and then, pictures from the history of the old Czech Republic appear before his eyes: battles of the Hussites, executions of Protestants, monks hanged on oak branches, the formidable one-eyed Zizka, avenging the desecrated honor of his sister Wanda ...

Count Christian and his sister, Cononess Wenceslas, want to marry Albert to his cousin Amalia, with whom he was friends in childhood. Arriving with her father at the castle, Amalia is bored, and Albert does not seem to notice her presence at all. Amalia happily meets her companion, although she is somewhat disappointed by her dull appearance.

Consuelo makes a huge impression on Albert. Rising from the table, this young aristocrat, dressed in all black, with carelessly hanging hair and a black beard on a tanned face, gives Consuelo a hand, which makes her dizzy, and Amalia, although she does not love the count, feels a pang of jealousy .

One day Count Albert disappears. Usually he is gone for several days, and when he returns, he behaves as if he was gone only for a few hours. However, this time his absence becomes prolonged, the family is in constant anxiety. Searches in the vicinity of the castle lead to nothing.

In the courtyard in front of Albert's windows, Consuelo notices a well with strangely muddy water. Watching him, she sees how Zdenko releases water from there and goes downstairs. Following him, the girl discovers an underground passage leading to caves under the mysterious Schrekenstein rock.

Consuelo descends into the well, and, wandering through the underground corridors, discovers Albert's hideout. The young count is dreaming - he either calls the girl the scolded sister of Zizka, or his mother Wanda ...

With his sonorous, expressive voice, Consuelo manages to bring him out of oblivion, and together they get upstairs. Consuelo asks Albert to promise her not to go into the caves without her.

From the shock experienced in Albert's underground possessions, the girl falls ill, and the young count, like an experienced nurse, takes care of her. When her health is no longer in danger, he confesses his love to her and asks her to become his wife. Consuelo is confused: her own heart is still a mystery to her. Count Christian joins his son's request.

Unexpectedly, Anzoletto appears in the castle; he pretends to be Consuelo's brother. After scandals in Venice, he manages to get letters of recommendation to Prague, Vienna and Dresden. Upon learning that Consuelo lives in Rudolstadt Castle, he decides to see her and recapture her from the young count, who, according to rumors, has made her his mistress. Anzoletto threatens to ruin Consuelo's reputation if she doesn't open her bedroom door for him at night.

The girl is in despair: she understands that she can no longer love Anzoletto, but she still does not feel love for Albert either. Then Consuelo writes to Count Christian that he is going to Vienna, to his teacher and adoptive father Porpora, in order to tell him about the Count's proposal and ask him for advice. Under cover of night, Consuelo flees the castle.

In the surrounding forest, she meets the young Joseph Haydn; he goes to the castle of the Giants to ask for the patronage of the famous Porporina, so that she intercedes for him before the maestro. Haydn feels in himself the vocation of a composer; his music teachers taught him everything they knew, and now he wants to learn from Porpora himself. Consuelo confesses that she is Porporina and invites the young man to travel together. For greater safety, she changes into a man's suit.

On the way, they fall into the clutches of the recruiters of the Prussian King Frederick, and only the courage of Baron Friedrich von Trenck saves them from the soldiers. Stopping for the night in the house of a kind canon who loves music, Consuelo is present at the birth of Corilla. The newborn Anzolin, whose father is Andzoletto, is thrown by the prima donna to the canon, and she rushes to Vienna in the hope of getting an engagement in the opera of Maria Theresa.

Having reached the Austrian capital, Consuelo finds Porpora's dwelling. Knowing the maestro's capricious temper, she advises Haydn to become a lackey to him so that he gets used to him and begins to teach him music himself. Young Joseph follows her advice.

Consuelo performs in the Viennese salons, she is successful. Porpora is proud of her student. However, rumors are gradually creeping around the city that Consuelo is Haydn's mistress, because they live under the same roof. Empress Maria Theresa, who considers herself a champion of morality and the family hearth, also asks about her relationship with Haydn during an audience. The girl answers modestly, but with dignity, thus causing irritation of the crowned person:

Maria Theresa loves to be asked humbly and agreed with her. Consuelo, having heard how the empress extols the morality of Corilla, finally loses respect for the sovereign of Austria. As a result, the engagement is given not to her, but to Corilla,

Porpora is distressed by Consuelo's failure. Having learned about the conspiracy of Haydn and Consuelo, as a result of which he began to give lessons to the beginning composer, he becomes furious. But the young man had already achieved his goal: he had learned everything he wanted from the maestro.

Consuelo begins to torment the question: why don't they answer her letters from the Giants' castle? Moreover, from her last letter it followed that she loved Albert and was increasingly inclined to marry him. True, this letter fell into the hands of Porpora, but he claims to have sent it.

Consuelo increasingly mentally turns to Albert. However, when Porpora informs her of an invitation to perform in Berlin, she happily accepts, deciding that returning to the stage will be the decisive test of her love. In addition, sometimes the thought flashes through her that, perhaps, Count Christian managed to persuade his son to refuse an unequal marriage with a singer.

Porpora and Consuelo set off. Arriving in Prague, they see Baron Friedrich von Rudolstadt, brother of Count Christian, on the bridge. He begs Consuelo to go with him to the castle: Count Albert is dying, and before his death he wants to marry her and leave her his fortune. The family implores Consuelo to grant Albert's last wish. Porpora is terribly dissatisfied, he wants his student to throw this count out of her head. But Consuelo is adamant: she is going to the castle.

Seeing Albert, Consuelo rushes to him: she feels that she loves. But it's too late: Albert has only minutes to live. Count Christian states that Porpora wrote to him that he would never consent to the marriage of Consuelo with Albert, and "his pupil herself refuses him." "Alas! This dealt the mortal blow to the young count," he adds.

Albert and Consuelo forgive the old maestro. The priest performs the ceremony. "Saved!" Albert exclaims and dies. But, standing near his coffin, Consuelo does not feel the breath of death. "No death, Albert! <...> my heart feels it, because now I love you more than ever," she whispers. The inconsolable relatives want to leave the girl in the castle, give her Albert's inheritance, but she refuses everything and leaves with Porpora.

In the last lines, the author says that the most patient can read the following novel about the further wanderings of Consuelo and what happened to Count Albert after his death.

E. V. Morozova

Roman (1841-1842)

The action takes place immediately after the establishment of the July Monarchy.

Nineteen-year-old Opac Dumonte, the son of a petty provincial official, having received the title of bachelor, comes to Paris. Parents deny themselves everything in order to provide their son with a decent content and give him the opportunity to break out into people.

Opac enters law school, quickly becomes disgusted with the law, but is not going to pursue another science, because he believes that only the profession of a lawyer is a reliable step on the path to fame. Opac is handsome, graceful and casual, but "his dress and manner are not always of impeccable taste." One of his acquaintances claims that he "poses even in front of the flies." Horace's character is a mixture of pretense and naturalness artfully combined, so that it is impossible to distinguish where one ends and the other begins.

Opac meets Theophile, a medical student, son of the Comte de Monde. Horace is flattered by his friendship with the young aristocrat, especially since Théophile often lends him money. However, he is disappointed that Théophile Eugenie's girlfriend is just a grisette. He is even more surprised at Theophile's friendship with the brawler student Jean Laravignier, the owner of a "hoarse voice, torn off in the first days of August 1830 by singing the Marseillaise", and with the son of a village shoemaker Paul Arsen. A talented artist, Paul is forced to leave painting and go to work as a garcon in a cafe to feed his family, which makes Opac despises him even more.

Paul has long, since childhood, been secretly in love with the beautiful Madame Poisson, the wife of the owner of the cafe, where Theophile and his friends often gather. But Madame Poisson is actually Marthe, a worker born in the same town, on the same street, as Paul Arcene. At one time, the salesman Poisson seduced her, took her to Paris, but did not marry her, which does not prevent him from being jealous and turning Martha's life into hell. Unable to stand it, she runs away from her hated lover, finds temporary shelter with Theophile and Eugenie, and then, settling in an apartment next to them, opens a sewing workshop with Eugenie. Marthe does not suspect that Paul, through Eugenie, secretly supports her with money so that she does not need anything.

Opac decides to become a writer. He has drafted several novels, a poem, a ballad, a vaudeville and even a political pamphlet. But writing is also work, and Opac just doesn't like to work. Broken by his failures, he reclines on Theophilus's balcony for days on end, smoking his pipe and dreaming of great love.

Gradually, Horace begins to "find charm in Martha's society" and one day declares his love for her. Upon learning of this, Eugenie, worried about her friend, offers Theophile to bring Horace into the light, "to distract him from love or to make sure of its strength."

Theophile brings Horace to the Countess de Chailly, an old friend of his father, where he shows himself to be an intelligent and original interlocutor, albeit unnecessarily passionate and noisy. The Countess's daughter-in-law, the Vicomtesse de Chailly, makes an indelible impression on Horace. Here is the woman whose love he had always dreamed of! But when Horace finds out that Arsen is in love with Martha, the passion for Martha flares up in him with renewed vigor. But at the same time, he was "ashamed of his love," since his rival is the son of a shoemaker. Marta is desperate because she loves Horace.

Eugenie is trying to prove to Horace that he is not ready for family life, but Horace is convinced that his feelings are so passionate and ardent that everyday little things cannot interfere with their happiness with Martha.

Tormented by groundless jealousy of Paul, Horace harasses Marta with unfair reproaches. Proving her love, Marta spends the night with Horace. Leaving him early in the morning, she is amazed to see Paul waiting for her. Without reproaching her for anything, he escorts her home. Martha realizes that Paul's love is purer and nobler than Horace's passion. But she cannot resist the feeling and chooses Horace.

Horace likes to dominate his beloved. He demands that Marthe drive away Paul Arsene, who, out of old friendship, sometimes comes to visit her. Martha begs Paul to disappear from her life, and the unfortunate lover submits. Having rented a room in a quarter remote from the house of Theophile and Eugenie, Horace takes Marta away, forbids her to work, sets her against her former friends.

Horace considers his beloved "as if through the prism of various female images known to him from the books he has read." Therefore, satiety with her love is inevitable for him, which happens when he is faced with everyday difficulties. He is besieged by creditors, he is in debt. Marta offers to start working, and to begin with, pawn her new shawl. Horace is outraged, but the next morning, hungry, he finds such a decision reasonable. The owner of the room, whom they owe for two months, makes a scandal with Horace. Laravinier appears at the noise from the neighboring apartment. He vouches for Horace to his master. Horace borrows money from Laravignère. Despite the fact that Martha takes work home, financial difficulties are increasing.

Horace continues to idle, feeling that "he has become even harder to work than before." Accusing the thrifty lover of "petty stinginess", he squanders both the money she has earned and the money sent by her parents. He is already "not averse to leaving Martha." She is even more affirmed in her love for him.

Laravinier takes an active part in the republican organization. Paul Arsene, who still loves Martha and consoles himself with the fact that he "has the courage to lay down his head in the name of the republic", also enters it, Horace also begins to believe in the success of the Laravignere movement. The role of the conspirator captures him entirely. He enjoys "worrying Martha" by hinting at the "dangers he will soon be exposed to". In the future republic, he sees himself as "a great orator or an influential publicist."

A cholera epidemic breaks out. Oras gets sick. Martha seeks out Theophilus and begs to save Horace. But the next day Horace recovers. And Theophile is already worried about Martha: he assumes that she is pregnant. Horace harasses Martha with reproaches, instills in her that he has an "irresistible disgust for babies." Martha disappears, writing to Horace that "he is not threatened by the boring cares and duties of a father."

Laravinier informs Horace about the start of the performance. At the same time, the father informs Horace that his mother is seriously ill. Relieved to find a good reason for leaving, Horace leaves for home.

Theophile is invited by the family doctor to the Countess de Chailly in her family castle. Upon learning of this, Horace, returning to Paris, stops by to visit a friend and falls under the spell of the viscountess. They become lovers. Horace thinks that he conquered the proud aristocrat with his mind and brilliant literary abilities. In fact, an experienced coquette plays with him like a cat with a mouse.

Horace soon begins to suffer because "his victory caused so little noise." He tells about his relationship with the viscountess Theophile and Eugenie, and several other acquaintances. The Viscountess breaks with him.

There is an uprising in Paris. June 5, 1832 Laravignère and Arcene fight on the barricade near the monastery of Saint-Merry. Ridged with bullets, Laravinier falls; Paul Arsene, all wounded, escapes persecution and accidentally ends up in the attic where Marta lives with her child. A young woman nurses him. After recovering, Paul stays with Martha to help her out of poverty. He gets a job as a prompter in the theater, where Marta sews costumes. After some time, Paul becomes an indispensable person in the theater - he draws magnificent scenery. Marta is unexpectedly given the lead role, and she is an extraordinary success. But she still remains a simple and noble woman. Field's devotion and love finally evoke a reciprocal feeling in her soul. Paul recognizes her child. The young couple visits Theophile and Eugenie, who have long considered both dead. The doctor and his girlfriend are sincerely happy about the success and happiness of their friends.

Horace, having received money from a rich friend, wins a huge amount and immediately begins to live in grand style. Careless generosity and "a dandy costume that wonderfully hides a plebeian origin" open the doors of secular salons for Horace. He writes and publishes a novel that has a "known success", signing it with the name du Monte. At the same time, it does not even occur to him to repay the debts.

Luck turns its back on Horace. He writes a second novel, but it turns out to be very mediocre. He fails to marry a rich widow. He gets into debt. Eventually his new socialite friends turn their backs on him. Horace learns that the viscountess, who has not forgiven him for talking about their connection, contributes in no small measure to his failures. Horace is ruined, he is defeated in the light. Having found shelter with Theophilus, he accidentally learns that Martha and Paul have finally found their happiness, and jealousy flares up in him: he is still convinced that Martha loves him alone.

Theophile, fearing for the happiness of the Arsene couple, invites Horace to go to Italy and supplies him with money. On the day of departure, Horace comes to Marta, throws himself at her feet and, after a passionate explanation, invites her to run away with him. Marta refuses and even convinces her that the child is not his, but Paul's. Horace draws a dagger and threatens to kill Marta, himself and the child. Swinging a dagger, he slightly wounds Martha, and then tries to stab himself. He is stopped by Laravinier, who miraculously survived during the uprising,

Fearing a murder charge, Horace flees Paris without taking any belongings or money. After some time, he sends Theophilus a letter of apology and a request to send a wallet and a suitcase.

In Italy, Horace did not succeed in anything. He writes a drama that gets booed in the theatre, gets hired as a caregiver for children but is quickly fired for trying to court their mother, writes a few failed novels and uninteresting articles. Finally, returning to his homeland, he completes his legal education and "diligently tries to create a clientele for himself" in his province.

E. V. Morozova

(La confession d'un enfant du siecle)

Roman (1836)

“In order to write the story of one’s life, one must first live this life, therefore I am not writing about myself” - these are the opening words of the author, who decided with his story to recover from the “monstrous moral disease”, the disease of the century that struck his contemporaries after the Revolution of 1793 and the defeat Napoleonic army in 1814. For the sons of the Empire and the grandchildren of the Revolution, the past disappeared, "there remained only the present, the spirit of the age, the angel of twilight - the gap between night and day." Faith in divine and human power disappeared, the life of society became colorless and insignificant, the greatest hypocrisy dominated morals, and young people, doomed to inactivity, idleness and boredom, were seized by disappointment and a sense of hopelessness. Desperation has been replaced by insensitivity.

This illness overtakes the author of the story and its protagonist, the true son of the century, the nineteen-year-old Octave de T., a young man proud and direct, full of bright hopes and heartfelt impulses. During a sumptuous dinner after the masquerade, bending down to pick up a fork under the table, he sees that the shoe of his beloved is resting on the shoe of one of his closest friends. Taking lawyer Dezhene as his seconds, Octave challenges his opponent to a duel, is slightly wounded, falls ill with a fever, and soon once again becomes convinced of the treachery of his beloved, who played false repentance in front of him.

Deprived of a position in society and having no definite occupation, but accustomed, however, to spending time in idleness and love interests, Octave is confused, does not know how to live on. On one of the gloomy autumn evenings, lawyer Dejeunet, a man who believes in nothing and is not afraid of anything, shares his life credo with him: “Love does not exist, perfection does not exist, take from love what a sober person takes from wine ... "

Having soon met one of the friends of his former lover, abandoned by his beloved, he sincerely sympathizes with her, but again encounters monstrous shamelessness when she tries to seduce him. “There is nothing true but debauchery, depravity and hypocrisy,” Octave is convinced, trying to completely change his lifestyle: go on country walks, hunt, fencing. But hopeless sadness does not leave him. He often spends nights under the windows of a former lover; having once met a drunk, he tries to satisfy his sadness with wine and, having gone to a tavern, he meets a street woman there. He is struck by the similarity of the latter with a former lover, and, having decorated his room as for a love date, Octave brings a prostitute there. “Here is human happiness, here is the corpse of love,” he thinks.

The next morning, Dejeune and his friends tell Octave that his lover had three lovers at the same time, which is known to all of Paris. She derisively tells outsiders that Octave still loves her and spends time at her door. So Dezhene tries to cure Octave of a love ailment. Insulted, Octave shows his friends a prostitute and promises them never to part with them again. From now on, he spends his life at masquerade balls, in revelry and gambling houses.

Hospitable Dezhene gathers young people in his country house, including Oktava. One night, a scantily clad woman enters Octave's room and hands him a note: "Octave from his friend Dejeune with the condition of repaying the same." Octave realizes that the lesson of a friend who sends him his mistress is to never fall in love.

Returning to Paris, Octave spends the winter in amusements and gains a reputation as an inveterate libertine, insensitive and callous. At this time, two women appear in his life. One of them is a poor young seamstress who soon leaves Octave. The other is the dancer of the Italian theater Marco, whom Octave meets at a ball and on the same evening reads a letter in her bedroom announcing the death of her mother.

Suddenly, the servant informs Octave that his own father is dying. Arriving in a village near Paris, where his father lived, Octave finds him dead. "Farewell, my son, I love you and I'm dying," Octave reads his father's last words in his diary. Octave settles in a village with a devoted servant Lariv. In a state of moral devastation and indifference to everything in the world, he gets acquainted with the papers of his father, "a true righteous man, a man without fear and reproach." Having learned from the diary the daily routine of his father, he is going to follow it to the smallest detail.

Once, on an evening walk, Octave meets a young, simply dressed woman. He learns from Lariv that this is Mrs. Pearson, the widow. In the village, her name is Brigid-Rosa. She lives with her aunt in a small house, leads a secluded life and is known for her charity work. Octave meets her on a farm where she takes care of a sick woman and escorts her home. Mrs. Pearson impresses with his education, intelligence and love of life. However, he also notices the seal of secret suffering on her face. For three months, Octave sees Mrs. Pearson every day, realizes that he loves her, but respect for her does not allow him to open up. Finding himself one night in Brigid's garden, he nevertheless confesses his love for her. The next day, Octave falls ill with a fever, receives a letter from Brigitte asking her not to see her again, and then learns that she has gone to relatives in the city of N. Having been ill for a whole week, Octave was about to fulfill Brigitte's demand, but soon goes straight to N. Meeting there with Brigitte, he again tells her about his love. Soon he manages to restore the former relations of good neighbors with her. But both feel that Octave's love stands between them.

The priest Mercanson appears at Octave's house with the news of Brigid's illness. In anxiety, Octave tries to get an answer as to the true reason for this visit and the apparently imaginary illness. It follows from Brigid's letter that she is afraid of gossip. Octave suffers deeply. During one of his rides together with Brigitte, he finally comes to a decisive explanation and receives a kiss in return.

Octave soon becomes Mrs. Pearson's lover, but a change takes place in his soul. He feels the symptoms of unhappiness, like sickness; remembering the suffering, the treachery of the former lover, the former depraved environment, his contempt for love and disappointment, he invents false reasons for jealousy. He is seized by a state of inactivity, he either poisons the happy moments of love with ironic jokes, or indulges in sincere repentance. Octave is in the grip of evil elements: insane jealousy, pouring out in reproaches and mockery, and an unbridled desire to make fun of all the most expensive. Brigitte does not reproach Octave for the suffering caused to her and tells him the story of her life. She was dishonored by her fiancé and then fled abroad with another woman. Brigitte swore from then on that her suffering should not be repeated, but she forgot about the oath when she met Octave.

In the village, gossip begins that Brigitte has ruined herself by linking her life with a cruel and dangerous person. They speak of her as a woman who has ceased to reckon with public opinion, who in the future expects a well-deserved punishment. Gossip is spread by the priest Mercanson. But Octave and Brigitte decide not to pay attention to the opinion of the world.

Brigid's aunt dies. Brigid burns an old wreath of roses kept in a small chapel. He symbolized Brigitte-Rose herself, who no longer exists. Octave again torments Brigitte with suspicions, she endures his contemptuous remarks and insults, alternating with frenzied raptures of love.

One day, Octave stumbles upon a notebook in her room with the inscription "My Will". Brigitte, without bitterness and anger, talks about the suffering suffered since the meeting with Octave, about the feeling of loneliness that does not leave her and the desire to commit suicide by taking poison. Octave decides to leave immediately: however, they travel together to say goodbye to the past forever.

Beloved come to Paris, dreaming of going on a long journey. At the thought of an imminent departure, their quarrels and sorrows cease. One day they are visited by a young man who brings Brigitte letters from the city of N. from the only surviving relatives. At a time when everything is ready to leave for Switzerland, Brigitte cries, but stubbornly remains silent. Octave is lost in conjectures about the reasons for the sudden change in her mood. In the theater, he accidentally meets a young man who brought letters to Brigitte, but he deliberately avoids talking. Brigitte reluctantly shows Octave one of the letters in which her relatives, who consider her forever disgraced, urge her to return home.

Octave is looking for the young man who delivered the letters to Brigid. His name is Smith, he is a musician who gave up his career and love marriage in order to support his mother and sister, holding a minor position. Octave is the same age as Smith, but there is a huge difference between them: the entire existence of the latter is calculated in accordance with the measured chime of the clock, and his thoughts are concern for the welfare of his neighbor. Smith becomes a frequent visitor to the house of Octave and Brigitte and promises to prevent her scandalous break with the ^ whiskers. Octave leaves painful suspicions. Nothing further delays his departure with Brigitte, but some perverse curiosity, a manifestation of a fatal instinct: he leaves Brigitte alone with Smith, guessing some secret. To get to know her, Octave conducts an experiment: he prepares the horses for departure and unexpectedly informs Brigitte about this. She agrees to go, but she cannot hide her anguish. Between them there is a stormy explanation. To the reproaches and suspicions of Octave, who wants to reveal her secret, Brigitte replies that she is ready to die rather than part with him, but is no longer able to endure the fury of the madman who is pushing her to the grave. Brigitte falls asleep in exhaustion, and Octave realizes that the evil he has caused is irreparable, that he should leave his beloved, give her peace.

At the bedside of the sleeping Brigid, Octave indulges in sad reflections: to do evil is the role assigned to him by providence. The idea of ​​suicide that arose was soon replaced by the thought that Brigitte would soon belong to someone else. Octave is already ready to kill Brigid, brings a knife to her chest, but he is stopped by a small ebony crucifix. Suddenly he feels deep repentance and mentally returns to God. “Lord, you were here. You saved the atheist from crime. Suffering also brings us to you, and only in the crown of thorns do we come to bow to your image,” Octave thinks. On Brigid's desk, he finds her farewell letter to Smith declaring her love. The next day, Octave and Brigitte say goodbye forever. Octave entrusts her to Smith and leaves Paris forever. Of the three people who suffered through his fault, only he remained unhappy.

O. A. Vasilyeva

(Le Capitaine Fracasse)

Roman (1863)

XVII century, the reign of Louis XIII. In Gascony, in a dilapidated castle, Baron de Signonac drags out a miserable existence, the last offspring of a once noble and powerful family, a young man of about twenty-five, "who would easily be considered handsome if he had not completely abandoned the desire to please." Together with him, his faithful servant Pierre, the cat Beelzebub, the dog Miro and the horse Bayard share his poverty.

On one of the rainy autumn evenings at the door of the castle, "this citadel of Lent" and "refuge of poverty", the actors of the traveling theater knock and ask for shelter. As is customary, each comedian has his own permanent role, which is why in life he often behaves in the same way as on stage. Blasius is a pedant everywhere and in everything; first lover Leander - handsome and fat; the roguish servant Scapen resembles a fox in manner; the boastful warrior Matamor, as it should be, "thin, bony and dry, like a hangman in summer"; flirtatious and proud Serafina plays the role of heroines; venerable aunt Leonard - "noble mother" and part-time duenna; Irresistible for men, coquettish soubrette Zerbina "as if made of dough, flavored with salt, pepper and spices"; shy and charming young Isabella plays the role of simpletons and, unlike her friends, does not try to attract attention to herself. Isabella "did not blind - she captivated, which, of course, is more valuable." The head of the troupe is the Tyrant, a big good-natured man, endowed by nature with "all the outward signs of ferocity", which is why he is destined to play Herods and other formidable kings.

With the arrival of this colorful company, the castle comes to life: firewood crackles in the fireplace, food appears on the table. For the first time in a long time, the young baron feels happy. Listening to the chatter of the actors, he constantly casts glances in the direction of Isabella: the baron fell in love ...

In the morning the comedians are going to go. Isabella, whose soul has also awakened tender feelings for Signonac, invites him to go with them - in search of glory and adventure. The enamored knight happily leaves the dull walls of the family nest and follows his beautiful lady in Thespida's wagon.

At a roadside tavern, the actors meet Signonac's neighbor, the Marquis de Bruyère. The Marquis recognizes the baron, but, realizing that he ended up in the troupe because of his love for Isabella, he lets him know that he is not going to reveal his incognito. Moreover, the marquis himself is captivated by the coquettish soubrette and, wishing to continue the love affair, invites the troupe to give a performance in his castle.

On the way to the marquis, the actors are attacked by the former leader of the gang, and now the lonely bandit Agosten, who is helped by the little thief and robber Chiquita. To intimidate those passing by, Agosten places the corpses of his former associates along the road, arming them with muskets. However, the brave Signac is not afraid of any villains, he easily disarms Agosten and reveals his deceit. Having appreciated the fiction, the actors reward the resourceful bandit with a pair of pistoles, and Isabella gives Chiquita her pearl necklace, thus earning the touching gratitude of the little thief: the girl promises never to kill her.

Played by the Tyrant's troupe in the castle of Bruyère, the play is a huge success. The marquis falls head over heels in love with a charming soubrette, and Leandre manages to win the heart of the beautiful marquise de Bruyère. However, alas! - his ardent letter to the marquise is intercepted by her husband, and he orders the servants to beat the poor histrion with sticks. The Marquis de Bruyère reserves the right to change the marital debt exclusively to himself.

Having fairly replenished their treasury, the actors leave the castle. Leander rubs his bruised sides. On the way, their wagon is overtaken by a rich cart, decorated with the arms of the Marquis de Bruyère. Servants in the livery of the marquis take away the pretty soubrette - of course, with her full consent - to an ardent admirer.

On the way, Isabella tells Signagnac the sad story of her life. Her mother, an actress who played queens in tragedies, was not only very pretty, but also proud and always rebuffed annoying suitors. Only once her heart trembled, and she yielded to a powerful and noble nobleman. The fruit of this love was Isabella. State interests did not allow the nobleman to marry an actress. Isabella's mother, not wanting to owe anything to her treacherous lover, fled with her little daughter and continued to play on stage. Soon she died - withered from longing, and little Isabella remained in the troupe of the Tyrant, where she was raised. She does not know her father's name; only a ring with the family coat of arms has been preserved from him.

On the way, the actors are caught by a snowstorm, during which Matamore dies. The troupe is in despair - without a comic captain it is impossible to play a single piece from their repertoire! Wanting to thank his new friends, Sigonyak decides to take the place of Matamora on the stage. He declares that he is throwing off his baronial title, "hides it in his hair like an unnecessary dress" and takes on the name Captain Fracasse!

On the farm of the actor Bellombra, Signonac makes a successful debut as Fracasse in front of the peasants. But a severe test awaits him ahead: in Poitiers he will have to go on stage in front of a noble audience, that is, grimacing, playing a coward and fanfare, enduring blows from a foppish Leander with a stick in front of his equals by birth. To overcome his shame, Signonac puts on a cardboard mask with a red nose, which is quite suitable for his image.

The tender participation of the beautiful Isabella helps Signonac to play his role brilliantly. The play is a wild success. Moreover, Zerbina returns to the troupe, who is bored with the role of a mistress. However, the Marquis follows her: he cannot deny himself the pleasure of seeing his eccentric beloved on stage.

The modest Isabella suddenly has a noble admirer - the young Duke de Vallombreze, an arrogant handsome man, spoiled by easy victories over women, was inflamed with passion for her. Having received a well-deserved rebuff, the duke becomes furious. Penetrating into the dressing room, he casually wants to stick a fly on the chest of a young actress. Signac's iron hand stops the impudent one. Without removing his mask, the baron challenges the duke to a duel.

The duke does not believe that a nobleman is hiding under the guise of Fracasse, and sends the bullies in his service to beat off the impudent comedian. But Signonac, along with fellow actors, disperse the duke's servants. And in the morning, the Marquis de Bruyère comes to the Duke and brings him a challenge from the Baron de Signonac. The marquis confirms the nobility of the baron's family and hints that it was because of Isabella that the young man joined the wandering actors. Vallombrez accepts the challenge.

Signagnac, whose teacher was only the faithful Pierre, who once worked as a fencing teacher, without knowing it, studied the noble art of owning a sword to the subtlety. He easily defeats the duke - he wounds him in the arm, thereby depriving him of the opportunity to continue the fight.

Upon learning of the duel, Isabella is frightened and moved at the same time - because of her, the noble Signonac risked his life! There is an explanation of the lovers. The Baron offers Isabella his hand and heart. But she rejects him: a rootless actress has no right to the nobleman's hand, and honor does not allow her to become his mistress. Like his beloved, Signagnac is both desperate and delighted, but he has no choice but to continue to follow the troupe, protecting Isabella from the machinations of Vallombrez.

In an effort to hide from the persecution of the duke, the actors go to Paris, hoping to get lost in its crowd. But a vengeful nobleman is watching them. In Paris, he hires a first-class swordsman and breter, Jacquemain Lampourd, to kill Signonac. However, the baron wields a sword better than a hired killer and disarms him. Lampurd, admiring the young man's swordsmanship, swears eternal devotion to him. The honest bully even promises to return to the customer the money paid to him for the murder of Signonac.

Vallombrez tries to steal Isabella from the hotel where the actors are staying, but he fails. The enraged duke goes to the trick. He sends his servant to the Tyrant, and on behalf of a certain count, he invites actors to a castle near Paris, promising to pay well. As soon as the van leaves the city, Isabella is kidnapped by the duke's servants: they attack her when she, together with Signonac, slowly follows the wagon. To prevent Signonac from repulsing the girl, they throw a wide cloak over him with lead sewn into the edges, in which he gets tangled, as if in a net. When the baron manages to free himself, the kidnappers are already far away. Actors understand that they were deceived. Signonac vows to kill the duke.

The kidnappers bring Isabella to Vallombreza Castle. In it, the girl discovers Chiquita: a little thief accompanies Agosten, who was hired along with other breters to guard the castle. Isabella asks the girl to tell Signac where she is.

The Duke de Vallombrez tries to take possession of Isabella, but Signonac and his actor friends thwart his plans. A fierce duel begins between Signonac and Vallombrez, and the baron mortally wounds his opponent. Suddenly, the Duke's father appears - the majestic Prince de Vallombrez. Having learned about the dishonorable act of his son, he came to punish the guilty and restore justice. Noticing on Isabella's hand the ring inherited from her mother, he recognizes it and understands that the girl abducted by his son is his daughter.

The actors leave the castle with Signagnac. The prince keeps his newfound daughter with him. The Duke of Vallombrese, who turned out to be Isabella's brother, is dying.

Signagniac, who no longer retains in the troupe of wandering comedians, leaves them and, mourning his love, returns to his native castle, intending to spend the rest of his days in its dull walls.

Through the efforts of doctors and the cares of Isabella, the Duke recovers. Wanting to atone for his sister, he goes to Signonac in order to make peace with him and offer him the hand of Isabella, whom Prince de Vallombrez recognized as his daughter.

Isabella marries Signonac. She takes her actor friends to their service, as well as Chiquita, who has lost her patron: the bandit Agosten was sentenced to be wheeled, and the little thief, saving her friend from a shameful execution, stabbed him with her dagger.

So, the baron's dreams came true: the family castle was restored, the coat of arms of Signac sparkled - three storks on an azure field, the faithful Bayard and Miro found a warm stall, and Pierre - a rich livery. True, Beelzebub dies, but through his death, Signonyak becomes rich - having gone to bury the cat, he finds a treasure.

The lovers united, the abode of sorrow became the abode of happiness. "Verily, fate knows what it does!"

B. V. Morozova

(Madame Bovary. Meurs de province)

Roman (1857)

The young physician Charles Bovary first saw Emma Rouault when he was called to the farm of her father, who had broken his leg. Emma wore a blue woolen dress with three frills. Her hair was black, neatly combed in the front in a straight parting, her cheeks were rosy, the look of her big black eyes was straight and open. Charles by this time was already married to an ugly and quarrelsome widow, whom his mother betrothed to him because of a dowry. Papa Rouault's fracture was mild, but Charles continued to go to the farm. The jealous wife found out that Mademoiselle Rouault studied at the Ursuline convent, that she "dances, knows geography, draws, embroiders and strums the piano. No, that's too much!" She harassed her husband with reproaches.

However, Charles's wife soon died unexpectedly. And after a while he married Emma. The mother-in-law reacted coldly to the new daughter-in-law. Emma became Madame Bovary and moved into the house of Charles in the town of Toast. She turned out to be an excellent hostess. Charles idolized his wife. "The whole world was closed for him within the silky girth of her dresses." When, after work, he sat at the threshold of the house in shoes embroidered by Emma, ​​he felt at the height of bliss.

Emma, ​​unlike him, was full of confusion. Before the wedding, she believed that "that wondrous feeling that she still imagined in the form of a bird of paradise <...> finally flew to her," but happiness did not come, and she decided that she was mistaken. In the monastery, she became addicted to reading novels, she wanted, like her favorite heroines, to live in an old castle and wait for a faithful knight. She grew up with a dream of strong and beautiful passions, and the reality in the outback was so prosaic! Charles was devoted to her, kind and hardworking, but there was not even a hint of heroism in him. His speech "was flat, like a panel, along which other people's thoughts in their everyday clothes stretched in a string <...> He taught nothing, knew nothing, did not desire anything."

One day something unusual invaded her life. Bovary received an invitation to a ball in the family castle of the Marquis, to whom Charles successfully removed an abscess in his throat. Magnificent halls, distinguished guests, exquisite dishes, the smell of flowers, fine linen and truffles - in this atmosphere Emma experienced acute bliss. She was especially aroused by the fact that in the midst of the secular crowd she distinguished the currents of forbidden relationships and reprehensible pleasures. She waltzed with a real viscount, who then left for Paris itself! Her satin shoes, after dancing, had turned yellow from the waxed parquet. “The same thing happened to her heart as to the shoes: something indelible remained from touching with luxury on it ...” No matter how Emma hoped for a new invitation, it did not follow. Now life in Toast was completely disgusting to her. "The future seemed to her a dark corridor, resting against a tightly locked door." Anguish took the form of an illness, Emma was tormented by attacks of suffocation, palpitations, she developed a dry cough, apathy was replaced by agitation. Alarmed, Charles explained her condition by the climate and began to look for a new place.

In the spring, the Bovarys moved to the town of Yonville near Rouen. Emma was already pregnant by then.

It was a region where "the speech is devoid of character, and the landscape is devoid of originality." At the same hour, the wretched stagecoach "Swallow" stopped in the central square, and its coachman handed out bundles of purchases to the residents. At the same time, the whole city was making jam, stocking up for a year ahead. Everyone knew everything and gossiped about everything and everyone. Bovary were introduced into the local society. He included the pharmacist Mr. Ome, whose face "expressed nothing but narcissism", the cloth merchant Mr. Leray, as well as a priest, a policeman, an innkeeper, a notary, and several other persons. Against this background, twenty-year-old assistant notary Leon Dupuy stood out - blond, with curled eyelashes, timid and shy. He loved to read, painted watercolors and strummed the piano with one finger. Emma Bovary struck his imagination. From the first conversation they felt in each other a kindred spirit. Both loved to talk about the sublime and suffered from loneliness and boredom.

Emma wanted a son, but a girl was born. She called her Bertha, the name she had heard at the Marquis's ball. The girl was found a nurse. Life went on. Papa Rouault sent them a turkey in the spring. Sometimes the mother-in-law visited, reproaching the daughter-in-law for extravagance. Only the company of Leon, whom Emma often met at parties at the pharmacist, brightened up her loneliness. The young man was already passionately in love with her, but did not know how to explain himself. "Emma seemed to him so virtuous, so impregnable, that he no longer had even a glimmer of hope." He did not suspect that Emma, ​​in her heart, also passionately dreamed of him. Finally, the assistant notary went to Paris to continue his education. After his departure, Emma fell into black melancholy and despair. She was torn apart by bitterness and regret about the failed happiness. In order to somehow unwind, she bought new clothes in Leray's shop. She had used his services before. Leray was a clever, flattering and feline cunning person. He had long guessed Emma's passion for beautiful things and willingly offered her purchases on credit, sending either cuts, then lace, then carpets, then scarves. Gradually, Emma found herself in considerable debt with the shopkeeper, which her husband did not suspect.

One day, the landowner Rodolphe Boulanger came to see Charles. He himself was healthy as an ox, and he brought his servant for examination. Emma immediately liked him. Unlike the timid Leon, the thirty-four-year-old bachelor Rodolphe was experienced in dealing with women and self-confident. He found his way to Emma's heart with vague complaints of loneliness and misunderstanding. After a while, she became his mistress. It happened on horseback, which Rodolphe suggested - as a means to improve Madame Bovary's failing health. Emma gave herself to Rodolphe in the forest hut, limply, "hiding her face, all in tears." However, then passion flared up in her, and intoxicatingly bold dates became the meaning of her life. She attributed to the tanned, strong Rodolphe the heroic features of her imaginary ideal. She demanded from him oaths of eternal love and self-sacrifice. Her feelings needed a romantic frame. She filled the wing where they met at night with vases of flowers. She made expensive gifts to Rodolphe, which she bought everything from the same Lera secretly from her husband.

The more Emma became attached, the more Rodolphe cooled towards her. She touched him, the anemone, with her purity and innocence. But most of all he valued his own peace. The connection with Emma could damage his reputation. And she acted too recklessly. And Rodolphe increasingly made comments to her about this. He once missed three dates in a row. Emma's pride was hurt. “She even thought: why does she hate Charles so much and isn’t it better to try to love him anyway? But Charles did not appreciate this return of the former feeling, her sacrificial impulse was broken, this plunged her into complete confusion, and then the pharmacist turned up and accidentally added fuel to the fire."

The apothecary Ome was listed in Yonville as a champion of progress. He followed the new trends and even published in the newspaper "Rouen light". This time he was seized by the idea of ​​performing a newfangled operation in Yonville, which he read about in a laudatory article. With this idea, Aumé turned on Charles, persuading him and Emma that they did not risk anything. They also chose a victim - a groom who had a congenital curvature of the foot. A whole conspiracy formed around the unfortunate, and in the end he surrendered. After the operation, an excited Emma met Charles on the threshold and threw herself on his neck. In the evening, the couple were busy making plans. And five days later the groom began to die. He got gangrene. I had to urgently call a "local celebrity" - a doctor who called everyone dumbasses and cut off the sick leg to the knee. Charles was in despair, and Emma burned with shame. The heart-rending cries of the poor groom were heard by the whole city. She was once again convinced that her husband was mediocrity and insignificance. That evening she met with Rodolphe, "and from a hot kiss, all their annoyance melted like a snowball."

She began to dream of leaving forever with Rodolphe, and finally started talking about it seriously - after a quarrel with her mother-in-law, who came to visit. She so insisted, so pleaded, that Rodolphe retreated and gave his word to fulfill her request. A plan was made. Emma was getting ready to run away. She secretly ordered a raincoat, suitcases and various little things for the journey from Lera. But a blow awaited her: on the eve of her departure, Rodolphe changed his mind about taking on such a burden. He was determined to break with Emma and sent her a farewell letter in a basket of apricots. In it, he also announced that he was leaving for a while.

... For forty-three days, Charles did not leave Emma, ​​who had inflammation of the brain. It only got better in the spring. Now Emma was indifferent to everything in the world. She became interested in charity work and turned to God. Nothing seemed to revive her. At that time, the famous tenor was touring in Rouen. And Charles, on the advice of the pharmacist, decided to take his wife to the theater.

Emma listened to the opera "Lucia de Lamermour", forgetting everything. The experiences of the heroine seemed to her similar to her torments. She remembered her own wedding. “Oh, if at that time, when her beauty had not yet lost its original freshness, when the dirt of married life had not yet stuck to her, when she had not yet been disappointed in forbidden love, someone would give her his big, faithful heart, then virtue, tenderness, desire and a sense of duty would merge in her together and from the height of such happiness she would no longer fall <...>. And during the intermission, an unexpected meeting with Leon awaited her. Now he practiced in Rouen. They had not seen each other for three years and forgot each other. Leon was no longer the former timid young man. "He decided it was time to get along with this woman," convinced Madame Bovary to stay one more day to listen to Lagardie again. Charles supported him warmly and left for Yonville alone.

... Again Emma was loved, again she mercilessly deceived her husband and littered with money. Every Thursday she went to Rouen, where she allegedly took music lessons, and she herself met with Leon at the hotel. Now she acted like a sophisticated woman, and Leon was entirely in her power. Meanwhile, the cunning Leray began to persistently remind about debts. Signed bills accumulated a huge amount. Bovary was threatened with an inventory of property. The horror of such an outcome was unimaginable. Emma rushed to Leon, but her lover was cowardly and cowardly. It already scared him enough that Emma came to his office too often. And he didn't help her. Neither the notary, nor the tax inspector, she also did not find sympathy. Then it dawned on her - Rodolphe! After all, he returned to his estate long ago. And he is rich. But her former hero, at first pleasantly surprised by her appearance, coldly declared: "I don't have that kind of money, ma'am."

Emma left him, feeling like she was going crazy. With difficulty, she made her way to the pharmacy, crept upstairs, where poisons were stored, found a jar of arsenic and immediately swallowed the powder ...

She died a few days later in terrible agony. Charles could not believe in her death. He was completely broke and heartbroken. The final blow was for him that he found the letters of Rodolphe and Leon. Downcast, overgrown, untidy, he wandered along the paths and wept uncontrollably. Soon he, too, died, right on the bench in the garden, clutching a lock of Emma's hair in his hand. Little Berta was taken in by Charles's mother, and after her death, by an elderly aunt. Papa Rouault was paralyzed. Berta had no money left, and she was forced to go to a spinning mill.

Leon soon after the death of Emma successfully married. Leray opened a new store. The pharmacist received the Order of the Legion of Honor, which he had long dreamed of. All of them have been very successful.

V. A. Sagalova

Roman (1862)

Yearning for strong and severe passions, which he did not find in the reality around him, Flaubert turned to deep history. He settled his heroes in the III century. BC e. and chose a real episode - when the famous Carthaginian commander Hamilcar Barca suppressed an uprising of mercenary troops with unprecedented cruelty.

It began with the fact that the Council of Carthage, devastated by the Punic War, could not pay salaries to hired soldiers on time and tried to belittle their anger with plentiful refreshments. The gardens surrounding the luxurious palace of Hamilcar became the place of the feast. Exhausted, weary warriors, many of whom were wounded or mutilated, flocked to the place of the feast. These "were people of different nations - Ligurians, Lusitanians, Balearics, Negroes and fugitives from Rome ... The Greek could be distinguished by a thin camp, the Egyptian - by high stooped shoulders, the cantabra - by thick calves ...". The Council's calculation turned out to be wrong. Under the influence of wine vapors, the anger of the deceived warriors, with the help of which Hamilcar won victories in his recent campaigns, only intensified. They demanded more and more - meat, wine, gold, women,

Suddenly, from the Carthaginian prison came the plaintive singing of the slaves imprisoned there. The feasters left the food and rushed to free the prisoners. They returned, shouting, driving about twenty slaves in front of them, rattling their chains. The revelry resumed with renewed vigor. Someone noticed a lake with jeweled fish swimming in it. In the Barki family, these fish were revered as sacred. The barbarians fished them out with a laugh, lit a fire and began to watch merrily how strange creatures writhed in boiling water.

At that moment, the upper terrace of the palace was illuminated and a female figure appeared in the doorway. "Her hair, showered with purple powder, according to the custom of the virgins of Canaan, was stacked like a tower ... many stones sparkled on her chest ... her hands, covered with precious stones, were bare to the shoulders ... Her pupils seemed to be directed far beyond earthly limits."

It was the daughter of Hamilcar Barca - Salambo. She was brought up far from human eyes, in the company of eunuchs and maids, in extraordinary severity and sophistication, and in constant prayers glorifying the goddess Tanit, whom Carthage worshiped. The goddess was considered the soul of Carthage and the key to its power.

Now Salammbo was calling her favorite fish, lamenting and reproaching the barbarians for sacrilege. She spoke in a variety of languages, addressing everyone in his dialect. Everyone listened attentively to the beautiful girl. But no one looked at her as intently as the young Numidian leader Nar Gavas. He was not a mercenary and happened to be at the feast by accident. He had lived in the palace of Hamilcar for six months, but for the first time he saw Salammbo and was struck by her beauty.

On the other side of the table was a huge Libyan named Mato. He was also captivated by the appearance of Salammbo. When the girl finished her speech, Mato bowed admiringly to her. In response, Salammbo handed him a cup of wine as a sign of reconciliation with the army. One of the soldiers, a Gaul, noticed that in their area a woman serves wine to a man when he offers to share a bed with her. Before he could finish his sentences, Nar Havas drew a javelin and threw it at Mato, hitting him in the arm. The Libyan jumped up in a rage, but Havas managed to hide in the palace. Mato rushed after him - upstairs, to the red door, which slammed shut behind the opponent. But behind the door was one of the freed slaves - Spendius. He began to tell Mato that he had previously lived in the palace, knew its secrets and, as a reward for freedom, was ready to show Mato where the fabulous treasures were kept. But all Matho's thoughts were henceforth occupied by Salammbò.

Two days later, the mercenaries were told that if they left the city, they would be fully paid the promised salary and the Carthaginian galleys would take everyone back to their homeland. The barbarians gave in. For seven days they traveled through the desert to the place where they were ordered to set up camp. One day, Nar Gavas appeared in this camp. Mato at first wanted to kill him for an outburst at a feast. But Nar Gavas pleaded drunkenness, sent rich gifts to Mato, and as a result, remained to live among the mercenaries. Only Spendius immediately realized that this man was plotting treachery. However, whom does he want to betray - the barbarians or Carthage? Ultimately, this was indifferent to Spendius, since "he hoped to benefit for himself from all sorts of troubles."

Mato was in deep sadness. Often he lay down on the sand and did not move until evening. He confessed to the inseparable Spendius that he was haunted by the image of Hamilcar's daughter. He turned to the Magi, swallowed, on their advice, ashes, mountain dill and viper venom, but in vain. His passion only grew.

Everyone was waiting for the promised gold to arrive from Carthage. In the meantime, people kept arriving at the camp. Hordes of debtors who fled from Carthage, ruined peasants, exiles, and criminals came here. The tension grew, but there was still no salary. One day an important procession arrived, led by the old commander Hanno. He began to tell people, driven to gloomy despair, how bad things were in Carthage and how meager his treasury was. In front of the exhausted crowd, during the speech, he now and then regaled himself with expensive dishes taken with him. All this caused a murmur and finally an explosion. The barbarians decided to move towards Carthage. In three days they made their way back and laid siege to the city. A bloody struggle began.

Mato was the leader of the Libyan detachment. He was revered for his strength and courage. In addition, he "inspired some kind of mystical fear: they thought that at night he spoke with a ghost." Once Spendius offered to lead Mato to Carthage - secretly, through water pipes. When they entered the besieged city, Spendius persuaded Mato to steal her veil, a symbol of power, from the temple of the goddess Tanit. With an effort on himself, Mato agreed to this bold step. He left the temple, wrapped in a divine veil, and went straight to the palace of Hamilcar, and there he made his way into the room of Salambo. The girl was asleep, but, feeling Mato's gaze, she opened her eyes. The Libyan began to hurriedly tell her about his love. He offered Salammbo to go with him or agreed to stay himself, submitting to any fate. He was ready to return to her the stolen veil of the goddess. Shaken, Salambo began to call for help. But when the slaves who came running wanted to throw themselves at Mato, she stopped them:

"He's wearing the veil of a goddess!" Matho freely left the palace and left the city. Residents who saw the Libyan were afraid to touch him: "... the veil was part of the deity, and touching it threatened with death."

The battles that began between the barbarians and Carthage were extremely difficult. Success leaned first to one side, then to the other, and not one was inferior to the other in military strength, cruelty and treachery. Spendius and Nar Gavas lost heart, but Mato was stubborn and courageous. In Carthage, it was believed that the cause of all misfortunes was the loss of the veil of the goddess. Salambo was blamed for what had happened.

Salammbo's tutor, a priest, told the girl bluntly that the salvation of the republic depended on her. He persuaded her to go to the barbarians and take back Tanith's veil. Perhaps, he continued, this threatens the girl with death, but, according to the priest, the salvation of Carthage is worth one woman's life. Salammbô agreed to this sacrifice and set out on her journey with a guide.

They made their way slowly and carefully to the positions of the barbarians. Salammbo told the sentry that she was a defector from Carthage and wanted to talk to Matho. “... Her face was hidden under a yellow veil with yellow stains, and she was so wrapped up in many clothes that it was impossible to see her ...” She asked Mato, who appeared, to take her to her tent. The Libyan's heart began to beat, the imperious appearance of the stranger embarrassed him. His tent was at the very end of the camp, three hundred paces from the trenches of Hamilcar.

In the tent, Mato Salambo saw the goddess's precious veil.

The girl felt that she was supported by the powers of the gods. She resolutely tore off her veil and announced that she wanted to take back Tanith's veil. Mato looked at Salammbô, forgetting everything in the world. And she angrily threw him in the face: "Words are coming from everywhere about devastated cities, about burned villages, about the murder of soldiers! It was you who killed them! I hate you!" She remembered how Mato burst into her bedroom: "I did not understand your speeches, but I clearly saw that you were drawing me to something terrible, to the bottom of the abyss." - "Oh no," Matho exclaimed, "I wanted to give you a veil. After all, you are beautiful, like Tanit! If only you are not Tanit herself! .."

He knelt down in front of her, kissed her shoulders, legs, long braids... Salammbo was amazed at his strength. A strange languor took possession of her. "Something tender and at the same time powerful, which seemed to be the will of the gods, forced her to surrender to this languor." At that moment, a fire broke out in the camp, it was arranged by Nar Gavas. Mato jumped out of the tent, and when he returned, he no longer found Salammbô. She slipped through the front lines and soon found herself in her own father's tent. He didn't ask her anything. Besides, he was not alone. Nearby was Nar Gavas, who went over with his cavalry to the side of the Carthaginians. This betrayal determined the outcome of the battle and the confrontation in general, greatly weakening the ranks of the mercenaries. The Numidian prostrated before Barca as a sign that he was giving himself into slavery to him, but he also reminded him of his merits. He assured that he was in the ranks of the barbarians to help Carthage. In fact, Nar Gavas was guided only by the one on whose side there was an advantage. Now he realized that the final victory would go to Hamilcar, and went over to his side. In addition, he was angry with Matho for his advantage as a military leader and for his love for Salammbô.

The shrewd Hamilcar did not accuse Nar Havas of a lie, since he also saw the benefits of an alliance with this man. When Salammbo entered the tent and, stretching out her hands, unfolded the veil of the goddess, the excited Hamilcar announced in a fit of feelings: "As a reward for the services you have rendered me, I give you my daughter, Nar Gavas." This is where the engagement took place. According to custom, the thumbs of the young were tied together with an ox-skin belt, and then they began to pour grain on their heads. Salammbô stood calm as a statue, as if not understanding what was happening.

Meanwhile, the war continued. And although the republic now had the cover of Tanith, the barbarians again laid siege to Carthage. Spendius succeeded in destroying the city's water supply system. A plague broke out in the city. The elders, in desperation, decided to make a sacrifice to Moloch by killing children from wealthy families. They also came for the ten-year-old Hannibal, the son of Bark. Distraught with fear for his son, Hamilcar hid Hannibal, and gave him a similar boy from slaves. Having played the scene of his father's grief, he gave the little slave to the slaughter. (In this case, Hannibal is a real historical person, a future famous commander).

Immediately after the sacrifice, it began to rain, and this saved the Carthaginians. Nar Gavas managed to smuggle flour into the city. Rome and Syracuse bowed to the side of the Republic, fearful of the triumph of the mercenaries.

The rebels suffered a crushing defeat, A terrible famine began in their ranks and there were even cases of cannibalism. Spendius died, who never managed to rise as a result of the turmoil. Mato was taken prisoner, although his detachment resisted to the last. Nar Havas managed, sneaking up from behind, to throw a net over the Libyan. The execution of the indomitable warrior was scheduled for the same day as Salambo's wedding. Before his death, Mato was subjected to sophisticated torture. He was led through the city with his hands tied so that every inhabitant could strike. It was forbidden only to gouge out eyes and beat in the heart in order to prolong the torture as long as possible.

When Salammbo, sitting on the open terrace of the palace in a dazzling wedding dress, saw Mato, he was a solid bloody mass. Only the eyes were still alive and inseparably looked at the girl. And she suddenly realized how much he had suffered because of her. She remembered how he was in the tent, how he whispered words of love to her. Tortured, he fell dead. And at the same moment Nar Gavas, intoxicated with pride, got up, embraced Salammbo and, in full view of the jubilant city, drank from a golden cup - for Carthage. Salammbô also rose, cup in hand. But then she sank down, throwing her head back on the back of the throne. She was dead. "Thus died the daughter of Hamilcar as a punishment for touching the veil of Tanith."

V. A. Sagalova

(L'education sentimentale)

Roman (1869)

In the autumn of 1840, eighteen-year-old Frederic Moreau was returning by steamboat to his hometown of Nogent-on-the-Seine. He had already received a bachelor's degree and was soon to go to Paris to study law. Dreamy, capable of science and artistic, "he found that the happiness that the perfection of his soul deserves lingers." On the ship, he met the Arnoux family. The husband was a sociable, healthy man of about forty and owned the "Art Industry" - an enterprise that combined a newspaper devoted to painting and a shop that sold paintings. His wife, Maria, struck Frederick with unusual beauty. "It was like a vision appeared to him ... He had never seen such a delightful dark skin, such a bewitching figure, such thin fingers." He fell in love with Madame Arna with a romantic and at the same time passionate love, not yet knowing that it was for life.

In Nogent he met Charles Deslauriers, his college friend. Due to poverty, Charles was forced to interrupt his education and serve as a clerk in the provinces. Both friends were going to live together in Paris. But so far only Frederick, who was lent by his mother, had the funds for this. In college, friends dreamed of great deeds. Frederic is about becoming a famous writer, Charles is about creating a new philosophical system. Now he predicted an imminent revolution and regretted that poverty prevented him from deploying propaganda.

Having settled in Paris, Frederic went through a set of ordinary secular entertainments, made new acquaintances, and soon "fell into complete idleness." True, he composed a novel in the spirit of Walter Scott, where he himself was the hero, and Madame Arnoux was the heroine, but this activity did not inspire him for long. After several unsuccessful attempts, chance helped him enter Arn's house. Located in Montmartre, the "Art Industry" was something of a political and artistic salon. But for Frederick, the main thing was his crazy love for Madame Arnoux, to which he was afraid to confess his feelings. Deslauriers, who had already arrived in Paris by this time, did not understand his friend's hobbies and advised him to achieve his goal or to put passion out of his head. He shared shelter with Frederick, lived on his money, but could not overcome the envy of his friend - the minion of fate. He himself dreamed of big politics, of leading the masses, he was drawn to the socialists who were in their youth company.

Time passed, and both friends defended their dissertations, and Charles brilliantly. Frederick's mother could no longer send her son the necessary amount, besides, she was getting old and complained of loneliness. The young man had to leave the capital, with which all his affections and hopes were connected, and get a job in Nogent. Gradually, he "got used to the province, immersed himself in it, and even his love itself acquired a drowsy charm." At this time, Frederick's only joy was Louise Rokk, a neighbor's teenage girl. Her father was the manager of a major Parisian banker Damrez and successfully increased his own capital. So another three years passed. Finally, Frederick's elderly uncle died, and the hero became the heir to a considerable fortune. Now he was able to return to Paris again, promising his mother to make a diplomatic career there. He himself thought of Madame Arnoux first of all.

In Paris, it turned out that Arnoux had a second child, that the "Art Industry" began to bring losses and had to be sold, and in return to start selling faience. Madame Arnoux, as before, did not give Frederic any hope of reciprocity. The hero was not happy with the meeting with Deslauriers. He had not had a successful career as a lawyer, had lost several cases in court, and now too obviously wanted to join the legacy of a friend and spoke too evil of people in some position. Frederick settled in a cozy mansion, finishing it in the latest fashion. Now he was rich enough to enter the elite circles of the capital. However, he still loved old friends, among whom were completely poor people - for example, the eternal loser, the ardent socialist Senecal or the republican Dussardier - honest and kind, but somewhat limited.

Frederick by nature was soft, romantic, delicate, he was not distinguished by prudence and sometimes he was really generous. Not devoid of ambition, he nevertheless could not choose a worthy application for his mind and abilities. Either he took up literary work, then historical research, then he studied painting, then he considered a ministerial career. He didn't complete anything. He found an explanation in his unhappy love, which paralyzed his will, but he could not resist the circumstances. Gradually, he became closer to the Arnoux family, became the closest person in their house, constantly communicated with her husband and knew everything about his secret adventures and financial affairs, but this only added to his suffering. He saw that the woman idolized by him endures the deceit of a not devoid of charm, but a vulgar and ordinary businessman, such as Jacques Arnoux was, and for the sake of her children she remains faithful to her husband.

Heartache, however, did not prevent the hero from leading a secular lifestyle. He attended balls, masquerades, theaters, fashionable restaurants and salons. He entered the house of the courtesan Rosanette, nicknamed the Captain, Arnoux's mistress, and at the same time became a regular at the Damrez and enjoyed the favor of the banker herself. Deslauriers, who was still compelled to make do with thirty-sous dinners and work by the day, found his friend's distracted life irritating. Charles dreamed of his own newspaper as his last chance to gain a position of influence. And once he directly asked Frederick for money for it. And although he needed to withdraw a large amount from the main capital, he did it. But on the last day he took fifteen thousand francs not to Charles, but to Jacques Arnoux, who was threatened with a trial after an unsuccessful deal. He saved the woman he loved from ruin, feeling guilty before a friend.

In society on the eve of the revolution there was confusion, in the feelings of Frederick - too. He still reverently loved Madame Arna, but at the same time he wanted to become Rosanette's lover. "Communication with these two women was, as it were, two melodies; one was playful, impetuous, amusing, the other solemn, almost prayerful." And at times, Frederick also dreamed of a relationship with Mrs. Damrez, who would give him weight in society. He was a child of light - and at the same time he had already managed to feel the cold and falseness of his brilliance.

Having received a letter from his mother, he again left for Nogent. Neighbor Louise Rokk by that time had become a rich bride. She loved Frederick from adolescence. Their marriage was, as it were, tacitly resolved, and yet the hero hesitated. He returned to Paris again, promising the girl that he was leaving for a short time. But a new meeting with Mrs. Arnoux crossed out all plans. Rumors of Frederick's plans had reached her, and she was shocked by this. She realized that she loved him. Now he denied everything - both the passion for Rosanette and the quick marriage. He swore eternal love to her - and then for the first time she allowed him to kiss her. They actually confessed their love for each other and for some time met as true friends, experienced quiet happiness. But they were not destined to get close. Once, Madame Arnoux had already agreed to a meeting with him, but Frederick waited in vain for her for several hours. He did not know that at night the little son of Mrs. Arnoux fell seriously ill and she took it as a sign from God. Out of anger, he brought Rosanette to specially rented rooms. It was on a February night in 1848.

They were awakened by gunshots. Coming to the Champs Elysees, Frederick learned that the king had fled and a republic had been proclaimed. The doors of the Tuileries were open. "Frantic joy seized everyone, as if the vanished throne had already given way to a boundless future happiness." The magnetism of the enthusiastic crowd passed on to Frederick. He wrote an enthusiastic article in the newspaper - a lyrical ode to the revolution, together with his friends began to go to workers, clubs and rallies. Deslauriers asked the new authorities to appoint him to the province as a commissioner. Frederick attempted to run for the Legislative Assembly, but was booed as an aristocrat.

In secular circles there was a rapid change of political sympathies. Everyone immediately declared themselves supporters of the Republic - from the frivolous Captain to the Council of State, Damrezov and the Archbishop of Paris. In fact, the nobility and the bourgeoisie were only concerned about the preservation of their habitual way of life and property. The proclamation of the republic did not solve the problems of the lower classes. In June, a workers' revolt broke out.

At this time, Frederick, who had already cooled down to politics, was going through something like a honeymoon with Rosanette. She was eccentric, but natural and spontaneous. Barricades were built in Paris, shots were fired, and they left the city, lived in a rural hotel, wandered through the forest all day or lay on the grass. Political unrest "seemed to him insignificant in comparison with their love and eternal nature." However, having learned from the newspaper about the injury of Dussardier, Frederic rushed to Paris and again fell into the thick of things. He saw how ruthlessly the uprising was suppressed by the soldiers. "With triumph, stupid, bestial equality declared itself; the same level of bloody meanness was established, the aristocracy raged just like the mob ... the public mind was clouded." Inveterate liberals have now become conservatives, and radicals have ended up behind bars - for example, Senecal.

These days, Louise Rokk, dying of anxiety for her lover, came to Paris. She did not find Frederick, who lived with Rosanette in another apartment, and met him only at dinner at the Damreses. Among society ladies, the girl seemed to him provincial, he spoke to her evasively, and she realized with bitterness that their marriage was cancelled.

Delaurier's commissar career ended ingloriously. “Since he preached brotherhood to conservatives, and respect for the law to socialists, some shot at him, while others brought a rope to hang him ... He knocked on the doors of democracy, offering to serve her with a pen, speech, with his activity, but was rejected everywhere …"

Rosanette gave birth to a child, but he soon died. Frederick gradually cooled towards her. Now he has begun an affair with Mrs. Damrez. He deceived both, but in return their love for him only grew stronger. And Madame Arnoux always lived in his thoughts. When the banker Damrez - one of the biggest bribe-takers of his time - died of an illness, the widow over her husband's coffin herself invited Frederick to marry her. He understood that this marriage would open up many opportunities for him. But this wedding was not destined to be realized. Money was needed again to save Arnou from prison. Frederic borrowed them from his new bride, without speaking of the purpose, of course. She found out and decided to take revenge with her usual cunning. Through Deslauriers, she put old bills into circulation and obtained an inventory of Arnoux's property. Yes, even came to the auction, when things went under the hammer. And in front of Frederick, in spite of his desperate request, she bought a trinket with which he had dear memories. Immediately after this, Frederick broke up with her forever. He also broke with the Captain, who sincerely loved him.

Unrest in Paris continued, and one day he accidentally witnessed a street brawl. Before his eyes, he died at the hands of a policeman - with a cry of "Long live the republic!" - Dussardier. "The policeman looked around, looked around at everyone, and the stunned Frederic recognized Senecal ..."

... Frederick traveled, experienced more than one novel, but never married, and "the sharpness of passion, all the charm of feeling were lost. Years passed, he put up with this idleness of thought, inertia of the heart." Twenty years later he saw Madame Arna again, who now lived in the provinces. It was a sad meeting of old friends. Frederic also met Deslauriers. He once married Louise Rokk, but soon she ran away from him with some singer. Both friends now led the modest life of respectable bourgeois. Both were indifferent to politics. Summing up their lives, they admitted that "both of them failed - both the one who dreamed of love and the one who dreamed of power."

V. A. Sagalova

(Germinie Lacerteux)

Roman (1865)

Third quarter of the XNUMXth century, the era of the Second Empire, Paris. In a poorly furnished room lies an old woman - Mademoiselle de Varandeille. Near the bed, her maid, Germinie Lacerte, is kneeling on her knees. Rejoicing at the recovery of the hostess, the maid indulges in memories - after all, the young lady de Varandeil is so similar to her mother! And Germinie's mother died when her daughter was only five years old, and after her death, the life of the family did not work out. The father drank, the elder brother became the breadwinner, one sister worked in the service, the other sewed for wealthy gentlemen. But then his father died, and then his brother. The sisters went to work in Paris, where Germinie was soon sent. She was then fourteen years old...

The old woman listens in silence, comparing her life to that of a maid. Sad memories haunt her...

As a child, Mademoiselle de Varandeille was also deprived of parental affection: neither her father nor mother, an opera diva, cared for her. On the eve of the revolution, the mother fled, leaving her husband with her daughter and son. During the Terror, the family lived under the constant fear of death. At the request of her father, who wanted to show loyalty to the regime, the revolutionary authorities performed a civil rite of baptism on Mademoiselle de Varandeille and named her Sempronia. The girl was the backbone of the family: she stood in lines for bread, looked after her father and brother. During the period of the Empire, when the financial situation of Mr. de Varandeille improved, he still treated his daughter as a servant, did not consider it necessary to dress her and take her out into the world. Sempronia's brother went to America.

Monsieur de Varandeille spent all the money on the purchase of paintings, hoping to sell them profitably later. However, the speculation failed: the masterpieces he bought turned out to be crude fakes. The ruined Monsieur de Varandeil left for the provinces and settled in a small house, leaving his daughter to do all the dirty work in it. When he finally hired a maid, he immediately made her his mistress, and she soon began to push him around. Then Sempronia told her father to choose: she or her mistress. The old man was frightened, calculated the maid, but, harboring a grudge, began petty revenge on his daughter, not letting her go from him and constantly demanding her presence in the house.

Shortly before his father's death, Sempronia's brother returned from America with his mulatto wife and two daughters. When Monsieur de Varandeil died, the sister, in all sincerity, offered her brother part of her small inheritance. Together they settled in Paris. Jealous of her brother for her sister, the wife began to harass the unfortunate old maid.

Then Mademoiselle de Varandeille rented a separate house for herself and resumed acquaintance with her relatives: "she received those to whom the Restoration returned influence and power, went to visit those whom the new government left in the shade and poverty," and her life flowed "through routine once and for all." If one of her friends had a problem, she immediately came running and stayed in the house as long as there was a need for her help. She lived more than modestly, but she allowed herself the luxury of showering sweets on the children of her acquaintances and seeing joy on childish faces in response.

The long-suffering life of an old maid taught her to neglect human weaknesses. She was cheerful in spirit, full of kindness, but devoid of the gift of forgiveness.

Years passed, the family of Mademoiselle de Varandeille, everyone she loved died, and the only place for her walks was the cemetery, where she looked after expensive graves ...

Lost in memories, Mademoiselle no longer listens to the maid. Therefore, we continue the simple story of Germinie Lacerte ...

Arriving in Paris, she works in a rundown cafe where she is molested by waiters. The girl begs her sisters to take her out of there, but they do not want to listen to her. An elderly waiter, being alone with her, rapes her.

Shocked, Germinie begins to be afraid of men. She soon realizes that she is pregnant. The sisters harass her in every possible way, and the child is born dead. Germinie is again given into service, she is constantly starving. Almost dying of hunger, she gets to the former actor, and he begins to take care of her. But the actor soon dies, and Germinie, tormented in search of a place, finally goes to Madame de Varandeil, who has just buried her maid.

At this time, Germinie falls into deep piety, giving the unclaimed tenderness of her heart to a young kind-hearted priest. However, when the priest realizes that Germinie's reverence is directed primarily at himself, he passes it to another priest, and Germinie stops going to church altogether.

Family misfortunes direct her thoughts in a different direction. Her sister dies, and her husband, leaving his sick three-year-old daughter, leaves the city. Germinie hires an old woman, settles her with her niece in the house where Mademoiselle de Varandeille lives, runs every free minute to look after the baby and literally saves her from death. But here, before leaving for Africa, her other sister comes to Germinie and offers to take the girl: after all, Germinie cannot take the child with her, because Mademoiselle is old and she needs peace, Germinie only needs to give her niece money for the journey.

Arriving in Africa, the sister dies. Her husband sends letters of complaint, demanding money for the maintenance of the girl. Germinie wants to give up everything and go to her niece, but suddenly finds out that the girl has long since died - after her sister. And Germinie immediately forgets about his desire.

Next to Mademoiselle's house there is a dairy shop, which is bought by Germinie, a fat and talkative mother Jupillon. Germinie often comes to her - to buy food and remember her native land. Soon she begins to spend all her free time there, travels with the hostess to her son, who is studying at a boarding school for "children of the common people and illegitimate." When mother Jupillon falls ill, Germinie herself visits the child, brings him gifts and buys clothes. Fat Jupillon is pleased: she has got a free servant who, in addition, spends her own money on her child.

But now the big man Jupillon leaves the boarding house. Germinie's maternal feelings for the young loafer gradually develop into a love passion. Taking advantage of the fact that Mademoiselle's service is not burdensome, she sticks out in the dairy all day, admiring her handsome boy. "Snarky and impudent", Jupillon is ready to drag behind every pretty face. Having mastered Germinie, he quickly becomes fed up with her. All and sundry make fun of the novel "old woman" Germinie. Until recently, Germinie was the most respected servant in the quarter, and now any merchant considers it his duty to hand over rotten goods to her, confident that she will not complain to the mistress, because she carefully hides all her adventures from her.

Begging for the love of an impudent youth, Germinie sells her few jewels, buys him a workshop and furnishes it. Accepting this gift, Jupillon does not even find words of gratitude.

From Jupillon, Germinie has a daughter. Hiding this event from the hostess, she arranges for her daughter outside the city with the nurse and every Sunday, together with Jupillon, goes to her. Suddenly, the news comes that the child is ill. Fearing that Mademoiselle will reveal her secret, Germinie waits for the end of the week. The delay is fatal: the child dies.

Germinie falls into a dull despair. When the first grief passes, she begins to drink, diligently hiding it from Madame de Varandeuil.

Unable to bear the treachery of her lover, Germinie confesses everything to his mother. She, of course, takes the side of her son, and when Germinie timidly asks her to return the money spent on the workshop, she is accused of trying to "buy" the poor boy and ruin his life.

Germinie breaks with dairy and takes revenge on Mademoiselle for all her hardships: she is impudent, she runs the household carelessly. The lonely old woman endures everything, as she has long been looking at Germinie as "a person who will someday close her eyes." She is ready to console the maid, but knowing nothing about her life outside the house, she cannot help her.

Jupillon draws lots. To pay off the soldiers, you need money. Mother and son decide to cheat Germinie around their fingers and force her to fork out. Having met Germinie on the street, Jupillon pretends that she is in a quarrel only with his mother, and he himself still treats her wonderfully. He leads her to the dairy, mother Jupillon sheds crocodile tears, and Germinie is silent, but Jupillon becomes frightened at the sight of her.

A week later, Germinie returns, carrying in a scarf the money collected by pennies. She borrowed from everyone she could, and now she is in bondage to the whole quarter, because her salary is barely enough to pay interest. She understands that Jupillon does not love her, but the thought of him entering the battlefield horrifies her.

Germinie herself is surprised how low she has fallen, but she cannot help herself: she is ready to do anything to keep Jupillon, who has again become her lover - solely because of money, because her wallet is always at his service. Germinie drinks, lies to Mademoiselle, and, despite the "almost reverent feeling" she has for the mistress, steals money from her, confident that she is unlikely to discover the loss. Germinie dresses in rags, languishes, grows stupid before our eyes, turns into a "waste", and Jupillon leaves her.

The unfortunate woman suddenly concentrates all her overflowing love on Mademoiselle. She again becomes a quick and quick-witted maid. However, the thought that the mistress finds out about her debts torments her; the lusts of the body cause her no less suffering.

Unable to bear the languor of love, she enters into a relationship with a varmint artisan. He, deciding that Germinie has savings, invites her to marry him. Germinie refuses to part with Mademoiselle, and her lover leaves her. Overwhelmed by lust, at night she wanders the streets and gives herself to the first comers. Unintentionally, she collides with Jupillon, and her former passion flares up in her with renewed vigor. But her health is finally undermined, and she becomes seriously ill. And yet she continues to work, for she is afraid that all her sins will immediately come out if the mistress hires another servant. Finally, she becomes so ill that she is taken to the hospital. The hostess visits her, takes care of her. And then one day Mademoiselle comes to Germinie, and she is asked to identify the corpse.

Creditors with Germinie's receipts begin to flock to the shocked death of Mademoiselle's maid. Paying the debts of the deceased, Madame de Varandeille learns about the unknown side of her maid's life. From surprise and anger, the old maid falls ill. But gradually her anger passes, only pity remains. She travels to the cemetery, finds a common grave, and kneels where, along with other poor people, the woeful remains of Germinie now lie. "... Fate wished that the body of the sufferer remained underground as homeless as her heart was on earth."

E. V. Morozova

(Les enfants du capitaine Grant)

Roman (1868)

June 26, 1864 the crew of the Duncan yacht, owned by Lord Edward Glenarvan, a prominent member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club and a wealthy Scottish landowner, catches a shark in the Irish Sea, in the stomach of which they find a bottle with a note in three languages: English, German and French . The note briefly states that during the wreck of the Britannia, three were saved - Captain Grant and two sailors, that they fell on some kind of land; both latitude and longitude are indicated, but it is impossible to make out what longitude it is - the figure is blurred. The note says that the rescued are at the thirty-seventh degree eleventh minute of the south latitude. Longitude unknown. Therefore, it is necessary to look for Captain Grant and his companions somewhere on the thirty-seventh parallel. The English Admiralty refuses to send a rescue expedition, but Lord Glenarvan and his wife decide to do everything possible to find Captain Grant. They meet the children of Harry Grant - sixteen-year-old Mary and twelve-year-old Robert. The yacht is equipped for a long voyage, in which the lord's wife, Helen Glenarvan, a very kind and courageous young woman, and the children of Captain Grant wish to take part. Also participating in the expedition are Major McNabbs, a man of about fifty, modest, silent and good-natured, a close relative of Glenarvan; the thirty-year-old captain of the Duncan, John Mangles, cousin of Glenarvan, a man of courage, kindness and energy; mate Tom Austin, an old and trustworthy sailor, and twenty-three of the ship's crew, all Scots, like their master.

August 25 "Duncan" goes to sea from Glasgow. The next day, it turns out that there is another passenger on board. It turns out to be the secretary of the Paris Geographical Society, Frenchman Jacques Paganel. Due to his usual absent-mindedness, the day before the Duncan sailed, having mixed up the ships (for he wanted to sail to India on the Scotland steamer), he climbed into the cabin and slept there for exactly thirty-six hours in order to better endure the pitching, and did not go out on deck until second day of travel. When Paganel learns that he is sailing to South America instead of India, at first he is overcome with despair, but then, having learned about the purpose of the expedition, he decides to change his plans and sail along with everyone.

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean and passing through the Strait of Magellan, the Duncan finds itself in the Pacific Ocean and heads to the shores of Patagonia, where, according to some assumptions - at first the note was interpreted that way - Captain Grant is languishing in captivity from the Indians.

The passengers of the Duncan, Lord Glenarvan, Major McNabbs, Paganel, Robert and three sailors, disembark on the west coast of Patagonia, while Helen Glenarvan and Mary, under the care of John Mangles, remain on the sailing ship, which is to go around the continent and wait for travelers on the east coast, at Cape Corrientes.

Glenarvan and his companions pass through the whole of Patagonia, following the thirty-seventh parallel. On this journey, incredible adventures take place with them. Robert goes missing during an earthquake in Chile. Several days of searching end badly - the child is nowhere to be found. When a small detachment, having lost all hope of finding him, is already about to set off, the travelers suddenly see a condor that carries Robert in its powerful paws and begins to soar with him into the sky. McNabbs is about to shoot the bird when suddenly someone else's well-aimed shot is ahead of him. The wounded bird, like a parachute, on its mighty wings, lowers Robert to the ground. It turns out that this shot was fired by a native named Talcave. He becomes their guide through the plains of Argentina, and later a real friend.

In the pampas, travelers are threatened with death from thirst. Thalcave, Glenarvan, and Robert, whose horses are not yet very tired, set off in search of water and are ahead of the rest. By the river at night they are attacked by a pack of red wolves. Three travelers face imminent death. Then Robert jumps on the swift-footed Tauka, Thalcave's horse, and, at the risk of being torn to pieces by wolves, drags the pack away from Glenarvan and Thalcave. He manages to avoid death. He joins Paganel's group and in the morning meets again with Glenarvan and Talcave, who had been saved by him.

Soon after, in the lowland, the squad will have to survive the flood due to the flood of the rivers. The travelers manage to climb a sprawling walnut tree, which the brown stream could not tear out of the ground. On it they arrange a halt, even make a fire. At night, the hurricane still pulls out a tree, and on it people manage to swim to land.

Paganel comes up with the idea that the original note by Captain Grant was misinterpreted and that it was not about Patagonia, but about Australia. He very convincingly convinces the others of the correctness of his conclusion, and the travelers decide to return to the ship in order to continue sailing to the coast of Australia. And so they do.

They explore, but in vain, two islands along the way - Tristan da Cunha and Amsterdam. The Duncan then approaches Cape Bernoulli on the Australian coast. Glenarvan disembarks. A few miles from the coast stands the farm of a certain Irishman who welcomes travelers. Lord Glenarvan tells the Irishman about what brought him to these parts, and asks if he has any information about the English three-masted ship Britannia, which was wrecked about two years ago somewhere off the western coast of Australia.

The Irishman has never heard of a sunken ship, but, to the great surprise of all those present, one of his employees, by the name of Ayrton, intervenes in the conversation. He states that if Captain Grant is still alive, he is on Australian soil. His documents and story confirm that he served as boatswain on the Britannia. Ayrton says that he lost sight of the captain at the moment when the ship crashed on the coastal reefs. Until now, he was convinced that of the entire team of "Britain" only he survived. True, Ayrton assures that the ship crashed not on the western, but on the eastern coast of Australia, and if Captain Grant is still alive, as evidenced by the note, then he is in captivity with the natives somewhere on the east coast.

Ayrton speaks with captivating sincerity. It is difficult to doubt his words. In addition, the Irishman with whom he served vouches for him. Lord Glenarvan believes Ayrton and, on his advice, decides to cross Australia along the thirty-seventh parallel. Glenarvan, his wife, the children of Captain Grant, the major, the geographer, Captain Mangle and several sailors, gathered in a small detachment, set off on a journey led by Ayrton. "Duncan", which received some damage in the hull, is heading for Melbourne, where it is planned to carry out repairs. The yacht's crew, led by mate Tom Austin, is there to await Glenarvan's orders.

The women ride out in a cart drawn by six oxen, and the men on horseback. During the trip, travelers pass by gold mines, admire the Australian flora and fauna. At first, the journey takes place in fairly comfortable conditions, through populated areas. However, one of the horses has a broken shoe. Ayrton goes for the blacksmith, and he puts on new horseshoes with a shamrock - the sign of the Black Point cattle station. Soon a small detachment is already on its way. Travelers witness the results of a crime committed on the Camden Bridge. All the wagons, except for the last one, collapsed into the river due to the fact that the rails were not brought together. The last carriage has been robbed, charred mutilated corpses are lying everywhere. The police are inclined to believe that this crime is the work of a gang of runaway convicts led by Ben Joyce.

Soon, Ayrton leads the detachment into the forest. Travelers are forced to stop indefinitely, because in front of them is a turbulent overflowing river, which can be forded only when it returns to its normal course. Meanwhile, due to an incomprehensible disease, all the bulls and horses die, with the exception of the one that was shod with a shamrock. One evening, Major McNabbs sees some people in the shade of the trees. Without saying a word to anyone, he goes to investigate. It turns out that these are convicts; he sneaks up on them and eavesdrops on their conversation, from which it becomes obvious that Ben Joyce and Ayrton are the same person, and his gang stayed close to him during the entire trip of the Glenarvan detachment on the mainland, focusing on the trail of the horse from the Black Point horseshoe. Returning to his friends, the major for the time being does not tell them about his discovery. Ayrton persuades Lord Glenarvan to order the "Duncan" from Melbourne to go to the east coast - there the bandits would easily take possession of the yacht. The traitor is almost given an order addressed to the assistant captain, but then the major exposes him and Ayrton has to flee. Before fleeing, he wounds Glenarvan in the arm. After some time, the travelers decide to send another messenger to Melbourne. Instead of the wounded Glenarvan, the order is written by Paganel. One of the sailors sets off. However, Ben Joyce seriously injures the sailor, takes the letter from him and goes to Melbourne himself. His gang crosses the river on a nearby bridge and then burns it down so Glenarvan can't use it. The detachment waits for the level of the river to drop, then builds a raft and crosses the calm river on the raft. Having reached the coast, Glenarvan realizes that Ben Joyce's gang has already taken possession of the Duncan and, having killed the team, set off on it in an unknown direction. Everyone comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to stop the search, because there is nothing left to do it, and return to Europe. However, it turns out that a ship bound for Europe may have to wait a very long time. Then the travelers decide to sail to Auckland, in New Zealand: from there flights to Europe are regular. On a fragile little ship with an eternally drunk captain and sailors, after surviving a storm during which the ship runs aground, Glenarvan and his friends still reach the shores of New Zealand.

There they are captured by cannibalistic natives who are going to kill them. However, thanks to Robert's resourcefulness, they manage to escape from captivity. After a few days of travel, they reach the east coast of New Zealand and see a pirogue near the coast, and a little further - a group of natives. Travelers sit in a pirogue, but the natives in several boats pursue them. Travelers are desperate. After what they had to endure in captivity, they prefer to die rather than surrender. Suddenly, in the distance, Glenarvan sees "Duncan" with his own team on board, which helps him break away from his pursuers. Travelers wonder why the Duncan is off the eastern coast of New Zealand. Tom Austin shows an order written in the handwriting of an absent-minded Paganel, who, instead of writing "Australia", wrote "New Zealand". Due to Paganel's mistake, Ayrton's plans collapsed. He decided to rebel. They locked him up. Now Ayrton, against his will, is sailing on the Duncan along with those whom he wanted to deceive.

Glenarvan is trying to convince Ayrton to give the true information about the death of "Britain". The repeated requests and perseverance of Lady Glenarvan are doing their job. Ayrton agrees to tell everything he knows, and in exchange for this he asks to be landed on some uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. Glenarvan accepts his offer. It turns out that Ayrton left the Britannia before the crash. He was landed by Harry Grant in Australia for attempting to organize a mutiny. Ayrton's story does not shed any light on the whereabouts of Captain Grant. However, Glenarvan keeps his word. "Duncan" sails farther and farther, and now the island of Tabor is shown in the distance. It was decided to leave Ayrton on it. However, on this piece of land, lying on the thirty-seventh parallel, a miracle happens: it turns out that it was here that Captain Grant and two of his sailors found shelter. Instead, Ayrton remains on the island to be able to repent and atone for his crimes. Glenarvan promises that someday he will return for him.

And the Duncan is safely back in Scotland. Mary Grant soon becomes engaged to John Mangles, with whom, during their journey together, she had a tender feeling. Paganel marries the major's cousin. Robert, like his father, becomes a brave sailor.

E. V. Semina

(L'ile mysterieuse)

Roman (1875)

March 1865 In the United States, during the American Civil War, five daredevil northerners flee from Richmond, taken by the southerners, in a balloon. A terrible storm throws four of them onto the shore of a desert island in the Southern Hemisphere. The fifth man and his dog break into the sea near the shore. This fifth one - a certain Cyrus Smith, a talented engineer and scientist, soul and leader of a group of travelers - for several days involuntarily keeps his companions in suspense, who cannot find either himself or his devoted dog Top anywhere. The former slave, and now the devoted servant of Smith, Negro Neb suffers the most. In the balloon were also a military journalist and friend of Smith, Gideon Spilett, a man of great energy and determination, possessing an ebullient mind; sailor Pencroff, a good-natured and enterprising daredevil; fifteen-year-old Herbert Brown, son of the captain of the ship on which Pencroft sailed, left an orphan, and whom the sailor treats as his own son. After a tedious search, Neb finally finds his master, inexplicably saved, a mile from the coast. Each of the new settlers of the island has irreplaceable talents, and under the leadership of Cyres Spilet, these brave people unite and become a single team. First, with the help of the simplest improvised means, then by producing more and more complex objects of labor and everyday life at their own small factories, the settlers arrange their lives. They hunt, collect edible plants, oysters, then even breed domestic animals and farm. They make a dwelling for themselves high in a rock, in a cave freed from water.

Soon, thanks to their industriousness and intelligence, the colonists no longer know the need for food, clothing, or warmth and comfort. They have everything except news about their homeland, about the fate of which they are very worried.

One day, returning to their dwelling, which they called the Granite Palace, they see that monkeys are in charge inside. After some time, as if under the influence of insane fear, the monkeys begin to jump out of the windows, and someone's hand throws out to the travelers a rope ladder, which the monkeys raised into the house. Inside, people find another monkey - an orangutan, which they keep and call Uncle Jupe. In the future, Jup becomes a friend to people, a servant and an indispensable assistant.

On another day, the settlers find a chest of tools, firearms, various appliances, clothing, kitchen utensils, and books in English on the sand. The settlers wonder where this box could come from. According to the map, also in the box, they discover that Tabor Island is located next to their island, not marked on the map. The sailor Pencroff is eager to go to him. With the help of his friends, he builds a bot. When the boat is ready, everyone goes on it together for a trial voyage around the island. During it, they find a bottle with a note saying that a shipwrecked man is waiting for rescue on Tabor Island. This event strengthens Pencroff's confidence in the need to visit the neighboring island. Pencroft, journalist Gideon Spilett and Herbert set sail. Arriving at Tabor, they discover a small shack, where, by all indications, no one has lived for a long time. They disperse around the island, not hoping to see a living person, and try to find at least his remains. Suddenly, they hear Herbert scream and rush to his aid. They see that Herbert is fighting with a certain hairy creature that looks like a monkey. However, the monkey turns out to be a feral person. Travelers tie him up and transport him to their island. They give him a separate room in the Granite Palace. Thanks to their attention and care, the savage soon turns back into a civilized person and tells them his story. It turns out that his name is Ayrton, he is a former criminal, he wanted to take possession of the Duncan sailboat and, with the help of the dregs of society like him, turn it into a pirate ship. However, his plans were not destined to come true, and as a punishment twelve years ago he was left on the uninhabited island of Tabor, so that he would realize his act and atone for his sin. However, the owner of "Duncan" Edward Glenarvan said that someday he would return for Ayrton.

The settlers see that Ayrton sincerely repents of his past sins, and he tries to be useful to them in every possible way. Therefore, they are not inclined to judge him for past misdeeds and willingly accept him into their society. However, Ayrton needs time, and therefore he asks to be given the opportunity to live in a corral that the settlers built for their domesticated animals at some distance from the Granite Palace,

When the boat was returning from the island of Tabor in a storm at night, it was saved by a fire, which, as they thought, those sailing on it, had been kindled by their friends. However, it turns out that they were not involved in this. It also turns out that Ayrton did not throw a bottle with a note into the sea. The settlers cannot explain these mysterious events. They are more and more inclined to think that besides them, on Lincoln Island, as they dubbed it, someone else lives, their mysterious benefactor, who often comes to their aid in the most difficult situations. They even undertake a search expedition in the hope of finding his place of residence. However, the search ends in vain.

The following summer (for since Ayrton appeared on their island and before he told them his story, five months had already passed and the summer was over, and in the cold season it is dangerous to sail) they decide to get to Tabor Island to leave a note in the hut. In the note, they intend to warn Captain Glenarvan, should he return, that Ayrton and five other castaways are waiting for help on a nearby island.

The settlers have been living on their island for three years. Their life, their economy reached prosperity. They are already harvesting rich crops of wheat grown from a single grain found in Herbert's pocket three years ago, they have built a mill, they breed poultry, they have completely equipped their dwelling, they have made themselves new warm clothes and blankets from mouflon wool. However, their peaceful life is overshadowed by one incident that threatens them with death. One day, looking at the sea, they see a well-equipped ship in the distance, but a black flag flies over the ship. The ship anchors off the coast. It shows beautiful long-range guns. Ayrton, under the cover of night, sneaks onto the ship to make reconnaissance. It turns out that there are fifty pirates on the ship. Having miraculously eluded them, Ayrton returns to the shore and informs his friends that they need to prepare for battle. The next morning, two boats descend from the ship. On the first, the settlers shoot three, and she returns back, the second sticks to the shore, and the six pirates remaining on it hide in the forest. Cannons are fired from the ship, and it comes even closer to the shore. It seems that nothing can save a handful of settlers. Suddenly a huge wave rises under the ship and it sinks. All pirates on it die. As it turns out later, the ship hit a mine, and this event finally convinces the inhabitants of the island that they are not alone here.

At first they are not going to exterminate the pirates, wanting to give them the opportunity to lead a peaceful life. But it turns out that the robbers are not capable of this. They begin to loot and burn down the settlers' farm. Ayrton goes to the corral to visit the animals. The pirates grab him and take him to a cave, where they try to torture him into agreeing to go over to their side. Ayrton does not give up. His friends go to his aid, but Herbert is seriously injured in the corral, and his friends remain in it, unable to move back with the dying young man. A few days later they still go to the Granite Palace. As a result of the transition, Herbert develops a malignant fever, he is near death. Once again, providence intervenes in their lives and the hand of their kind mysterious friend throws them the necessary medicine. Herbert makes a full recovery. The settlers intend to strike the final blow against the pirates. They go to the corral, where they expect to find them, but they find Ayrton, exhausted and barely alive, and nearby - the corpses of robbers. Ayrton reports that he does not know how he ended up in the corral, who carried him out of the cave and killed the pirates. However, he reports one sad news. A week ago, the bandits went to sea, but, not knowing how to control the boat, they smashed it on the coastal reefs. The trip to Tabor has to be postponed until a new vehicle is built. For the next seven months, the mysterious stranger does not make himself felt. Meanwhile, a volcano wakes up on the island, which the colonists considered already dead. They are building a new large ship, which, if necessary, could deliver them to inhabited earth.

One evening, already preparing to go to bed, the inhabitants of the Granite Palace hear a call. The telegraph works, which they carried from the corral to their home. They are urgently summoned to the corral. There they find a note asking them to walk along an additional wire. The cable leads them to a huge grotto, where they see, to their amazement, a submarine. In it they meet her owner and their patron, Captain Nemo, the Indian prince Dakkar, who fought for the independence of his homeland all his life. He, already a sixty-year-old man, who buried all his associates, is dying. Nemo gives his new friends a chest of jewels and warns that if a volcano erupts, the island (such is its structure) will explode. He dies, the settlers batten down the hatches of the boat and lower it under water, and they themselves tirelessly build a new ship all day long. However, they fail to finish it. All living things die during the explosion of the island, from which only a small reef in the ocean remains. The settlers who spent the night in a tent on the shore are thrown into the sea by an air wave. All of them, with the exception of Jupe, remain alive. For more than ten days they sit on the reef, almost dying of hunger and no longer hoping for anything. Suddenly they see a ship. This is Duncan. He saves everyone. As it turns out later, Captain Nemo, when the bot was still safe, sailed on it to Tabor and left a note for the rescuers.

Returning to America, with the jewelry donated by Captain Nemo, the friends buy a large piece of land and live on it just like they lived on Lincoln Island.

E. V. Semina

(Un capitaine de quinze ans)

Roman (1878)

On January 29, 1873, the schooner-brig "Pilgrim", equipped for whaling, sets sail from the port of Oakland, New Zealand. On board are the brave and experienced Captain Gul, five experienced sailors, a fifteen-year-old junior sailor - an orphan Dick Send, a ship's cook Negoro, as well as the wife of the owner of the "Pilgrim" James Weldon - Mrs. Weldon with a five-year-old son Jack, her eccentric relative, whom everyone calls " cousin Benedict," and the old nanny Nun, a black woman. The sailboat is on its way to San Francisco with a stop at Valparaiso. After a few days of sailing, little Jack notices in the ocean the Waldeck ship capsized on its side with a hole in the bow. In it, the sailors discover five emaciated blacks and a dog named Dingo. It turns out that the Negroes: Tom, a sixty-year-old man, his son Bat, Austin, Actaeon and Hercules are free citizens of the United States. Having completed work on a plantation contract in New Zealand, they returned to America. After the Waldeck collided with another ship, all crew members and the captain disappeared and they were left alone. They are transferred aboard the Pilgrim, and after a few days of careful care, they are fully restored to their strength. Dingo, according to them, the captain of the "Waldeck" picked up off the coast of Africa. At the sight of Negoro, the dog, for some unknown reason, begins to growl ferociously and expresses its readiness to pounce on him. Negoro prefers not to show himself to the dog, which, apparently, recognized him.

A few days later, Captain Gul and five sailors, who dared to set off on a boat to catch a whale, which they saw a few miles from the ship, die. Dick Send, who remained on the ship, takes over as captain. Negroes are trying under his leadership to learn the sailor's craft. With all his courage and inner maturity, Dick does not have all the navigational knowledge and knows how to navigate the ocean only by a compass and a lot that measures the speed of movement. He does not know how to find a location by the stars, which is what Negoro uses. He breaks one compass and imperceptibly changes the indications of the second one. Then disables the lot. His intrigues contribute to the fact that instead of America, the ship arrives on the shores of Angola and is thrown ashore. All travelers are safe. Negoro quietly leaves them and leaves in an unknown direction. After some time, Dick Sand, who went in search of some settlement, meets the American Harris, who, being in collusion with Negoro, his old acquaintance, and assuring that the travelers are on the shores of Bolivia, lures them a hundred miles into the rainforest, promising shelter and leaving on the hacienda of his brother. Over time, Dick Send and Tom realize that they somehow ended up not in South America, but in Africa. Harris, guessing about their insight, hides in the forest, leaving the travelers alone, and goes to a pre-arranged meeting with Negoro. From their conversation, it becomes clear to the reader that Harris is engaged in the slave trade, Negoro was also familiar with this trade for a long time, until the authorities of Portugal, where he comes from, sentenced him to life imprisonment for such activities. After staying on it for two weeks, Negoro escaped, got a job as a cook on the Pilgrim and began to wait for the right opportunity to get back to Africa. Dick's inexperience played into his hands, and his plan was carried out much sooner than he dared hope. Not far from the place where he meets Harris, there is a caravan of slaves, which goes to Kazonda to the fair, led by one of their acquaintances. The caravan is encamped ten miles from the whereabouts of the travelers, on the banks of the Kwanza River. Knowing Dick Send, Negoro and Harris correctly assume that he will decide to take his people to the river and go down to the ocean on a raft. That's where they intend to capture them. Having discovered the disappearance of Harris, Dick realizes that a betrayal has taken place, and decides to walk along the bank of the stream to a larger river. On the way, they are overtaken by a thunderstorm and a fierce downpour, from which the river overflows its banks and rises several pounds above ground level. Before the rain, travelers climb into an empty termite mound, twelve feet high. In a huge anthill with thick clay walls, they wait out a thunderstorm. However, having got out of there, they are immediately captured. The blacks, Nun and Dick are attached to the caravan, Hercules manages to escape. Mrs. Weldon, her son, and Cousin Benedict are led away in an unspecified direction. During the journey, Dick and his friends have to endure all the hardships of the transition with a caravan of slaves and witness the brutal treatment of guards and overseers with slaves.

The caravan arrives at Kazonda, where the slaves are distributed among the barracks. Dick Send accidentally meets Harris and, after Harris, deceiving him, reports the death of Mrs. Weldon and her son, in desperation snatches a dagger from his belt and kills him. The slave fair is to take place the next day. Negoro, who saw from afar the scene of his friend's death, asks permission from Alvets, the owner of the slave caravan and a very influential person in Kazonda, and also from Muani-Lung, the local king, permission to execute Dick after the fair. Alvets promises Muani-Lung, unable to do without alcohol for a long time, a drop of fiery water for every drop of white man's blood. He prepares a strong punch, sets it on fire, and when Muani-Lung drinks it, his thoroughly alcoholized body suddenly catches fire and the king rots to the very bones. His first wife, Queen Muan, arranges a funeral, during which, according to tradition, numerous other wives of the king are killed, thrown into a pit and flooded. In the same pit is Dick tied to a post. He must die.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Weldon and her son and cousin Benedict also live in Kazonda outside the fence of the Alvets trading post. Negoro holds them hostage there and wants a ransom of one hundred thousand dollars from Mr. Weldon. He forces Mrs. Weldon to write a letter to her husband, which should contribute to the implementation of his plan, and, leaving the hostages in the care of Alvets, departs for San Francisco. One day, Cousin Benedict, an avid insect collector, is chasing a particularly rare ground beetle. Pursuing her, he imperceptibly for himself through a mole-hole, passing under the walls of the fence, breaks free and runs two miles through the forest in the hope of still grabbing the insect. There he meets Hercules, who has been next to the caravan all this time in the hope of helping his friends in some way.

At this time, a long downpour, unusual for this time of year, begins in the village, which floods all nearby fields and threatens to leave the inhabitants without a crop. Queen Muan invites sorcerers to the village so that they drive away the clouds. Hercules, having caught one of these sorcerers in the forest and disguised himself in his attire, pretends to be a mute sorcerer and comes to the village, grabs the astonished queen by the hand and leads her to the trading post of Alvets. There he shows by signs that a white woman and her are to blame for the troubles of her people. child. He grabs them and takes them out of the village. Alvets tries to detain him, but succumbs to the onslaught of savages and is forced to release the hostages. After walking eight miles and finally freeing himself from the last curious villagers, Hercules lowers Mrs. Weldon and Jack into the boat, where they are amazed to find that the sorcerer and Hercules are the same person, they see Dick Send, saved by Hercules from death, cousin Benedict and Dingo. Only Tom, Bath, Actaeon and Austin are missing, who were sold into slavery and stolen from the village even earlier. Now travelers finally have the opportunity to go down to the ocean on a boat disguised as a floating island. From time to time Dick comes ashore to hunt. After a few days of travel, the boat sails past the village of cannibals, located on the right bank. The fact that not an island, but a boat with people, is floating along the river, the savages discover after it is already far ahead. Unnoticed by travelers, savages along the shore pursue the boat in the hope of prey. A few days later, the boat stops at the left bank, so as not to be drawn into the waterfall. Dingo, barely jumping ashore, rushes forward, as if smelling someone's footprint. Travelers stumble upon a small shack, in which already whitened human bones are scattered. Nearby, two letters "S. V." are drawn in blood on a tree. These are the same letters that are engraved on the Dingo's collar. Nearby is a note in which its author, the traveler Samuel Vernoy, accuses his guide Negoro of mortally wounding him in December 1871 and robbing him. Suddenly, Dingo takes off, and a scream is heard nearby. It was Dingo who grabbed the throat of Negoro, who, before boarding the steamer to America, returned to the scene of his crime in order to get from the hiding place the money he had stolen from Vernon. Dingo, whom Negoro stabs with a knife before dying, dies.

But Negoro himself cannot escape retribution. Fearing on the left bank of Negoro's satellites, Dick is sent for reconnaissance to the right bank. There, arrows fly at him, and ten savages from the village of cannibals jump into his boat. Dick shoots through the oar, and the boat is carried to the waterfall. The savages die in it, but Dick, who has taken cover in a boat, manages to escape. Soon the travelers reach the ocean, and then without incident on August 25 they arrive in California. Dick Send becomes the son of Weldon's family, by the age of eighteen he completes hydrographic courses and is preparing to become a captain on one of James Weldon's ships. Hercules becomes a great family friend. Mr. Weldon redeems Tom, Bat, Actaeon, and Austin from slavery, and on November 15, 1877, four negroes who have escaped so many dangers find themselves in the friendly embrace of Weldon.

(Le ventre de Paris)

Roman (1873)

Florent returned to Paris, from where seven years ago, in December 1851, after barricade battles in the city at night, he was sent into exile, to the hell of Cayenne. They took him only because he wandered around the city like a lost man at night and his hands were covered in blood - he tried to save a young woman who was wounded before his eyes, but she was already dead. The blood on his hands seemed to the police sufficient evidence. With two comrades who soon died on the way, he miraculously escaped from Cayenne, wandered around Dutch Guiana, and finally decided to return to his native city, which he dreamed about all the seven years of his torment. He hardly recognizes Paris: on the very spot where the bloodied woman once lay, whose blood killed Florent, today stands the Central Market, the "womb of Paris" - fish, meat, cheese, trebuchin rows, the kingdom of food, the apotheosis of gluttony, above which, mixing, float the smells of cheeses, sausages, oils, the persistent stench of fish, light clouds of floral and fruity aromas. Hungry and exhausted, Florent nearly loses consciousness. It was then that he met the artist Claude Lantier, who rudely but friendly offered him his help. Together they go around the market, and Claude introduces the newcomer to local attractions: here is the real imp Marjolin, found in cabbage, and living in the market; here is the nimble Kadina, also from the foundlings, she was sheltered by a tradeswoman; here is the finished picture - heaps of vegetables and herbs ... Florent can no longer endure this oppressive magnificence. Suddenly it seems to him that he has recognized an old friend: indeed, this is Gavar, who knew both Florent and his brother well. He changed his apartment, and Florent goes to a new address.

... From early youth, the Floran took over all the care of his brother: their mother died when he had just begun to study law in Paris. Taking the twelve-year-old Kenya to his place and desperately struggling with poverty, the Floran tried to teach his little brother something, but he was much more successful in mastering the cooking business, which he was taught by the shopkeeper Gavar living next door. Quenu made an excellent cook. After the arrest of his brother, he got a job with their uncle Gradel, became a successful sausage maker, married the magnificent beauty Lisa, the daughter of the Macquarts from Plassans. A daughter was born. Quenu remembers Florent less and less, considering him dead. His appearance in the sausage shop causes fear in Kenyu and Lisa - however, Kenyu immediately invites his brother to live and eat with them. Florent is weighed down by freeloading and forced idleness, but cannot but admit that he is gradually coming to his senses in this house, smelling of food, among fat, sausages, melted lard. Soon, Gavar and Kenya find him a place of supervisor in the pavilion of sea fish: now it is his responsibility to monitor the freshness of the goods and the honesty of the merchants in the calculations. Meticulous and incorruptible, Florent begins this work and soon wins general respect, although at first his gloominess and restraint (behind which hid only timidity and meekness) scare away the regulars of the market. And the eternal rival of the sausage maker Liza, the second beauty of the market - Louise Meguden, nicknamed Normandy - even has her sights on him ... the Floran is busy with her little son Mush, teaching him to read and write, and the little foul-mouthed with an angelic appearance becomes attached to him with all her heart. Being drawn into the hearty, spicy, noisy life of the market, the floran meets with Claude, who comes here to write sketches, and visits the Lebigre tavern in the evenings, where men gather in the evenings to drink and talk. They are talking more and more about politics: the owner of the tavern, the taciturn Lebigre, sometimes hints at his participation in the events of 1848 ... The home-grown Jacobin Charvet, the long-haired private teacher in a shabby frock coat, and the evil hunchback appraiser Logr, and the peddler Lacaille, and the loader Alexander are talking here . They make up the circle of Florent's interlocutors, who gradually ceases to hide his views and more and more often speaks of the need to overthrow the tyranny of the Tuileries ... The times of Napoleon III - Napoleon the Small are standing. Florent's days are monotonous, but in the evenings he takes the soul away.

The market, meanwhile, lives its full, noisy life: the traders intrigue, quarrel, and gossip. The Norman scolds her eternal rival Lisa and spreads rumors about her and Florent. He becomes the main subject of contention. The old maid Mademoiselle Sage, eating the remnants of the Tuileries feasts (they are distributed free of charge in the market), spreads gossip about everyone and everything and receives free tidbits for this. Squabbles, squabbles, skirmishes break out every minute in the realm of abundance. Florent does not want to notice all this - he is already absorbed in the thought of the uprising, which he discusses with Gavard and new friends in the Lebigra tavern. These conversations give their monotonous life, passing in the neighborhood of a giant market, a new meaning and sharpness. Mademoiselle Saget tirelessly gossips about the revolutionary sentiments of the new overseer of the fish rows, these rumors reach Lisa, she begins to hint to her husband that it would be good to get rid of Florent, and soon the whole market is sure that Florent is a dangerous and unrepentant "red". Having already made enemies for himself with honesty and directness, he becomes an outcast in the market and feels like a person only among like-minded people who listen to him, the guests of Lebigr.

... Marjolen and Kadina grow up together in the market, not knowing their parents, sleeping in the same bed with the merchant aunt Chantimesse since childhood. Their childhood friendship imperceptibly turns into love - or into what seems to them love, because by the age of seventeen, Gavar's assistant Marjolen is simply a beautiful animal, and fifteen-year-old Kadina is just as charming and just as thoughtless animal. She sells flowers, runs around the market and here and there she intercepts another yummy. One day, the beautiful Liza decides to go to Gavar's poultry house and talk to him about dangerous political disputes at Lebigr's. She did not find Gavar. Marjolen, rejoicing at the guest, took her around the shop for a long time, then jokingly tried to hug her - and Liza hit him with her fist between the eyes with all her might. The boy collapsed to the floor, splitting his head on the stone counter. Luckily, he didn't remember anything when he came to. He was sent to the hospital, but after the fall he became a complete idiot, finally turning into a jubilant, well-fed animal. For Florent and Claude, he becomes a symbol of the market, its soul - or rather, a symbol of the absence of this soul.

Florent tries in vain to lure Claude into a political struggle. "In politics, you are as much an artist as I am," Claude casually replies, interested only in art. But Gavar is seriously interested in politics and begins to defiantly carry a pistol with him, talking about the victory of the Republicans as if it was a settled matter. The frightened Lisa, with the blessing of the curate, sorts through Florent's papers in his room and finds out that in his unfulfilled dreams Florent has already divided the city into twenty sectors, at the head of each he provided for the commander-in-chief and even drew badges for each of the twenty detachments. This terrifies Lisa. Meanwhile, the old woman Sazhet learns from a casual slip of the little daughter Quenu that Florent is an escaped convict. This rumor engulfs the entire market like wildfire. Frightened, Liza finally decides to go to the prefecture with a denunciation of her brother-in-law, whom she has been giving out to the whole market as a cousin. Here, a gloomy bald gentleman informs her that the police commissars of three cities at once informed about Florent's return from hard labor. All his life, all his work in the Central Market was thoroughly known to the police. The prefecture hesitated only because it wanted to cover the entire "secret society". The old woman Sage and even the apprentice Quenu Auguste denounced Florent ... Lisa understands that her husband is beyond suspicion and, therefore, out of danger. Only here it becomes clear to her all the senselessness of her own denunciation. Now she can only wait for the Floran, who has never offended a dove in his life, to be arrested.

And so it happened. They also take Gavar, who flaunted a pistol, and now he is terrified to death. Immediately after the arrest, a fight for his fortune begins in his house. Florent is taken to his brother's apartment, but Florent refuses to say goodbye to Quenu, who is busy cooking black pudding - he is afraid to get emotional himself and upset him. At the trial, Florent is credited with more than twenty accomplices, of whom he barely knows seven. Logres and Lacaille were acquitted. Floran and Gavar were sent into exile, from where this time they would never return.

Remembering a friend, Claude Lantier walks around the jubilant, gigantic Central Market. Lisa Quenu, sparkling with whiteness, is laying out hams and tongues on the counter. The old woman Sazhet walks between the rows. The Norman, who has just married Lebigre, greets her former rival Lisa in a friendly manner. Claude is surrounded by the triumph of the womb, everything around breathes fat health - and the hungry artist mutters through his teeth: "What scoundrels, however, are all these decent people!"

D. A. Bykov

Roman (1880)

Anna Coupeau, nicknamed Nana, the daughter of the drunken washerwoman Gervaise Macquart and the crippled worker Coupeau, died in Paris in 1870 at the age of eighteen from smallpox, outliving her two-year-old son by a few days and leaving several dozen of her lovers in sorrow. However, her lovers quickly consoled themselves. In addition, war with the Prussians was imminent. In the room where Nana was decomposing, whose beautiful, maddening face turned into a purulent mask, the cry was heard every now and then: "To Berlin! To Berlin! To Berlin!"

... She made her debut at the theater Bordenava "Variety", where the premiere of a parody operetta about the triumph of Venus over cuckolds gathered all the secular, literary and theatrical Paris. Everyone has been talking about Nana for a week now - this plump girl, who could not turn around on stage, had a creaky voice, devoid of any grace, conquered the audience from her first appearance on stage: not with talent, of course, but with the crazy call of the flesh emanating from her. This call brought all the men of the city to her feet, and she did not know how to refuse anyone, because she had sentimental haberdashery ideas about love, debauchery had ceased to be new to her almost from the age of fourteen, and the money of her lovers was the only source of her existence. . Untidy, living amid untidiness and filth, spending her days in supernatural idleness, Nana looked like a truly luxurious animal and, as such, was equally attractive to the tabloid journalist Fauchery, the banker Steiner, the semi-social lions of Vandeuvres and La Faloise, the aristocrat Comte Muffe. Soon, seventeen-year-old Georges Hugon, the offspring of an aristocratic family, was added to these admirers, a perfect child, however, very quick in comprehending forbidden pleasures.

... Countess Sabine Muffat, married at the age of seventeen, lived a very virtuous and, to tell the truth, boring life. The count, a bilious and withdrawn man, older than his wife, paid her obviously insufficient attention. Fauchery, bored at the reception at Muff's, begins to seriously think about how to achieve her location. This does not prevent Fauchery from being present at the dinner that Nana gives, gathering actors and actresses of her theater, but most importantly, the men who besiege her apartment day and night. Conversation at Nan's dinner, although more lively than an example, revolves around the same topics: war, politics, gossip. Gossip, however, dominates. All connections are in plain sight, and the ladies calmly discuss the dignity of their lovers with men. Having drunk, Nana falls into hysterics: like any whore, she begins to demand respect from those present and complains about her terrible life. Her complaints are replaced by equally hysterical declarations of love for her next cavalier - Dagne; those present pay little attention to all this, absorbed in some card games, and some in pouring champagne into the piano. Not only the intellectual, but also the political elite willingly participate in such entertainments: the prince himself becomes a regular at the Variety Theater and always visits Nana during intermissions, or even takes her away from the performance in his own carriage. Muffat, who accompanies the prince, goes crazy with jealousy: he himself, having lived a restrained and strict life for forty years, is completely absorbed in an inexplicable passion for the golden-haired Venus, a beauty, an idiot. He tries in vain for Nana: having made an appointment with him, she took a leave of absence from the theater and left for Orleans.

It was here that Georges Hugon, who had run away from his mother, found her, whom Nana, in fits of lisping romance, calls either Zizi or Bebe. The same age as the young man, but possessing, however, incomparably more experience, Nana enjoys the game of childhood love-friendship. There is a joint admiration of the moon and the shedding of Zizi with unbearably vulgar nicknames while dressing him in his favorite nightgown along the way. Georges, however, has to be hidden, for Nana is visited in Orleans by both Steiner and Count Muffat. Sabina Muffat, meanwhile, finally succumbs to Fauchery's courtship, but the count cares little: he is completely absorbed in Nana. He is not even deterred by Fauchery's cruel, blunt article on Nana, entitled "The Golden Fly." It’s hard to argue with Fauchery: Nana really is a golden fly, sucking death from carrion and infecting Paris. While Muffat is reading this article in Nana's apartment, the hostess admires herself in front of the mirror, sways her whole torso, feels the mole on her thigh and strong breasts. Whatever destructive poison, whatever golden beast Muffat saw in it, he wanted it, and he wanted it all the more, the more clearly he realized its monstrous depravity and stupidity. Nana informs him that Sabina, having lived with the Count for nineteen years, is now cheating on him with Fauchery. After hitting her, the count runs out, and Nana allows her maid Zoe to let the next one in. After wandering all night in the rain, Muffat returns to her and comes face to face with Steiner. Steiner brought the money - a thousand francs, which Nana had asked him the day before. Brought to an extreme degree of irritation by the importunity of both, Nana, who generally passes extremely easily from tears to laughter, from sentimentality to anger, puts both out. She's tired of everything. The exiled and completely destroyed count returns home. At the door he meets his wife, who has just arrived from her lover.

Having kicked out the count and the banker, Nana realizes that a luxurious apartment will have to be changed to a more modest dwelling. With the actor "Variety" fountain - a rare freak - she settles in a more modest dwelling. At first, their life flows almost idyllic, then the Fountain begins to beat her, and she is ready to find a kind of pleasure in this, but there is a limit to everything: Nana needs an outlet. Her friend becomes such an outlet - a slut named Satin, who, without much pleasure giving herself to men and maintaining a girlish-innocent look, finds much more joy in lesbian pleasures. However, one day, while visiting a brothel where Atlasnaya spent the night, Nana fell into a round-up and barely carried her legs. Count Muffat, who was looking for reconciliation, came in handy for her. She easily persuaded him to ensure that the role of a decent woman in the next Bordenave premiere went to her, and not to her eternal rival Rose Mignon. Muffat bought this role from Bordenave for fifteen thousand francs - he is now ready for anything. It was at his expense that Nana became a "cocotte of the highest flight." She moved to a luxurious mansion on Avenue de Villiers, bought by the count, but did not leave either Georges, whom she condescendingly received from time to time, or Satin, in whose arms she joined in a previously unknown vice. This does not prevent her from getting carried away by George's brother, Philippe Hugon,

At the races in the Bois de Boulogne, Nana, surrounded by men, becomes the true queen of Paris: a red mare named "Nana" is put on the run. A dubious pun "Who rides Nana?" causes general excitement. Almost everyone bets on the red mare, and she wins the races with brilliance: Nana is carried home almost in her arms. Vandeuvre went bankrupt at the races, but Nana doesn't care much. Vandeuvre makes a row in the racing society, claiming that the result of the race is rigged. Excluded from society, he set fire to his stable and burned there with all the horses. This made Nana think about death for the first time and be afraid of it. And soon she had a miscarriage - for two months she did not believe in her pregnancy, explaining everything by ill health, and almost died. The ruined Count Muffat spends all his time with her. His daughter Estella marries Dagne, but the countess looks younger and better than her daughter: her relationship with Fauchery is no longer a secret to anyone. The Count has long felt like a stranger in his own house. At the wedding of Estella and Dagne, he looks old and miserable. Dagne seizes the moment to run to Nana right before the celebration and, as he puts it, hand over his innocence to her. Both are extremely amused by this adventure.

Nana reigns over the city. Philip Yugon, appointed regimental treasurer, brings her all the government money and ends up in prison.

His younger brother stabbed himself to death with scissors right in Nan's mansion after she said she would never marry him. Count Muffat goes mad with jealousy as Nana ruins more and more lovers one by one. Finding the ugly old man, the Marquis de Chouart, with her, the count finally finds the strength to escape from the monster that broke his life: ruined, he returns to his wife, who by that time had broken with Fauchery, and completely indulges in religion. Nana soon disappears from Paris - according to rumors, she visited Russia, was in the care of some prince, but did not get along with him and returned to Paris. Here her child dies - abandoned, forgotten by her Louise, maternal tenderness for which she so loved to demonstrate. The next day, she suddenly falls ill with smallpox. Her death coincides with the start of the war. Almost none of Nana's friends and lovers dare to approach her body - the fear of getting infected is too strong.

She lies alone in the hotel, where she arrived immediately after returning. Her face - a solid abscess - is turned upwards, her right eye has sunk in, pus flows out of her nose, her cheek is covered with a red crust. Beautiful red hair is a halo above a frozen mask.

D. L. Bykov

Roman (1885)

Mechanic Etienne Lantier, expelled from the railway for slapping his boss, is trying to get a job in the mine of the Monsou company, which is near the town of Vore, in the village of Dvuhsot Soroka. There is no work anywhere, the miners are starving. A place for him in the mine was found only because on the eve of his arrival in Vora, one of the haulers died. The old slaughterer Mahe, whose daughter Katrina works with him in the mine as a second hauler, takes Lantier into his team.

The work is unbearably difficult, and fifteen-year-old Katrina looks perpetually haggard. Mahe, his son Zakharia, artel workers Levak and Chaval work, lying either on their backs or on their sides, squeezing through a shaft barely half a meter wide: the coal seam is thin. In the slaughter unbearable stuffiness. Katrina and Etienne are pushing the carts. On the very first day, Etienne decides to leave Vore: this daily hell is not for him. In front of his eyes, the company's management smashes the miners for not caring about their own safety. The silent slavery of the miners amazes him. Only the look of Katrina, the memory of her make him stay in the village for some more time.

The Mahe live in unimaginable poverty. They are always indebted to the shopkeeper, they do not have enough for bread, and Maheu's wife has no choice but to go with the children to the Piolena estate, owned by the landowners Gregoires. Gregoires, co-owners of the mines, sometimes help the poor. The owners of the estate discover all signs of degeneration in Mahe and her children and, having handed her a pair of old children's dresses, they teach a lesson in frugality. When a woman asks for a hundred sous, she is refused: serving is not in the Gregoire rules. Children, however, are given a piece of bread. In the end, Mahe manages to soften the shopkeeper Megr - in response to a promise to send Katrina to him. While the men work in the mine, the women prepare dinner, a stew of sorrel, potatoes, and leeks; the Parisians, who came to inspect the mines and get acquainted with the life of the miners, are touched by the generosity of the mine owners, who give the workers such cheap housing and supply all the mining families with coal.

Washing becomes one of the holidays in a mining family: once a week, the whole Mahe family, without hesitation, takes turns dipping into a barrel of warm water and changing into clean clothes. Mahe then indulges with his wife, calling his only entertainment "free dessert". Meanwhile, Katrina is harassed by the young Chaval: remembering her love for Etienne, she resists him, but not for long. In addition, Chaval bought her a ribbon. He possessed Katrina in a barn outside the village.

Etienne gradually gets used to work, to comrades, even to the rough simplicity of local customs: he now and then comes across lovers walking behind the dump, but Etienne believes that young people are free. Only the love of Katrina and Chaval outrages him - he is unconsciously jealous. Soon he meets the Russian machinist Suvarin, who lives next door to him. Souvarine avoids talking about himself, and Étienne does not soon find out that he is dealing with a populist socialist. After fleeing Russia, Souvarine got a job at the company. Etienne decides to tell him about his friendship and correspondence with Plushard, one of the leaders of the labor movement, the secretary of the northern federation of the newly created International in London. Souvarine is skeptical about the International and Marxism: he believes only in terror, in revolution, in anarchy, and calls for burning cities, destroying the old world by all means. Etienne, on the contrary, dreams of organizing a strike, but it needs money - a mutual benefit fund that would allow him to hold out at least for the first time.

In August, Etienne moves to live with Mahe. He tries to captivate the head of the family with his ideas, and Mahe seems to begin to believe in the possibility of justice, but his wife immediately reasonably objects that the bourgeoisie will never agree to work like miners, and all talk of equality will forever remain nonsense. Mahe's ideas about a just society come down to the desire to live properly, and it's no wonder - the company is fining workers with might and main for non-compliance with safety regulations and is looking for any excuse to cut earnings. Another pay cut is the perfect excuse to strike. The head of the Mahe family, receiving a godlessly reduced salary, is also reprimanded for talking about politics with his tenant - rumors have already circulated about this. Toussaint Maheu, an old miner, is only enough to nod fearfully. He himself is ashamed of his own stupid obedience. A cry of poverty spreads throughout the village. At the new site where the Mahe family works, it becomes more and more dangerous - either an underground source will hit in the face, or a layer of coal will be so thin that you can move in the mine only by peeling your elbows. Soon, the first collapse in Etienne's memory occurs, in which the youngest son of Mahe, Jeanlin, broke both legs. Etienne and Mahe understand that there is nothing more to lose: only the worst lies ahead. It's time to strike.

The director of the Enbo mines is informed that no one has come to work. Etienne and several of his comrades made up a delegation to negotiate with the hosts. Mahe also entered. Along with him went Pierron, Levak and delegates from other villages. The demands of the miners are insignificant: they insist that they be given an increase in the wage for the trolley by only five sous. Enbo tries to cause a split in the deputation and speaks of someone's vile suggestion, but not a single miner from Monsou is yet a member of the International. On behalf of the miners, Etienne begins to speak - he alone is able to argue with Enbo. Étienne finally directly threatens that sooner or later the workers will be forced to resort to other measures in order to defend their lives. The board of mines refuses to make concessions, which finally hardens the miners. The whole village is running out of money, but Etienne is convinced that the strike must be held to the last. Plushard promises to come to Vora and help with money, but hesitates. At last Étienne waited for him. The miners gather for a meeting with the widow Desir. The owner of the tavern, Rasner, is in favor of ending the strike, but the miners tend to trust Étienne more. Plushard, considering strikes to be too slow a means of struggle, takes the floor and urges all the same to continue the strike. The police commissioner with four gendarmes appears to forbid the meeting, but, warned by the widow, the workers manage to disperse in time. Plushard promised to send the allowance. The company's board, meanwhile, decided to fire the most stubborn strikers and those who were considered instigators.

Etienne is gaining more and more influence over the workers. Soon he completely supplants their former leader - the moderate and cunning Rasner, and he predicts the same fate for him over time. An old man named Immortal at the next meeting of miners in the forest recalls how fruitlessly his comrades protested and died half a century ago. Étienne speaks passionately like never before. The assembly decides to continue the strike. Only the mine in Jean-Bart works for the entire company. The local miners are declared traitors and decide to teach them a lesson. Arriving in Jean Barthes, workers from Monsou begin to cut ropes - by doing this they force the miners to leave the mines. Katrina and Chaval, who live and work in Jean-Bart, also go upstairs. A fight breaks out between strikers and strikebreakers. The management of the company calls the police and the army - dragoons and gendarmes. In response, the workers begin to destroy the mines. The uprising is gaining momentum, spreading like fire through the mines. With the singing of the Marseillaise, the crowd goes to Mons, to the board. Enbo is lost. The miners rob Megr's shop, who died while trying to save his property. Chaval brings the gendarmes, and Katrina barely has time to warn Étienne so that he does not get caught by them. This winter, police and soldiers are deployed in all the mines, but work is not resumed anywhere. The strike covers more and more mines. Etienne finally waited for a direct skirmish with the traitor Chaval, for whom Katrina had long been jealous, and won: Chaval was forced to yield to her and flee.

Meanwhile, Jeanlin, the youngest of Mahe, although limping on both legs, learned to run quite quickly, rob and shoot with a sling. He was disassembled by the desire to kill the soldier - and he killed him with a knife, jumping like a cat from behind, unable to explain his hatred. Collision of miners with soldiers becomes inevitable. The miners themselves went to bayonets, and although the soldiers were ordered to use weapons only as a last resort, shots were soon heard. The miners throw mud and bricks at the officers, the soldiers respond with firing and with the very first shots they kill two children: Lydia and Beber. Killed Mouquette, in love with Etienne, killed Toussaint Mahe. The workers are terribly frightened and depressed. Soon representatives of the authorities from Paris come to Mons. Etienne begins to feel himself the culprit of all these deaths, ruin, violence, and at this moment Rasner again becomes the leader of the miners, demanding reconciliation. Etienne decides to leave the village and meets with Souvarine, who tells him the story of the death of his wife, who was hanged in Moscow. Since then, Souvarine has neither affection nor fear. After listening to this terrible story, Etienne returns home to spend his last night in the village with the Mahe family. Souvarine goes to the mine, where the workers are going to return, and saws off one of the fasteners of the sheathing that protects the mine from the underground sea - the "Stream".

In the morning, Étienne finds out that Katrina is also going to go to the mine. Yielding to a sudden impulse, Etienne goes there with her: love makes him stay one more day in the village. By evening, the current broke through the skin. Soon the water broke through to the surface, exploding everything with its powerful movement. At the bottom of the mine, old Muc, Chaval, Etienne and Katrina remained abandoned. Chest-deep in water, they try to get out into a dry mine, wander in underground labyrinths. This is where the last skirmish between Etienne and Chaval takes place: Etienne cracked the skull of his eternal rival. Together with Katrina, Etienne manages to scrape out a kind of bench in the wall, on which they sit above the stream rushing along the bottom of the mine. They spend three days underground, waiting for death and not hoping for salvation, but suddenly someone's blows are heard through the thickness of the earth: they make their way to them, they are saved! Here, in the dark, in the mine, on a tiny strip of firmament, Etienne and Katrina merge in love for the first and last time. After that, Katrina is forgotten, and Etienne listens to the approaching tremors: the rescuers have reached them. When they were brought to the surface, Katrina was already dead.

Having recovered, Etienne leaves the village. He says goodbye to the widow Mahe, who, having lost her husband and daughter, goes to work in a mine - a hauler. In all the mines that have recently been on strike, work is in full swing. And the dull blows of the kyle, it seems to Etienne, come from under the blossoming spring earth and accompany his every step.

D. L. Bykov

Roman (1886)

Claude Lantier, an artist, hanged himself in his studio in front of an unfinished painting in November 1870. His wife Christine, who posed for this painting and was painfully jealous of it, lost her mind with grief. Claude lived in complete poverty. Nothing remained of him but a few sketches: the last and main picture, a failed masterpiece, was torn off the wall and burned in a fit of rage by a friend of Claude Sandoz. Except for Sandoz and Bongrand - another friend of Claude, an artist-maitre and a rebel academic - there was no one from their company at the funeral.

... All of them were from Plassans and became friends in college: the painter Claude, the novelist Sandoz, the architect Dubuch. In Paris, Dubuch with great difficulty entered the Academy, where he was subjected to merciless ridicule from friends: both Claude and Sandoz dreamed of a new art, equally despising classical models and Delacroix's gloomy, thoroughly literary romanticism. Claude is not only phenomenally gifted, he is obsessed. Classical education is not for him: he learns to portray life as he sees it - Paris, its central market, the banks of the Seine, cafes, passers-by. Sandoz dreams of a synthesis of literature and science, of a gigantic series of novels that would encompass and explain the entire history of mankind. Claude's obsession is alien to him: he watches with fright how periods of inspiration and hope are replaced by his friend's gloomy impotence. Claude works, forgetting about food and sleep, but does not go beyond sketches - nothing satisfies him. But the whole company of young painters and sculptors - the easy and cynical mocker Fazherol, the ambitious son of the stonemason Magudo, the prudent critic Jory - are sure that Claude will become the head of the new school. Jory called it "the plein air school". The whole company, of course, is occupied not only with disputes about art: Magudo with disgust endures the whore druggist Matilda next to him;

Claude avoided women until one night, not far from his house on the Bourbon Quay, he met during a thunderstorm a lost young beauty - a tall girl in black, who had come to act as lecturer to the general's rich widow. Claude had no choice but to offer her to spend the night with him, and she had no choice but to agree. Having chastely placed the guest behind a screen and annoyed by the sudden adventure, in the morning Claude looks at the sleeping girl and freezes: this is the nature that he dreamed of for a new picture. Forgetting everything, he begins to rapidly sketch her small breasts with pink nipples, a thin arm, flowing black hair ... Waking up, she tries to hide under the sheet in horror. Claude hardly persuades her to pose further. They belatedly meet: her name is Christina, and she was barely eighteen. She trusts him: he only sees her as a model. And when she leaves, Claude with annoyance admits to himself that most likely he will never see the best of his models again and that this circumstance seriously upsets him.

He made a mistake. She came in a month and a half later with a bouquet of roses - a token of her gratitude. Claude can work with the same enthusiasm: one sketch, even if it was better than all the previous ones, is not enough for his new work. He conceived the idea of ​​depicting a naked woman against the backdrop of a spring garden, in which couples stroll and wrestlers frolic. There is already a name for the picture - just "Plein Air". In two sessions, he painted Christina's head, but he does not dare to ask her to pose naked again. Seeing how he suffers, trying to find a model like her, one evening she undresses herself in front of him, and Claude completes his masterpiece in a matter of days. The painting is intended for the Salon of the Les Misérables, conceived as a challenge to the semi-official Parisian Salon, unchanged in its predilections. A crowd gathers around Claude's painting, but this crowd is laughing. And no matter how much Jory assures that this is the best advertisement, Claude is terribly depressed. Why is the woman naked and the man clothed? What kind of sharp, rough strokes? Only artists understand all the originality and power of this painting. In feverish excitement, Claude cries of contempt for the public, that together with his comrades he will conquer Paris, but he returns home in despair. Here a new shock awaits him: the key is stuck in the door, some girl has been waiting for him for two hours already ... This is Christina, she was at the exhibition and saw everything: both the picture in which she recognizes herself with horror and admiration, and the audience, consisting of stupid and mockers. She came to console and encourage Claude, who, having fallen at her feet, no longer restrains his sobs.

…This is their first night, followed by months of love intoxication. They rediscover each other. Christine leaves her general, Claude finds a house in Bennecourt, a suburb of Paris, for only two hundred and fifty francs a year. Not married to Christina, Claude calls her his wife, and soon his inexperienced lover discovers that she is pregnant. The boy was named Jacques. After his birth, Claude returns to painting, but the Bennecourt landscapes have already bored him: he dreams of Paris. Christina realizes that burying himself in Bennecourt is unbearable for him: the three of them return to the city.

Claude visits old friends: Magudo yields to the tastes of the public, but still retains talent and strength, the apothecary is still with him and has become even uglier; Zhori earns not so much by criticism as by gossip and is quite pleased with himself; Fajerolle, who is stealing Claude's picturesque finds with might and main, and Irma, who changes lovers weekly, from time to time rush to each other, because there is nothing stronger than the attachment of two egoists and cynics. Bon-gran, Claude's older friend, a recognized master who rebelled against the Academy, for several months in a row cannot get out of a deep crisis, does not see new ways, talks about the artist's agonizing fear of the realization of each new idea, and in his depression Claude sees with horror an omen own torment. Sandoz got married, but still sees friends on Thursdays. Having gathered in the same circle - Claude, Dubuch, Fazherol, Sandoz with his wife Henriette - the friends sadly notice that they are arguing without the same vehemence and are talking more and more about themselves. The connection is broken, Claude goes into solitary work: it seems to him that now he is really capable of exhibiting a masterpiece. But for three years in a row, the Salon rejected his best, innovative, striking creations: the winter landscape of the city's outskirts, the Batignolles Square in May and the sunny, melting view of the Carousel Square in midsummer. Friends are delighted with these canvases, but the sharp, roughly accented painting scares off the Salon jury. Claude is again afraid of his inferiority, hates himself, his insecurities are transferred to Christine. Only a few months later he has a new idea - a view of the Seine with port workers and bathers. Claude takes on a gigantic sketch, rapidly writes down the canvas, but then, as always, in a fit of uncertainty, he spoils his own work, cannot bring anything to the end, ruins the idea. His hereditary neurosis is expressed not only in genius, but also in the inability to realize himself. Any completed work is a compromise, Claude is obsessed with the mania of perfection, the creation of something more alive than life itself. This struggle drives him to despair: he belongs to the type of genius for whom any concession, any retreat is unbearable. His work becomes more and more convulsive, inspiration passes faster and faster: happy at the moment of the birth of an idea, Claude, like any true artist, understands all the imperfection and half-heartedness of any incarnations. Creativity becomes his torture.

At the same time, she and Christina, tired of neighbor gossip, decide to finally get married, but marriage does not bring joy: Claude is absorbed in work, Christina is jealous: having become husband and wife, they realized that their former passion had died. In addition, the son annoys Claude with his excessively large head and slow development: neither mother nor father yet know that Jacques has dropsy of the brain. Poverty comes, Claude proceeds to his last and most grandiose picture - again a naked woman, the personification of Paris at night, the goddess of beauty and vice against the backdrop of a sparkling city. On the day when, in the twilight evening light, he sees his just finished painting and is again convinced that he has been defeated, twelve-year-old Jacques dies. Claude immediately begins to paint "The Dead Child", and Fazherol, feeling guilty before the tattered older comrade, puts the picture in the Salon with great difficulty. There, hung in the farthest room, high up, almost invisible to the public, she looked terrible and pitiful. The new work of Bongrand - "Village Funeral", written as if in a pair to his early "Village Wedding" - was also not noticed by anyone. On the other hand, fajerolle is a huge success, softening the findings from Claude's early works and passing them off as his own; Fagerol, who became the star of the Salon. Sandoz looks longingly at the friends gathered in the Salon. During this time, Dubush married profitably and unhappily, Magudo made an ugly pharmacist his wife and fell into complete dependence on her, Jory sold out, Claude was awarded the nickname of a lunatic - does every life come to such an inglorious end?

But Claude's end turned out to be worse than his friends could have imagined. During one of the painful and already meaningless sessions, when Claude painted Christina naked again and again, she could not stand it. Terribly jealous of the woman on the canvas, she rushed to Claude, begging for the first time in many years to look at her again as a woman. She is still beautiful, he is still strong. On this night, they experience such a passion that they did not know even in their youth. But while Christina is sleeping, Claude gets up and slowly walks to the studio, to his painting. In the morning, Christina sees him hanging from a beam that he himself once nailed to reinforce the ladder.

... The air of the era is poisoned, says Bongran Sandoz at the funeral of a genius from whom nothing remains. We are all misguided people, and the end of the century is to blame for everything, with its rottenness, decay, dead ends on all paths. Art is in decline, anarchy is all around, personality is suppressed, and the age that began with clarity and rationalism ends with a new wave of obscurantism. If it were not for the fear of death, every true artist would have to act like Claude. But even here, in the cemetery, among old coffins and dug up earth, Bongran and Sandoz remember that work awaits them at home - their eternal, only torture.

D. L. Bykov

(Aventures prodigieuses de Tartarin de Tarascon)

Roman (1872)

186 ... the year, the country is ruled by Napoleon III, everyone who can is prospering. In the small town of Tarascon, in the south of France, lives the great hunter Tartarin, in whose garden baobabs and other exotic trees grow. The passion for hunting is shared by all the fellow citizens of Tartarin, and although the game in the vicinity has long been extinct, every Sunday the Tarascons are armed to the teeth and go out of town, where they shoot at their caps - to the delight of local hatters.

As a cap hunter, Tartarin is unparalleled, and the Tarascons revere him as their leader. And only two "completely different natures" of the hero do not allow him to turn around. Possessing the soul of Don Quixote, Tartarin, having read the novels of Gustav Aymar and Fenimore Cooper, is eager for exploits, but Sancho Panza's "well-fed" and comfort-loving short-legged body prevents the realization of great plans. Therefore, Tartarin lives without escape in Taras-Kon.

However, one day he almost leaves for Shanghai. The thought of such a possibility shocks our hero so much that for a long time he talks exclusively about Shanghai and about the dangers of life there, which is why it soon seems to everyone in the city that he has already been there. After all, in essence, what difference does it make whether he really made this trip or not, the main thing is to tell him well about everything!

After some time, Tartarin performs the second feat that glorified him - he tames the ferocious Atlas lion from the menagerie of a visiting circus. The lion, sitting in a cage, growls menacingly at the hero, but he is unshakable like a rock. Delighted spectators gasp, and a rumor spreads throughout the city that Tartarin is going to Africa to hunt lions.

But time passes, and Tartarin does not leave. The boys of the city are impudently singing couplets that cast doubt on the bravery of the great hunter. And poor Tartarin-Don Quixote, despite the fierce resistance of Tartarin-Sancho, decides to go.

And then comes the solemn day. Tarasconians from early morning pour out into the streets in order to see how their countryman departs for the land of lions. Wearing an Algerian costume and a huge fez, Tartarin steps majestically behind his luggage, which consists of many boxes, bales and various newfangled hunting devices.

On the first of December, the fearless Tartarin arrives at the port of Marseille and is loaded onto the Zouave packet boat, sailing for Algiers.

During the voyage, when everyone around is drinking champagne and playing cards, the valiant Tartarin suffers from seasickness in his cabin. Finally, the ship comes ashore, and Tartarin rises to the deck. Here he meets the Montenegrin prince, who recommends himself as an expert on local customs and the Arabic language. While Tartarin is looking around, Negro porters climb onto the deck, and Tartarin, mistaking them for corsairs, rushes at them with a dagger. Captain Bar-basu explains to the enraged hero his mistake.

Going ashore, Tartarin experiences the most severe disappointment: instead of a fabulous city, he sees familiar houses, a pavement, coffee houses, full of military men and ladies of easy virtue. It seems to him that he never left France. Tired of the move and impressions, Tartarin, accompanied by porters, goes to the hotel, falls on the bed and falls asleep like a log.

The next day, the hero wakes up with the firm intention of going hunting. Having hardly made his way through the streets crowded with carts and camels, he goes outside the city, where he meets hunters. But alas! - their bags are full of rabbits and snipes, and no one has heard anything about lions.

Until dark, Tartarin roams the wild desert, overgrown with bizarre plants that look like bristling animals. At night, the great hunter, wishing to lure the lion, overcomes fear and bleats like a goat. And right next to him there is a silhouette of a huge beast. Tartarin fires, and in response he hears a dull roar. Taking a fighting stance, Tartarin waits for the lioness, but she does not appear.

While Tartarin is trying to set up an improved tent, it begins to get light, and with the first rays of the sun, the hunter discovers that he has settled down among the beds with artichokes, and not far from him lies the donkey he killed at night, called by the locals "lop-eared". The furious hostess of the donkey hurries to Tartarin, and our hero hardly pays off her.

The first failure does not discourage Tartarin. But soon he forgets about any living creature for a long time, because he falls in love with a Barbary. For days on end, he roams the city, trying to find his beautiful stranger, "about whom he knows nothing except the smell of shoes and the color of his eyes! Only a madly in love Tarascon is able to venture on such an adventure."

Unexpectedly, providence comes to the aid of Tartarin in the form of the Montenegrin prince Gregory, for whom our hero pays a gambling debt. The prince is looking for the Moorish Tartarin. The girl's name is Bahia, she doesn't speak French, she is guarded by a ferocious brother who needs to be appeased by buying more pipes from him. Tartarin buys pipes in boxes, and he is admitted to the house of a beautiful Moorish woman. True, she seems to Tartarin somewhat thicker and shorter than the beauty that struck his imagination, but in general she is also not bad.

Tartarin rents a house for his beloved, and from now on his life is filled with "hookah, bath and love." Since the girl does not speak French, only local residents and Prince Gregory visit them. They all eat Tartarin's jam, smoke his tobacco, and take their leave in the evening.

One day, passing by a coffee shop, Tartarin notices Captain Barbasa. The captain expresses the seditious idea that Baia speaks excellent French, and at the same time advises Tartarin to stay away from the Montenegrin princes. From the piece of newspaper received from the captain, the fearless hunter learns how sad Tarascon is at the lack of news about his great countryman. And by the way, where are the skins of lions?

After reading the note, the Tarascon turns pale: Don Quixote awakens in him. Tartarin throws off his turban and shoes and in a creaky stagecoach rides to the south of the country - to hunt lions! Having landed in one of the villages, he finally encounters a lion - an old sick animal holding an alms bowl in his teeth. Seized with righteous anger, Tartarin wants to free the proud beast, but then Negroes with clubs come running, and only Prince Gregory, who has arrived from nowhere, rescues the unlucky Tarascon from trouble.

The next day, Tartarin, accompanied by the prince, goes to hunt lions. For his numerous luggage, Tartarin has to buy a camel. Our hero goes further and further south, but there are no lions. In every village, festivities are held for him, for which he pays the bills. Finally, Tartarin sets up a night ambush in an oleander grove, and so that the lion, in case of an attack, inadvertently breaks his wallet, the Tarascon gives it to the prince for safekeeping. In the morning, only a camel is waiting in Tartarin's camp. The prince disappeared along with the purse. "For a whole month, his highness has been waiting for such an opportunity" ... Tartarin is shocked, but then a lion jumps out at him. Bach! Bach! Done ... alas, it was the same lion that collected donations.

The trial begins. Tartarin gets acquainted with another side of Algerian life - with the world of judges and suspicious solicitors who do their business in cheap coffee houses. The unfortunate lion slayer is sentenced to a fine and, in order to scrape together money, sells his luggage. After paying the fine, Tartarin is left with only the skin of a lion and a camel. Having carefully packed the skin, he sends it to Tarascon. Attempts to sell the camel are not successful.

Tartarin goes on foot to Algiers, the camel faithfully follows him. The closer the hero comes to the city, the more he wants to get rid of the camel. Finally he manages to hide from him.

In the city, he goes to the house of his beauty, where another surprise awaits him: Captain Barbasu is sitting in the yard, and next to him is Bahia, who, as he was assured, does not know a word in French, cheerfully sings French couplets ...

Barbasu informs Tartarin that his prince went to prison for fraud, so the great hunter obviously will not return his money. However, the kindest Barbasu agrees to take the hero to Marseilles. Climbing on deck, Tartarin sees his devoted dromedary following him to the ship. Moved by this sight, the captain takes the animal on board.

Having landed in Marseille, Tartarin goes to the station and boards the train. Looking out the window, he discovers that his camel is rushing near the train. Oh, woe to Tartarin! He returns from the expedition without a single sou ... but with a camel!

As soon as Tartarin leaves the train in his native Tarascon, the vaults of the station resound with a welcoming roar: "Long live Tartarin, the lion-slayer!" The reason for all this hype is the skin of a blind lion, so successfully sent by Tartarin to his homeland ... The hero instantly cheers up, pats patronizingly on the back of the dromedary that made his way to him and proudly strides home, surrounded by admiring cap hunters. And already on the way, he begins to talk about his extraordinary adventures ...

E. V. Morozova

Roman (1883)

Northwest France. Rouen. May morning 1819. Jeanne, a fair-haired girl with eyes like blue agates, daughter of Baron Le Pertuis de Vaux, packs her suitcases herself and looks out the window again: the rain does not stop ... And I really want to go!

Jeanne had just returned to her parents' home from the monastery, where she was brought up "in strict confinement" from the age of twelve. And now, finally, freedom, the beginning of life, and they are going to "Topol" with dad and mom, to the family castle on the seashore, to the village for the whole summer! The rain does not stop, but they still go. In the carriage there is an eccentric, kindest father, a very plump mother and a young maid Rosalie. The castle in Poplars, of course, is old, but my father sold one of his farms and put everything in order with this money: after all, he and his mother decided to give this castle to Jeanne. She will live there when she gets married ... In the meantime, they go there for the whole summer.

The castle is very spacious, very cozy and quite disorderly: on the sides of the chest of drawers in the style of Louis XIV there are two armchairs (just think!) in the style of Louis XV ... But even in this there is freedom. You can run anywhere, walk and swim in the sea - sheer happiness, and ahead of your whole life and, of course, love. It remains only to meet Him, and as soon as possible!

Abbé Picot, the local curate, having dinner one day at the Poplars, remembers over dessert that he has a new parishioner, the Viscount de Lamar, charming, decent, quiet. On Sunday, the baroness and Jeanne go to mass, and the curate introduces them to a young man. He soon makes the first visit, he is well-mannered, and he is invited to dine next week. The Viscount ate. Nothing has happened yet, nothing yet, he only looks at Jeanne with velvety black eyes. No one knows anything yet - neither the baron and the baroness, nor Jeanne, nor even the reader, but meanwhile the plot of the drama has already taken place ...

The viscount is constantly in their house, he helps mommy "take exercise", the three of them - with her father and Zhanna - arranged a boat trip, his name is Julien, and Zhanna is full of anticipation of love, and now the captivating question finally sounds: "Do you want to be my wife? "

The rite is complete. Zhanna is excited: how can it be - yesterday she fell asleep as a girl, and today, now, standing at the altar, she has become a woman! But why does Julien gently whisper that in the evening Jeanne will become his wife? Didn't she... didn't she?!

And now it's evening. Mommy, poor, is crying, unable to give the last instructions to her daughter. Forced to take the father ...

Rosalie undresses Jeanne and for some reason roars in three streams, but Jeanne does not notice anything, she is in bed and waiting, she herself does not know what ...

Then follow two or three pages of a special property - "... another leg slid along her leg, cold and hairy ..."

Then, during a honeymoon trip to Corsica, a woman quietly awakens in Jeanne, but strangely: knowing love with Julien, she sees more and more clearly that her husband is cowardly, greedy, swaggering and unbearably ordinary.

They return to the Poplars, and from the very first night Julien stays in his room, and then somehow immediately, as if having played the role of a newlywed, he stops paying attention to Jeanne, forgets his razor, does not get out of his old home jacket and drinks eight glasses cognac after every meal. Jeanne languishes with melancholy, and then the always cheerful Rosalie has completely changed and fell ill. In the morning, she slowly makes Jeanne's bed and suddenly sinks to the floor ... In the mistress's room, near her bed, the girl Rosalie gave birth to a boy.

Jeanne is excited, wants to help Rosalie (they are milk sisters), you need to find the father of the child, force him to marry, but Julien is categorical: the maid must be driven along with the illegitimate child! Jeanne asks Rosalie, but she only sobs. The husband is angry at all this, but for some reason he returns to "the duties of love."

It is winter outside, it is cold in the castle, Jeanne is unwell, and Julien desired. Jeanne asks him to postpone visits to the bedroom for a day or two.

At night, Jeanne has a terrible chill, she calls Rosalie, she does not respond, Jeanne, barefoot, half-delirious, goes to her room, but Rosalie is not there. Feeling that she is dying, Jeanne rushes to wake Julien ... On the pillow next to his head is Rosalie's head.

It turned out that the well-bred viscount, even when he dined for the first time at Topol, after having dined, did not leave, but crept up to the attic, hid, and then "went down" to Rosalie. And then everything resumed, after their return from Corsica.

Jeanne almost died of a fever, and the doctor discovered she was pregnant. All were reconciled by the village curate, who found a husband for Rosalie. Jeanne gave birth to a boy. They named him Paul, and love for him replaced everything else for Jeanne.

Misfortune continues to fall on poor Jeanne: mother died, Julien started an affair in the neighborhood - with Countess de Fourville, a jealous count found lovers and killed them, presenting the case as an accident ... And Paul was fifteen, had to send him to college. And now he's twenty, and he got involved with a prostitute, they fled to London. The son pulls money from his mother and completely ruins it. The old baron is busy, mortgages, remortgages the estate, suddenly dies ... Rosalie, already an old, but strong and clear-minded widow, returns to the house and takes care of the completely weakened Jeanne ...

Poplars were sold, there was no other way out. Zhanna and Rosalie live in a modest but comfortable house. Paul writes that his beloved gave birth to a girl and is now dying. And Zhanna, the same Zhanna who quite recently was full of anticipation of life, is living out her last days and occasionally remembers short, rare moments of love.

But here Rosalie brings a girl, a granddaughter, and Paul will arrive tomorrow, after the funeral. And life goes on, the same life that is not as good as Rosalie says, but not as bad as they think it is.

Jeanne and Rosalie remember what a heavy, endless rain was when they went to the Poplars from Rouen.

V. T. Kabanov

Roman (1885)

Georges Duroy, the son of prosperous peasants, keepers of a tavern, by the whim of nature, is endowed with a happy appearance. He is slender, tall, blond, he has a wonderful mustache ... He is very popular with women, and he is in Paris. But he has three francs in his pocket, and he won't get his pay until two days later. He's hot, he wants beer...

Duroy wanders around Paris and waits for an opportunity that must present itself? The case is most likely a woman. So it will be. All his cases will come from women ... In the meantime, he meets Forestier.

They served together in Algiers. Georges Duroy did not want to be the first in the village and tried his luck in military service. For two years he robbed and killed Arabs. During this time, he developed the habit of walking with his chest puffed out and taking what he wanted. And in Paris you can stick out your chest and push passers-by, but here it is not customary to mine gold with a revolver in your hand.

But the fat Forestier succeeded: he is a journalist, he is a wealthy man, he is complacent - he treats an old friend with beer and advises to take up journalism. He invites Georges to dinner the next day and gives him two louis (forty francs) so that he can rent a decent suit.

Since this all started. Forestier, it turns out, has a wife - an elegant, very pretty blonde. Her friend is a burning brunette Madame de Marelle with her little daughter. Mr. Walter, deputy, rich man, publisher of the newspaper "French Life" granted. There is also a famous feuilletonist and a famous poet ... But Duroy does not know how to handle a fork and does not know how to deal with four glasses ... But he quickly orients himself on the ground. And here - oh, how by the way! - the conversation went about Algeria. Georges Duroy enters into a conversation like cold water, but he is asked questions ... He is in the center of attention, and the ladies do not take their eyes off him! And Forestier, a friend of Forestier, does not miss the moment and asks his dear patron, Mr. Walter, to take Georges to work in the newspaper ... Well, we'll see, but for now Georges has been ordered two or three essays on Algeria. And another thing: Georges tamed Lorina, Madame de Marelle's little daughter. He kisses the girl and rocks her on his knee, and the mother is amazed and says that M. Duroy is irresistible.

How happily everything began! And all because he is so handsome and well done ... All that remains is to write this damn essay and bring it to Mr. Walter by three o'clock tomorrow.

And Georges Duroy gets down to work. He diligently and beautifully displays the title on a clean sheet: "Memoirs of an African shooter." This name was suggested by Mrs. Walter. But things don't go any further. Who knew that it was one thing to chat at the table with a glass in hand, when the ladies did not take their eyes off you, and it was quite another thing to write! A diabolical difference ... But nothing, the morning is wiser than the evening.

But this is not the case in the morning either. efforts are in vain. And Georges Duroy decides to ask his friend Forestier for help. However, Forestier hurries to the newspaper, he sends Georges to his wife: she, they say, will help no worse.

Madame Forestier seated Georges at the table, listened to him, and after a quarter of an hour began dictating an article.

Luck carries him. The article is printed - what happiness! He was accepted into the chronicle department, and finally it is possible to leave the hated office of the Northern Railway forever. Georges does everything correctly and accurately: first he received a salary for a month at the box office, and only then he was rude at parting to the boss - he enjoyed it.

One is not good. The second article is not published. But this is not a problem - you need to take another lesson from Madame Forestier, and this is a pleasure. Here, however, no luck: Forestier himself was at home and told Georges that, they say, he did not intend to work instead of him ... Pig!

Duroy is angry and will do the article himself, without any help. You'll see!.. And he made an article, wrote. Only it was not accepted: it was considered unsatisfactory. He redid it. Again not accepted. After three alterations, Georges spat and completely went into reporting.

This is where he turned around. His slyness, charm and arrogance came in very handy. M. Walter himself is satisfied with Duroy's employee. Only one thing is bad: getting twice as much in the newspaper than in the office, Georges felt like a rich man, but this did not last so long. The more money, the more they are missing! And then: after all, he looked into the world of big people, but remained outside this world. He is lucky, he serves in the newspaper, he has acquaintances and connections, he enters the offices, but ... only as a reporter. Georges Duroy is still a poor man and a day laborer. And here, nearby, in their own newspaper - here they are! - people with pockets full of gold, they have luxurious houses and spicy wives ... Why do they have all this? Why not him? There is some mystery here.

Georges Duroy does not know the solution, but he knows what his strength is. And he remembers Madame de Marelle, the one who was with her daughter at Forestier's dinner. "I'm always at home until three o'clock," she said then. Georges called at half past two. Of course he was agitated, but Madame de Marelle is the very cordiality, the very gracefulness that attracts. And Lorina treats him like a friend ... And now Georges is invited to dinner at a restaurant, where they will be with Madame de Marelle and the Forestier spouses - two couples.

Dinner in a separate office is refined, lengthy and spicy with casual, light chatter on the verge of obscenity. Madame de Marelle promised to get drunk and kept her promise. Georges accompanies her. In the carriage, he is indecisive for some time, but it seems that she moved her leg ... He rushed to the attack, she surrendered. Finally, he mastered a real secular woman!

The next day, Duroy has breakfast with his beloved. He is still timid, does not know how things will go on, but she is charmingly sweet, and Georges plays love ... And it's so easy in relation to such a magnificent woman! Then Lorina enters and joyfully runs to him: "Ah, dear friend!" This is how Georges Duroy got his name.

And Madame de Marelle - her name is Clotilde - turned out to be a delightful mistress. She hired a small apartment for their dates. Georges is dissatisfied: he can't afford it... No, it's already been paid! No, he can't let that happen... She pleads, more, more, and he... gave in, believing that it was actually fair. No, but how sweet she is!

Georges is completely penniless, but after each meeting he finds one or two gold coins in his vest pocket. He is outraged! Then he gets used to it. Only to calm his conscience keeps counting his debt to Clotilde.

It so happened that the lovers quarreled a lot. It looks like it's a break. Georges dreams - in the form of revenge - to return the debt to Clotilde. But there is no money. And Forestier, in response to a request for money, lent ten francs - a miserable handout. Nothing, Georges will repay him, he will cuckold the old Friend. Moreover, he now knows how easy it is.

But what is it? The attack on Madame Forestier was immediately bogged down. She is affable and frank: she will never become Duroy's mistress, but she offers him her friendship. Perhaps it is more expensive than Forestier's horns! And here is the first friendly advice; pay a visit to Mrs. Walter.

The dear friend managed to show himself to Madame Walther and her guests, and not a week goes by, and he is already appointed head of the chronicle department and invited to dinner with the Walthers. Such is the price of friendly advice.

An important event took place at Walter's dinner, but Dear friend does not yet know that this is an important event: he is introduced to the publisher's two daughters - eighteen and sixteen years old (one is ugly, the other is pretty, like a doll). But another thing Georges could not help but notice, Clotilde is still seductive and sweet. They reconciled and the connection was restored.

Forestier is sick, he is losing weight, coughing, and it is clear that he is not a tenant. Clotilde says by the way that Forestier's wife will not be slow to get married as soon as everything is over, and Dear Friend thought about it. In the meantime, the wife took the poor Forestier to the south - to be treated. At parting, Georges asks Madame Forestier to count on his friendly help.

And help was needed: Madame Forestier asks Duroy to come to Cannes, not to leave her alone with her dying husband. A dear friend feels the open space before him. He goes to Cannes and conscientiously fulfills a friendly duty. Until the very end. Georges Duroy was able to show Madeleine Forestier that he was a dear friend, a wonderful and kind person.

And everything worked out! Georges marries the widow Forestier. Now he has an amazing assistant - a genius behind the scenes of journalism and political play ... And he has a beautifully arranged house, and he has now become a nobleman: he divided his last name into syllables and took the name of his native village, he is now du Roy de Cantel.

He and his wife are friends. But friendship must also know its limits... Oh, why does such a clever Madeleine, out of friendship, tell Georges that Madame Walter is crazy about him? Susanna, Walter's pretty daughter.

The dear friend thought again. And Ms. Walter, if you look closely, is still very much even nothing ... There is no plan, but Georges starts the game. This time, the object is respectable and is fighting desperately with itself, but the Dear Friend has overlaid it from all sides and drives it into a trap. And drove. The hunt is over, but the prey wants to go to the hunter again and again. He has other things to do. Then Madame Walter reveals a secret to the hunter.

Military expedition to Morocco resolved. Walter and Laroche, the foreign minister, want to cash in on this. They bought Moroccan bonds cheaply, but their value will skyrocket soon. They make tens of millions. Georges can also buy before it's too late.

Tangier - the gateway to Morocco - is captured. Walter has fifty million, he bought a luxurious mansion with a garden. And Duroy is angry:

He doesn't have big money. True, the wife inherited a million from a friend, and Georges chopped off half of it, but that's not it. Here for Susanna, the daughter of Walter, twenty millions of dowry ...

Georges with the vice police hunts down his wife. She was caught with Minister Laroche. A dear friend knocked down the minister with one blow and got a divorce. But Walter would never give up Susanna for him! There is a trick to this too. No wonder he seduced Madame Walter: while Georges dined and breakfasted with her, he became friends with Susanna, she believes him. And dear friend took the pretty fool away. She's compromised, and her father has nowhere to go.

Georges Duroy with his young wife leaves the church. He sees the Chamber of Deputies, he sees the Bourbon Palace. He has achieved everything.

But he will never be hot or cold again. He would never crave beer so badly.

V. T. Kabanov

Roman (1885)

In the preface to the novel, the famous Czech writer briefly tells the story of the moves - the border guards. "Since ancient times, dense forests have served as a natural and reliable defense of the Czech kingdom." Then they began to cut them down, but along the edges of the royal forests, in the valleys, between the ridges of the hills, passages lived in their villages, "a strong, seasoned people, of a heroic build, of a daring disposition." They carried out their service honestly, courageously fought against hackers and poachers. Their true friends were big and strong dogs. On the banner of the moves there was a coat of arms depicting a dog's head, so the moves began to be called "psoglavtsy". The Czech kings appreciated the difficult, dangerous service of the moves and issued them with letters that spoke about the special rights and privileges of the moves. They were not serfs until the fatal battle for the Czech Republic at the White Mountain in 1620, when the country lost its independence. The Imperial Viceroy sold moves to Baron Lamminger. He, of course, did not want to recognize Chod's liberties and privileges. Freedom-loving people staunchly defended their rights from violence and lawlessness.

This struggle lasted for more than sixty years, but in 1668 their privileges were permanently abolished, and they were obliged, under pain of severe punishment, to keep perpetuum silentium - "eternal silence".

But the proud moves could not come to terms with their position. They continued to naively believe that the charters once issued to them by the Czech kings could not lose their force, that it was necessary and possible to achieve justice under the law. About how the moves tried to defend their rights, about the faith of ordinary gullible people in a "fair" emperor, in the honesty of lawyers and the court, is narrated in the novel.

The moves kept their letters in the coveted oak chest, which they hid in one or another hiding place. Baron Maximilian Lamminger, who inherited the passages, knew that it was impossible to achieve their "eternal silence" while this casket was in the hands of the passages. He forced his devoted servants to find the casket. The headman of Drazheshevsky, Krshitov Grubny, learned from his faithful people about these searches and hid the casket with his sister, old Kozinikha, who, he and the county headman Jiri Syk believed, no one would look for. The baron understood that only by provoking his disobedient lackeys into an open rebellion would he be able to summon an army to help find the casket. He ordered to cut down the boundary linden of the wealthy peasant Jan Sladky, nicknamed Kozina after his estate. Young, hot-headed Kozina and his best friend, the cheerful piper Iskra Řeguržek, rushed to save the age-old linden tree. A strong, courageous Matej Přibek arrived in time to help them. The lord's yards fled, but they managed not only to beat Iskra, but also to pierce Yan's head. Kozina, seeing the blood on his palm, remarked bitterly: "it means that blood has already been shed." Jan remembered the warning of his father (an honest man who was removed from the post of headman of Chod, since he did not want to dance to the tune of the pans and go against his own) that the baron is very cruel and a little blood will cause a big one and nothing but trouble and ruin will bring the moves . But the father was also sure that the moves would not keep "eternal silence", that someday this struggle would begin.

After a skirmish on the boundary, Lamminger called in an army that dug, robbed and ruined all the yards. They found the coveted casket, but the old Kozinikha, whom her son managed to warn, managed to hide two letters under her clothes. Lamminger burned with great joy in front of the beaten, exhausted soldiers the passages of their letters. Now, at last, he thought, the peasants would be his obedient serfs.

The astute baron, noticing how young Kozina was looking at him, realized that he was not standing in front of a downtrodden, cowardly serf, but a proud, free man, with great self-esteem. And the goal of the baron's life was the desire to break, humiliate, or rather destroy this proud man.

Kozina led the fight for his rights. He, a loving husband and father of two children, understood that this struggle could end tragically for him, but he also understood that nothing could be achieved by force, it was necessary to act according to the law, through the courts, and it was best to turn to the emperor himself. He was convinced of this by the turner Matei Yust, who told the moves how the pans took away his land and he could not get justice anywhere until he got to the emperor in Vienna. At the meeting, he said to Justus: "Go back home with God, you will be given justice." In addition, when Just was leaving, the emperor, having learned that he was from Domažlice, asked: "So you probably know the moves." So he remembers them. Of course, getting to the emperor is difficult, it costs a lot of money, but Just will help them, he has a very good lawyer. The moves again had a hope to defend their rights, to become free, and not to obey the evil Trganovsky pan. The peasants chose walkers to Vienna, and Just willingly went with them. In the castle, they did not guess anything until the court adviser, the baron's unfailing well-wisher, informed him of the steps taken by the peasants. The baron had great connections at court. And although the walkers managed to get into the luxurious imperial palace, and the emperor himself appointed a commission to deal with the walking letters, everything ended tragically for the peasants.

Having learned that a commission had been created, and believing that the truth was on their side, the peasants stopped going to corvee, paying taxes, and on Shrove Tuesday, in front of the pan of Trganov, they burned a whip - a symbol of their serfdom. Kozina warned his fellow villagers that they should not take any liberties until the decision of the commission was announced. But the peasants did not obey Kozin, they believed that he was being cautious in vain, because the truth was on their side. But strength and power were on Lamminger's side, and he achieved his goal: the commission did not recognize the rights of moves. The regional hetman read out to those gathered at the baron's house "on behalf of his imperial majesty" the decision of the commission, which stated that they had violated the eternal silence strictly prescribed to them, and for this willful and daring act they deserved severe punishment and punishment. But the emperor can forgive them on the indispensable condition that they will no longer organize secret gatherings, rebel and submit petitions, complaints, petitions "about their imaginary rights." In the presence of the hetman, the moves must promise under oath "obedience to their gracious pan." The moves were stunned. An ominous silence hung over, in which Kozina's voice sounded menacingly: "That's not true." The emperor would immediately tell them that they have no rights, but he appointed a commission, and she made an unfair decision. The crowd greeted Kozina's words with a roar of approval. Outraged, the moves refused to swear allegiance to the baron. And when the brave Matej Przybek, who never believed that freedom could be achieved by law, shouted: "To Lomikar!", the forest of coinage menacingly rose above the crowd. Matej Přibek and other moves with raised coins rushed to the doors of the castle, but Kozina was ahead of them. He and his uncle, Krshitov Grubny, blocked the road and thus saved the life of the baron. Matej Přibek, indignant at the peacefulness of his countrymen, uttered prophetic words with a wry smile: "Well, I'll see how Lomikar will thank you for this." He really "thanked them in a lordly way."

Old Przybek, the last standard-bearer of the moves, foresaw that the whole thing would end tragically. A large comet that lit up the sky for many nights, he said, portends a great misfortune. In his lifetime, he saw more than one comet, and "it was always followed by either war, or famine and pestilence." But the moves were full of hope. And Kozina, and his uncle, and the headman Syka, and others went to look for the truth, now to Prague. They found a new "good" lawyer, paid him a lot of money collected by the whole world, and sued him again. The Czech judges mocked the walkers to their heart's content, before their very eyes they cut two royal charters, preserved with such difficulty by the old woman Kozinikha, and made a decision: the moves must swear "allegiance and obedience to your lawful master." The moves refused, the Chairman of the Court said that the peasants revolted, with weapons in their hands they captured the manager of the baron, so the court cannot let the moves go home. They were put in jail.

Indeed, the entire Chodsky region rebelled, but the baron pushed the people to this uprising. Lamminger, taking advantage of the fact that the moves resisted his people, called the army. Upon learning of the approach of the troops, the inhabitants were at first very frightened. Only Matej Přibek was not taken aback. He skillfully organized the retreat of the villagers to the forest, ordered the men to gather with coins and guns. A burggrave was in captivity at the moves. He was told that if even one house was set on fire, they would hang him.

When the moves saw the shaft of their old banner in the hands of Matei, they joyfully greeted their recognized leader. Moves from different villages moved into the forest. During the night they built huts, made shelters for women and children. They prepared to wait patiently for the emperor's just decision. The army, of course, reasoned moves, the villain baron called, and when the emperor finds out, he will not allow his soldiers to shoot at peaceful peasants. They are not robbers, they are not bandits.

Headman Syka, returning from Prague, told the moves that at the trial their letters had been torn up and they now had no rights, and Kozina and old man Gruby were put in prison, so they had to put up with and obey the authorities. The irreconcilable Matei declared: "It is better to be killed than to be a slave, a beast under the yoke." Both he and another man a hundred bold moves entered into an unequal battle. In this battle, Matei and many other moves died. And those peasants who confessed were sent to prison. The soldiers plundered and burned the houses and estates of the moves.

In Prague, in the Court of Appeal, Chodsky representatives were required to invalidate the old freedoms and swear allegiance to Pan Lamminger. Many moves, exhausted by prison, homesickness, subscribed to this demand. Only Grubby and Kozina refused to do so. They were sentenced to a year. Lamminger was dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal and eventually got the three instigators of the riot recognized as criminals and sentenced to the gallows. And the elder Syke and the move Brykht had to stand at the pillory for two hours a day, and then they had to be expelled from the country. Other recalcitrant moves were sentenced to various prison terms. Until the last minute, the moves believed that the emperor would not allow such injustice. Indeed, the gracious emperor replaced three gallows with one - for Kozina. The Baron triumphed. He even allowed his wife and children to meet before the execution with her husband. Lamminger ordered the moves to come to the execution. The moves went to Pilsen to say goodbye to their "sufferer". The baron, seeing a long line of carts, thought that he had finally won obedience from his subjects. The always calm, cold baron closely followed Kozina's behavior before the execution. Yes, his will was never broken. He was firm, proud, bold. Standing on the platform, Kozina straightened up and, looking into the face of the baron, sitting on a black horse, exclaimed: "Lomikar! In less than a year and a day, we will stand together before the throne of the supreme judge, and then we will see which of us ..." They did not let him finish . Forever remember the moves of this day.

The baron at first did not dare to come to his castle. Old Przybek often went out to the hillock and looked towards the castle. The old man was waiting for God's punishment to fall on the head of the cruel pan.

Only the next year did the baron come to the castle. All year at night he was tormented by nightmares, he complained about his health, became even more irritable and angry. He remembered all the time how this rebel with a noose around his neck dared to challenge him to the judgment of God. Exactly one year and one day later, the baron died of a stroke. Old Przybek, having learned about the death of the hated baron, exclaimed: "There is still justice! There is still God!" The moves believed that in the end Kozina won them, and not the baron. From generation to generation, Irasek finishes his story, stories about Kozin and the glorious past of the “psoglavtsy” have been and will be transmitted.

G. A. Gudimova

(Frithiofs saga)

Poem (1825)

The name of the Old Norse (Icelandic) hero - Fridtjof (Fridhjofr) consists of two parts: fridh - peace, peace and thjofr - thief, that is, it means "Thief of the world." The main source of the poem is the Old Norse saga about Fridtjof the Bold, which took shape at the end of the 24th or at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. It tells about the events, largely legendary, that took place in Norway in the XNUMXth century. Each of the XNUMX songs of the poem is written in its own, special meter, organically associated with the emotional tone of this song.

The kind, wise bond (landowner) Hilding raised the daughter of the king (leader, king) Ingeborg and Fridtjof, the son of the bond Torsten. (At that time, rich and noble Scandinavians gave their children to be raised by relatives or friends who were lower in their social origin.) Ingeborg was beautiful, like Freya, the goddess of beauty and love. Even in childhood, Fridtjof and Ingeborg fell in love with each other. He enthusiastically does everything for her - he takes the chicks out of the nest, carries them through turbulent streams, brings the first wild berries. "... The days of childhood have passed" <...> "he already goes hunting, / Dare, dexterous and strong, / To the surprise of the neighbors / To grapple with a bear without a sword", then he comes "with shaggy prey" to deserve a friendly "girl's look" . Fridtjof compares his beloved not only with Freya, but also with the goddess of eternal youth, Iduna, and with the patroness of the family hearth, Frigga, the wife of Odin, the oldest of the gods, the ruler of the world, and with Nanna, the wife of the god of spring, the most beautiful of the gods. The hero mentally swears allegiance to his beloved. He knows that he can die, like Nanna, from grief, remain in the realm of Hel, the realm of the dead. Ingeborg also thinks about Fridtjof all the time. But their tutor Hilding, knowing that Ingeborg is the daughter of Kunt Bele, whose glorious family goes back to Alfader (Odin), to the "father of everything", cannot become the hero's wife, because "the son of a bond is not like a sovereign." But at the warning of their kind educator, Fritjof only laughed. He is sure: "There is no slavery in the freeborn", "Only strength is noble." The hero is ready to go into battle with Thor himself - the god of thunder. "Woe to the one who separates us!" Fridtjof firmly declares.

Kung Bele, sensing the approach of death, called his sons - the gloomy and strict Helge and the "pretty face" Halfdan. Kung instructs his sons on how to rule the country. He says:

"Aish the unreasonable king oppresses his land, / And the ruler is weak, if the people are weak" <…> "Aish in truth the glory of the throne and the land of happiness." He calls on his sons to raise the sword only against enemies, to take care of his sister Ingeborg, to always live in friendship with Fridtjof, as they lived with his father, the glorious, truthful and sincere Torsten. The almost hundred-year-old bond believed: "The king should not go alone to the gods; / We, Bele, have traveled all our lives on the same path, I would like to share death with you." Friends asked to be buried next to them. Their will was fulfilled. "By the decision of the people, Helge and Haldvan began to jointly / Rule the country, / and Fritjof, the only son and heir, / Occupied, without sharing with anyone, the Framnes family estate." Together with the estate, Fridtjof inherited a precious sword, a golden wrist, which the master skillfully decorated with a "luxurious and large" ruby, "it was famous everywhere and was reputed to be the first in the North." And Fritjof also inherited "the wondrous ship" Ellida ", which, according to legend, the god of the sea Egir gave it to his grandfather in gratitude "for hospitality". "King's blood did not flow in him, but he was a king in spirit, / Combining in himself nobility with kindness."

Fritjof missed Ingeborg, and he decided to go to the kings. He told the brothers that he wanted to marry Ingeborg, that "your wise father would combine me with a golden-haired one." But Helge "with an evil mockery" said: "Son of a bond, are you on the way with your sister?" Helge offended Fridtjof by offering him to become his servant. The brave Fritjof took out a sword, he could have killed Helge, but the memory of Bela was dear to him, so he only "cut" Helge's shield from his shoulder.

In the North, Kung Ring wisely ruled the country. The country prospered, there “the fields shone like gold in the sun”, “And the country fed the Ring with love”. Old Ring, although he knew that "he had already faded, and for a long time," decided to marry Ingeborg. He ordered to collect "more wrists, earrings" and go to the young men to woo his daughter Bela. But Helge and Halfdan refused the messengers. And then Ring ordered for an insult to "mark with a sword." And war came to Helge's house, he hid his sister in the temple of Balder, where she sat alone, "faithful to love, / In tears, like a lily in dewdrops." Knowing what Fridtjof is a brave and courageous warrior, Helge sent old Hilding to him. But the proud Fridtjof did not forget the insult inflicted on him and refused to help his brother-kings with a sword.

Fridtjof began to visit his beautiful Ingeborg at night in the temple of Balder, although he knew very well that in this temple a man has no right to meet a woman. Ingeborg was afraid that God would punish them for these secret meetings. Fridtjof reassured his beloved:

"Whoever loves, honors him more truly! / He will come down to us, honoring / Us with his favor!" But the night passed quickly, and it was necessary to part.

Fridtjof came to the Thing (a meeting of free farmers), extended his hand to Helga as a sign of reconciliation, because this is not the time to quarrel, the enemy is on the threshold. Fridtjof is ready to fight, but on condition: he marries Ingeborg. All those present began to ask Helge to marry her sister to a bond, he deserves it. Kung said that Frithjof met with Ingeborg at Balder's temple. Frithjof did not dare to lie. He confirmed Helge's words. The crowd, so recently favorably disposed towards Frithjof, "turned white." According to the law of the ancestors, the hero was supposed to be "punished with exile or death", but Helge suggested that he go to Angantir, who used to pay tribute, but stopped after Bele's death. Angantir, as the legendary evil dragon Fafnir, guards his gold, but Fridtjof must prove to everyone that he can not only "turn the head of the virgins in the temple."

Fridtjof invites Ingeborg to go south on his "Ellide", to Greece, about the beauty of which his father told him, where they will live peacefully and happily. But Ingeborg refuses, her fate is to be "a humble victim of her brother", she does not want to steal the heroic name of Fridtjof "from the songs of skalds", they must submit to Norma (Fate) in order to "save dignity". They part, but Ingeborg swears that he will never forget his beloved. Fridtjof gives Ingeborg his wrist, asks him not to forget, he will return soon, he will get Helga and gold, and then he will ask not the kung, but the people to allow him to marry her. And Fridtjof sets off on the Ellide to Angantir. His ship proved that he really was built by the gods and stronger than all the evil forces that Helge unleashed on them. Fridtjof's exhausted team went ashore, Angantir immediately recognized his friend's son, as "in the whole midnight land / Such is he alone." But the warrior Atli decided to check whether Fridtjof really is not afraid of battle "and pacifies the steel." Fridtjof fought courageously and won the hearts of everyone with his courage. Angantir received his friend's son kindly. And having learned about the misfortunes of Fridtjof, he gave him royal gifts. Winter has passed in peace and feasts. In the spring, Fridtjof returned home, but instead of the house - the ashes. Good old Hilding told what happened during this time. As soon as Fridtjof left, the huge army of Ring attacked the country. "We did not argue with fate for a long time, - / Kung Helge fled, and the battle froze." Retreating, he ordered the family estate of Fridtjof to be burned. And Ingeborg became Ring's wife. The evil Helge plucked "your ring from the virgin." Hilding, in a rage, wanted to kill Helge, but kind Ingeborg, with tears in her eyes, asked not to touch her brother. Of course, he treated her cruelly, but "Alfader (god) will judge us,"

Fridtjof was saddened and angry, He decides to deal with Helge himself and with his faithful friend-sister Vyorn goes to the temple of Balder, where "the sacred fire burned all night" - "the image of the sun". Fridtjof broke into the temple. He contemptuously threw a "tight purse" in Helga's face. Fridtjof, seeing his wrist on the god's hand, "tugged - in anger the good god / He collapsed into the sacred fire." The temple was on fire. In vain Fridtjof tried to put it out, there was "a wild and mighty fire / Balder, the bright god!" "The grove is turned to ashes, / The temple is scattered with ashes."

Fridtjof was expelled from the country for the burning of the temple. The exile had no choice but to sail on the "Ellis" on the seas. He and his brother Bjorn exactly followed the charter of the Vikings, the rulers of the seas: "If you meet a merchant's ship, be his protection, / But you take tribute from the merchant." They courageously fought with other Vikings, sailed to the beautiful coast of Greece, but Fridtjof missed his homeland - the North, and most importantly - Ingeborg. He returned to his homeland and decided to meet his lover, now Ring's wife, for the last time. Fridtjof did not reveal his name, but the kung soon recognized him. At first, he thought that Fridtjof, who is "terrible to people / and gods", will come "raising his sword, covered with a shield." But he won the heart of the old Ring by behaving very nobly, came "wrapped in rags, with a miserable staff," and decided to forgive him, moreover, feeling that he would soon "hide" in the barrow, "where there is silence," he bequeaths: "Take the edge, take the princess, then you are yours." Ring asks only to take care of his son. After the death of the kung, the people on the Thing wanted to elect Fridtjof as their kung and see him next to Ingeborg. But the honest, noble Fridtjof replied that for the time being he could not agree to this, since he had burned the temple of the god and "still the bright god is angry / and full of insults." He must first rebuild the temple. Fridtjof restores the beautiful temple of Balder, in this magnificent temple both "human revenge and anger quietly melted away." But the priest believed that it was not enough to build a temple, one had to reconcile with the enemies, "and then you will be reconciled with the bright God." Helge died because he dared, fighting with the Finns, to enter the sacred temple of Yumala, the supreme deity of the Finns. Kung Halfdan, the priest demands, "give a hand", "you Asam sacrifice your enmity ... / Refuse - in vain the temple / You built." Fridtjof obeyed the priest "and, separated for a long time, the hands again / merged in a grip strong, like the foundations of mountains." And the curse was lifted from Fridtjof, and Ingeborg gave the hand of "children's days to a friend and soul to the chosen one" over the altar.

G. A. Gudimova

Essays from the life of artists and writers

(Roda rummet. Sidldringar ur artist-och forfattarlifvet)

Roman (1879)

Second half of the 60s. XNUMXth century Stockholm, May. A young man who is sick of serving in the Collegium of Bureaucratic Salaries (this is the name of the ministry) is burning with a desire to benefit society. He meets with Struve, a venerable journalist from the opposition Little Red Riding Hood, and asks him for advice and help: from today, he, Arvid Falk, quits public service and devotes himself entirely to literature. The highly experienced Struve dissuades Arvid: if now he lives in order to work, then, while studying literature, he will have to work in order to live - in other words: a hungry person has no principles. But Struve's words - and both interlocutors understand this - are in vain. Youth strives for the impossible - the liberation of the world, nothing less. Struve, having listened attentively to Arvid's caustic story about ministerial procedures and writing something down on his cuffs, the very next day publishes an article from his words and earns a tidy sum from it, without saying a word during the entire conversation that in a few hours before that, he had already exchanged the liberal Little Red Riding Hood for the conservative newspaper Gray Cloak, where he was promised more.

This is only the first of the lessons of the new free life, the main content of which is - naturally, in addition to freedom - lack of money and need. Arvid tries to get hold of money from his brother Karl-Nikolaus Falk, a shop owner and a rich man, but in a fit of righteous anger, he only calls him a swindler. Didn't Arvid give him the last time he borrowed a receipt that he had received in full all that was due to him from his father's inheritance?

Having destroyed his younger brother morally, Karl-Nikolaus comes into a great mood and offers to take him to a restaurant for breakfast. But Arvid, frightened by such unexpected generosity, immediately, without saying goodbye, disappears into the street. He has somewhere to go. He is heading to the suburban town of Lille-Yans, where his friends and acquaintances live and work - the short sculptor Olle Montanus, the talented painter Sellen, the unscrupulous zhuir artist Lundell, the skinny and dull as a pole, the philosopher-writer Ygberg and the young baron from an impoverished noble family Renjelm posing for artists instead of a sitter. All free evenings this impoverished fraternity spends in the Red Room - the hall of the Bern restaurant - where the Stockholm youth meet, who have already left their parental shelter, but have not yet acquired their own roof over their heads. For the sake of a delicious dinner, a modest drink and friendly communication, Arvid's acquaintances are ready to say goodbye to the last - a jacket, boots, even sheets - preferably not their own, but a friend's.

Yes, a restaurant needs money - blood pulsing in the veins of a huge and infinitely diverse organism upon closer acquaintance with it. This is exactly what Arvid Falk is doing now as a correspondent for Little Red Riding Hood. The impressions are depressing. At the meetings of the Riksdag, Arvid is surprised by the zeal with which the parliamentarians discuss trifles, and their indifference to issues that are crucial for the country; at the reporting meeting of shareholders of the Triton Marine Insurance Company, he was amazed at the ease with which, it turns out, the company was organized by several scoundrels who then did not have a penny for their souls (and in fact, in circumstances unfavorable for the case, they did not make up for anything to the victims were going to - in any case, the state would have taken over the debts of society). Already somewhat familiar with the newspaper business, Arvid is indignant at the hidden springs and rods exposed on closer inspection, with the help of which businessmen from journalism and literature control public opinion: the publishing magnate Smith, for example, creates and destroys writers' reputations at his own discretion ("The other day I said to his Friend Ibsen: "Listen, Ibsen, - we are with him on" you "- listen, Ibsen, write something for my magazine, I'll pay as much as you want!" He wrote, I paid, but they paid me too ") . And previously a skeptic of religion, Arvid is struck by the sheer scale of purely commercial operations that take place behind the signs of religious and charitable societies.

The theater is no better than anything else (the theatrical world in the novel is shown by the author not through the eyes of the protagonist, but by his spiritual counterpart, the young Baron Renjelm, who also decided to become an actor out of ideal motives). The attempts of the famous tragedian Falander to dissuade him do not stop Renjelm, who also managed to fall in love with the sixteen-year-old actress Agnes, who also likes him. "Well," Falander advises him, "let him take her, enjoy life" ("love like the birds of heaven, not thinking about the hearth!"). No, the young moralist decides, he cannot now marry Agnes (as if he is asked to do so), spiritually he is not yet worthy of her.

Renjelm's theatrical career does not add up, he is not given a role. The director of the theater (he is also the owner of a match factory, he is also a great playwright) does not give the role to Agnes, extorting love from her in return, which, as it turns out, has already been given to Falander, who is experienced in matters of the heart. But Falander is not the main thing for Agnes: a role is needed - and the director achieves her goal. Wounded to the depths of his soul, Falander opens his eyes to Renjelm. In the morning, he invites Agnes, who had spent the night with the director, and Renjelm at the same time - in essence, he arranges a face-to-face confrontation with them. The young baron cannot stand this scene and flees from the city where the troupe is touring, back to Stockholm, refusing his first role of Horace in Hamlet, which he was supposed to play in the evening.

Meanwhile, Arvid Falk continues to uphold the lofty ideals of humanity and social justice. He attends meetings of the Riksdag and church councils, the boards of church societies and charitable organizations, is present at police investigations, attends festivities, funerals and public meetings. And everywhere he hears beautiful words that do not mean what they should mean. Thus, Falk develops "an extremely one-sided idea of ​​man as a deceitful social animal." The discord between the ideal and reality is solved by his friends, artists and writers, in an original way and each in his own way. Ygberg, for example, tells Falk that he has no convictions, no honor, he only fulfills the most important duty of a person - to survive. Sellen, a true talent, is completely immersed in solving his artistic problems. Medic Borg generally despises all social conventions, asserting in their place the will - the only criterion of his, Borg, personal truth. Lundell, having become a fashionable portrait painter and forgetting about all the problems, adapts to the circumstances, and, although his soul is black, he lives, trying not to look into his soul.

But one more thing remains. One day, having overheard a dispute between a carpenter and ladies from a charitable society who visited his house, Arvid learns about the discontent ripening among the people. The carpenter directly threatens: for hundreds of years, the common people, the lower classes, beat the kings; next time they will hit the idlers who live off the labor of others. So maybe the future belongs to the workers? Having achieved some recognition as a poet by this time, Arvid Falk leaves the festive table in his brother's house, preferring to him the meeting of the working union "Morning Star", where, however, he hears only the truths about the patriotism of the Swedes that have set the teeth on edge - to a real worker, just that carpenter , which Arvid heard, the words do not give. Arvid's friend Olle Montanus is also dragged off the podium: of course, he encroached on the "sacred cow" of the Swedes - on patriotism! Olle claims that there is no national self-consciousness in Sweden: in fact, the south of the country has always gravitated and gravitates towards the Danes, the west, led by the city of Gothenburg, towards the British, the Finns live in the Finnish northern forests, the metallurgy has always been dominated by those who founded it in Sweden in XNUMXth century Walloons, and the gene pool of the nation was destroyed by the military campaigns of the famous Swedish monarchs - Charles X, Charles XI and Charles XII. So long live internationalism! Long live Charles XII! And may Georg Shernjelm perish - the creator of the Swedish literary language! If not for him, the Swedes would speak German, understandable to all Europeans!

Arvid Falk is leaving the insufficiently radical "Little Red Riding Hood" for the "Working Banner". But even here he feels uncomfortable: contrary to the simplest common sense, the editor of the newspaper extols "everything is only working", he manages the newspaper, forgetting about the democracy he glorifies, like a dictator or tyrant, not even stopping at corporal punishment (the editor beat the delivery boy). In addition, and this is the most important thing, it is also venal. Arvid is on the verge of despair... And at that moment he is picked up by newspapermen from the tabloid "Viper", from whose embrace Borg rescues him, the most original and honest person, recognizing nothing but his own will. Borg takes Arvid on a yacht to the skerries, where he cures him of cringing before the common man ("from the habit of breaking his hat at the sight of any redneck").

Medic Borg's treatment gives brilliant results. Having lost faith in all his ideals, Arvid Falk surrenders. He goes to work in a gymnasium boarding school for girls and serves freelance in the Collegium for supplying cavalry regiments with fresh hay, as well as in the Collegium of Distillation and in the Department of Taxation of the Dead. Falk also happens to be at family dinners, where the women find him interesting, and he occasionally tells them nasty things. He also visits the Red Room, meeting Dr. Borg, Sellen, and other old acquaintances there. The former rebel completely got rid of dangerous views and became the most pleasant person in the world, for which he is loved and respected by his superiors and comrades in the service.

But still, - Borg writes a few years later to the artist Sellen in Paris, - Falk is unlikely to calm down; he is a fanatic of politics and knows that he will burn if he lets the flame flare up, and therefore he tries to put out the smoldering fire by persistent studies in numismatics (Falk is now doing this too). Borg does not rule out that Arvid already belongs to one of the secret societies that have emerged recently on the continent. And further. Falk got married, forcing an agreement on the marriage of his daughter from her father, a former military man.

B. A. Erkhov

Tragedy (1887)

Events unfold over the course of one day in the living room of a military house in the 80s. XNUMXth century

The captain and Pastor are sorting out the case of Private Noid. He received a complaint - he does not want to give money for the maintenance of his illegitimate child. Noid makes excuses, nodding at another soldier - Ludwig: who knows, maybe he is the father of the child? Emma walked with both of them. If Noid was sure that he was the father, he would have married. But how can he be sure of this? And all my life with someone else's child, messing around is not so hot, how interesting. The bosses chase Noid out of the room. Really, what can you prove!

The Captain and Pastor, the brother of the Captain's wife Laura, did not meet about Noid; they discuss what to do with the upbringing of Berta, the daughter of the Captain. The fact is that in the views on her upbringing, the husband and wife differ sharply: Laura discovered artistic talent in her daughter, and the Captain believes that it is better to give Berta the profession of a teacher. Then, if she does not marry, she will have a well-paid job, and if she does, she will be able to properly raise her own children. Laura, however, stands her ground. She does not want her daughter to be sent to study in the city, where she will have to live with an acquaintance, Captain Smedberg, who, according to Laura, is known to be a freethinker and troublemaker. The captain does not want to leave Bertha at home, where everyone brings her up in their own way: her mother-in-law prepares her to become a spiritualist, Laura dreams that she becomes an actress, the governess tries to turn her into a Methodist, old Margret, the captain's nurse, converts her to Baptism, and the maids drafted into the Salvation Army.

According to Pastor, the Captain dismissed his women altogether. Let her be more careful with Laura, she has a cool temper, in her childhood she achieved everything - she pretended to be paralyzed and lay like that until her desires were fulfilled. In general, the Captain has not been looking well lately. Does he know that a new doctor is coming to see them?

Laura comes to the Captain. She needs money for the household. What happened to Noid? Ah, this is business! But the whole house knows about it! Has Noida been released? Just because the child is illegitimate and it is impossible to prove who his father is? And in marriage, according to Rotmistra, is it possible?

The first to meet the new doctor is Laura. Is everyone in the family healthy? Thank God, there are no acute diseases. But not all is well. The doctor knows certain circumstances... She thinks her husband is ill. He orders books by the boxes, but does not read them. And yet, looking through a microscope, he claims to see other planets. Does he often change his mind? Over the past twenty years, there was probably no order that he would not cancel ... Yes, of course, she will not excite her husband with unexpected ideas. In a heated brain, any idea can turn into an obsession, into a mania. So, there is no need to arouse suspicion in him?

The captain welcomes the newcomer cordially. Had the Doctor really read his works on mineralogy? Right now he's on his way to a big discovery. Investigations of meteorite matter using a spectroscope gave amazing results. He found traces of coal in it - organic life! Unfortunately, the ordered literature still does not arrive. Will the doctor live here, in the wing, or will he take a state-owned apartment? Does he not care? Let him know in advance. The captain does not like indifferent people!

The Nurse comes to the Captain. he would calm down and make peace with his wife! Let's leave the girl at home! The mother has only joy that the child! The captain is outraged. How, and his old nurse is also on the side of his wife? Old Margrethe, dearer to him than his mother! Traitor! Yes, he agrees with Margrethe, learning in family matters is no help. As they say, to live with wolves - howl like a wolf! .. Well, now there is no true faith in him! Why is it with the Nurse, when she starts talking about her God, her eyes become angry?

With his daughter Berta, whom the Captain loves dearly, his relationship does not work out to the end either. The daughter agrees to go to the city if only her father persuades her mother. Bertha does not want to engage in spiritism with her grandmother. My grandmother also says that although my father looks at other planets through a telescope, in ordinary life he does not understand anything.

On the same evening, another explanation takes place between the Captain and Laura. The captain firmly decided to send the girl to the city? Laura won't let that happen! She, like a mother, has more rights to a girl! After all, it is impossible to know exactly who the father of the child is, while he has only one mother. What does this mean in this case? - And the fact that Laura can announce: Berta is her daughter, not his! Then the power of the Captain over the child is over! By the way, why is he so sure of his paternity?

The captain leaves the house, promising to return no earlier than midnight. At this time, Laura is talking with the Doctor. He believes that the Captain is absolutely healthy: studies in science are more evidence of clarity of mind than of his disorder. The non-receipt of books by the Rotmistress, as it seems, is explained by the wife's increased concern for her husband's peace of mind? Yes, but today my husband again embarked on the most unbridled fantasies. He imagined that he was not the father of his own daughter, and before that, examining the case of one soldier, he declared that no man could say with complete certainty that he was the father of his child. This is not the first time this has happened to him. Six years ago, in a similar situation, he admitted in a letter to a doctor that he feared for his mind.

The doctor suggests: we must wait for the Captain. So that he does not suspect anything, let him be told that the doctor was called because of his mother-in-law's indisposition.

The captain is back. Upon meeting the Nurse, he asks her who was the father of her child? Of course, her husband. Is she sure? Apart from her husband, she had no men. Did the husband believe in his paternity? Forced!

The Doctor enters the living room. What is the Doctor doing here at this late hour? He was called: the mistress's mother sprained her leg. Weird! The nurse a minute ago said that the mother-in-law caught a cold. By the way, what does the Doctor think: after all, paternity cannot be established with absolute certainty? Yes, but there are women. Well, who believes women! So many spicy stories happened to Rotmister when he was younger! No, he would not trust even the most virtuous woman! But this is not true! - the Doctor tries to reason with him. The captain starts talking, his thoughts generally take a painful direction.

As soon as the Doctor has time to leave, the Captain calls his wife! He knows she's eavesdropping on their conversation outside the door. And he wants to talk to her. He went to the post office. His suspicions were confirmed: Laura intercepts all his orders. And he, too, in turn, printed out all the letters addressed to her and learned from them that his wife had been suggesting to all his friends and colleagues for a long time that he was mentally ill. But he still offers Laura the world! He will forgive her everything! Let him just say: who is really the father of their Bertha? This thought torments him, he can really go crazy!

Between the spouses there is a stormy explanation: from the aggressiveness and denunciation of Laura in all sorts of vices, the captain passes to self-humiliation and praise of her maternal virtues: she supported him, weak, at the most critical moments! Yes, only at such moments she liked him, - Laura admits. She hates the man in him. Which of the two is right? - asks the Captain and himself answers his own question: the one in whose hands the power is. Then victory is hers! Laura announces. Why? Because tomorrow morning he will be placed under guardianship! But on what grounds? Based on his own letter to the doctor, where he confesses his insanity. Has he forgotten? Enraged, the captain throws a lit table lamp at Laura. His wife dodges and runs away.

The captain is locked in one of the rooms. He tries to break down the door from the inside. Laura tells her brother: her husband went crazy and threw a burning lamp at her, they had to lock him up. But is it her own fault? - more affirming than asking, says the brother. The Doctor enters the living room. What is more beneficial for them? he asks bluntly. If you sentence the Captain to a fine, he still will not calm down. If you put him in jail, he'll be out of it soon. It remains to recognize him as crazy. The straitjacket is ready. Who will put it on the Captain? There are no hunters present. Private Noyd is called to help. Only now the Nurse agrees to dress the patient. She doesn't want Noid to hurt her big boy.

Finally the Captain breaks down the door and goes outside. He argues with himself: his case has been repeatedly described in the literature. Telemachus told Athena: it’s really impossible to know who the father of a person is. The same is true of Ezekiel. Alexander Pushkin also became a victim - not so much of a fatal bullet as of rumors about his wife's infidelity. Fool, even on his deathbed he believed in her innocence!

The captain insults the Pastor and the Doctor, calling them cuckolds. He knows something about them and can whisper in the Doctor's ear. Has he faded? That's it! In general, there is only one way to bring clarity to family relationships: you need to get married, divorce, become the lover of your ex-wife and adopt your own child. Then the relationship will be indicated with absolute precision! What does Berta tell him? That he mistreated his mother by throwing a lamp at her? And that after that he is not her father? It's clear! Where is his revolver? The ammo has already been taken out of it! Alas! And the Nurse? What is the Nurse doing with him now? Does Adolf remember how in her childhood she deceived him with a dangerous toy - a knife? Give, they say, a snake, otherwise it will sting! This is how she is wearing it now. Let him lie down on the sofa now! Bye Bye!

No, the Captain is positively unlucky with women! They are all against him: his mother was afraid to give birth to him, his sister demanded submission from him, the first woman awarded him with a bad illness, his daughter, forced to choose between him and her mother, became his enemy, and his wife became an opponent who pursued him until he collapsed. dead!

But Laura was not going to ruin him! Maybe somewhere in the back streets of her soul there was a desire to get rid of him, but above all she defended her interests. So, if she is guilty before him, before God and conscience Laura is clean. As for his suspicions about Bertha, they are ridiculous.

The captain demands to be covered with a marching uniform. He curses women ("Mighty power fell before low cunning, and be damned, witch, be damned all you women!"), But then he calls on the help of a mother woman. He calls the Nurse. His last words are: "Sooth me, I'm tired, I'm so tired! Good night, Margret, blessed are you in wives." The captain dies, as the Doctor determined, from apoplexy.

B. A. Erkhov

Naturalistic Tragedy (1888)

The action takes place in Sweden, in the count's estate in the kitchen on the night of Ivan Kupala, when, according to folk tradition, among those who celebrate this religious and magical holiday, all class boundaries are temporarily canceled. Kristina, a thirty-five-year-old cook, stands at the stove, preparing a potion for a sick lady's dog. Jean, a thirty-year-old footman in livery, enters the kitchen. He is not a Frenchman, but a Swede, but he can speak French, because at one time he worked in a large Swiss hotel in Lucerne: out of love for a foreign one, he changed his original name Jan.

Jean had just come from the dances that the yards and peasants had arranged on the threshing floor: he was dancing - with whom would Christina think? - with Julia herself, the count's daughter! She, apparently, completely lost her head: otherwise, even at Ivan Kupala, she would not have danced with a footman. Recently, the young lady seems to be out of her mind at all. Most likely, this is due to a breakup with her fiancé. Jean himself saw how Julia at the stable made him jump over the whip like a little dog. She hit him twice, but he did not wait for the third - he took the whip from her, broke the handle and was like that! And today too. Why didn't Miss Yulia go with the count to visit relatives and stay at home alone?

Julia enters the kitchen. Is the dog's brew ready? Oh, there's Jean! Does he want to dance again? Christina has nothing to fear: he will surely not beat off her fiancé!

Jean and Julia leave and return after a while. Julia praises the footman's dexterity: he dances quite well! But why is he in livery? It is a holiday today. Let him wear a coat! He is shy? A lackey should not be ashamed of his mistress! The coat fits perfectly on him. How? Does Jean understand and speak French? Oh yes, he worked in Switzerland. But he also speaks his native language well. Does Jean go to theaters? Or reading books? Yes, he had some education. His father worked as a messenger for the prosecutor, and he saw Freken as a girl, although then she did not pay attention to him.

So let him tell her where and when he saw her! Jean is her servant and must obey. Here, in the kitchen, it is terribly hot, so thirsty.

Jean offers Julia a beer. Will he drink with her? For her health? Is he timid? So let him kiss her slipper, and timidity will pass! No no! No one dares to think ill of them. The mistress and footman - this is unthinkable! In addition, Christina is in the kitchen. True, she fell asleep, you need to wake her up.

Julia wakes Christina up by placing her fingers on her nose. The sleepy cook gets up and goes to her room. Jean is indignant: you can’t mock the sleeping ones! And Julia agrees with him. Shouldn't they go to the garden for lilacs? How? He does not want? does he imagine that she might fall in love with a footman? He really behaves like an aristocrat - with his manners! But she, Julia, always wanted to descend into the lower spheres. She often dreams: she is standing on a high column, and she is dizzy - she feels that she should be down on the ground, but she does not have the courage to jump, and when she is on the ground, she is pulled even deeper - underground! Has Jean experienced anything like this?

No, Jean usually dreams that he is lying under a tall tree in a dark forest. He wants to climb to the top and from there look out over the distances illuminated by the sun. Or ruin a bird's nest with golden eggs. He climbs up the trunk and can't get up. But he will definitely climb a tree - at least in a dream.

A trusting tone is established between Jean and Julia. At times, Julia openly flirts with the servant, at the same time pushing him away. Jean stubbornly tells her: she behaves too freely - his position obliges to obey, but let the frecken remember: he is a man, and he has his own pride. Jean tells Julia how he saw her as a child, sneaking into the greenhouse: she wandered there among the roses in white silk socks, and he looked at her with adoration from the thickets of weeds. The next day, he went to look at her again - to the church, and then, from despair at the thought of the abyss that separated them, he decided to die. Remembering how dangerous it was to sleep under lilac bushes, he stuffed a chest of oats with flowering branches and lay down to sleep there. And he woke up the next morning sick, but still survived.

Jean and Julia hear the approaching singing of the courtyards - they, apparently, are heading towards the kitchen. Under no circumstances should they be seen together! Need to hide! Jean on his knees begs Julia: they cannot go to Christina's room, the only one left is him, Jean! Does he give his word that he will behave prudently? - Freken asks meaningfully.

The festively dressed courtyards and peasants enter the kitchen, they drink and dance, but then after a while they leave.

Jean and Julia return. Both have one thought - they need to leave immediately! But where? To Switzerland! Jean suggests. They will open a first-class hotel there. A new nature awaits them, new languages, and they will not have a moment of idleness or rest for empty dreams and dreams. Day and night a bell would ring over the front door, trains would roar, omnibuses would come and go, and gold would pour into their office.

And Julia? What will Julia do there? She will be the mistress of the house and the decoration of the company ... With her manners and Jean's experience, his knowledge of the hotel business - success is guaranteed! But do you need capital? Julia will get it - this will be her contribution to the common cause. But she has no opportunity! Then they would not go anywhere, and she would remain here, in the count's house, his mistress. But she won't go for it! She has pride! Does Jean really not love her at all? Oh, how she now hates him, a scoundrel and a boor! What about his stories? He wanted to die because of her? Nothing like this. Jean read the story of the chest with oats and lilacs from the newspaper. It happened to a chimney sweep who decided to commit suicide when he was sentenced to pay money for the maintenance of a child. However, Julia loves him, Jean, no more than he loves her. In fact, she hates men, this is how her mother raised her, all her life ruffling the count's nerves. If Julia wants to run, let her run alone. And is it worth running at all? To torture each other to death? No, to enjoy life for two or three years, and then die. But Jean is not going to die.

Julia leaves to change and pack, and Christina joins Jean in the kitchen. She understands that something happened between him and the young lady, most likely, "great stupidity." Now he and Jean will have to look for a new place: you can’t wait on masters you don’t respect. Christina exits.

Julia reappears. She now has money - she broke open the locker upstairs with gold and jewelry. For the first time they will be enough, now they can run. But what is she holding in her hand? It? A cage with a favorite chizhik. She can't leave him in someone else's hands. What stupidity and absurdity! And the footman quickly cuts off the bird's head with a knife. Julia is hysterical. Let him kill her too! His hand won't tremble!

Christina enters. Julia rushes to her in the hope of finding sympathy. But the cook pushes her away. She will not allow Julia to lure Jean with her. Julia is desperate. She offers to run together. Christina will be in charge of the kitchen in their hotel with Jean. She will see Europe! He will visit museums, in the magical castles of Ludwig of Bavaria - the king who went crazy. And then Christina will marry a rich Englishman. But you can’t fool the cook: the lady herself does not believe in what she says.

Christina approaches Jean - he is shaving at this time - did he decide to run away? And what? Is Julia's plan bad? It is quite feasible. Not! Christina will never serve a fallen woman! Now she, Christina, is leaving for church, but it would not hurt Jean to receive forgiveness from the Lord for his sins! And on the way, Christina will go to the groom and tell him not to give horses to anyone today!

Julia is completely confused. Her condition is affected by a sleepless night and drunk wine. What would Jean do if he were an aristocrat and if he were in her place? Isn't it? Julia takes the razor from Jean and makes a characteristic gesture. Jean agrees: he probably would have done just that. But let him not forget: he is a man, and she is a woman.

The kitchen bell rings. It comes from an intercom held from above from the master's chambers. The count has already arrived and demands clean boots. They will be ready in half an hour! - with obsequiousness the footman answers.

So in half an hour! Julia is dumbfounded. She is so tired that she can no longer run or stay, she does not want to live. Let Jean, he is so strong, order her what she must, but is afraid to do! She was so tired that she would obey his every order. Has Jean ever seen a hypnotist in a theater? Let him order! She is already half asleep, everything is swimming before her eyes.

Julia describes to Jean a state of hypnotic sleep and imperceptibly falls into a trance. She is waiting for orders. Jean hesitates, he is afraid of the count's shout. Finally, two short bells ring in the kitchen. Jean shudders, he says to Julia: "It's terrible! But there is no other way out! .. Go!" Yulia walks out the door with a firm step.

B. A. Erkhov

Drama (1899)

King Eric is a strange and eccentric figure, he is extremely suspicious and prone to unexpected decisions. Revolting the court, he settled his mistress in his Stockholm palace - the soldier's daughter Karin, whom he sincerely loves and from whom he already has two children. But at the same time, as befits a monarch, he is making plans for a dynastic marriage with Elizabeth of England and is waiting in the palace park for the arrival of his envoy from England. Below, on the lawn under the windows of the pavilion, Karin sits, embroidering, and next to her ensign Max, her former boyfriend, to whom she preferred the king - but not out of vanity or self-interest: Karin pities Eric, without her, as it seems to her, he will be lost. The king notices a soldier from above and, in order to scare him away, pours nails down from the balcony. Max leaves, but another man takes his place - Göran Persson, a former adviser to the king, now in disgrace. Having overheard Karin's conversation with the ensign and convinced of her loyalty to Eric, he offers her friendship. In addition, he brought good news to Karin - Eric's wedding embassy failed. The king, having seen Persson from above, continues his strange trick and throws a hammer, a flower pot, pillows, a chair down after the nails ... Göran Persson runs. The king laughs and calls him back, but he does not return.

At that moment, Nils Sture, who had returned from England, appeared on the lawn. He came to the king's reception with relatives - Svante and Eric Sture, which causes the king's displeasure. In what capacity did this crowd appear - as witnesses? Does Elizabeth refuse him? Where is the letter? The queen ordered to answer him in words - and so rude that the tongue does not turn ...

The king is angry. He drives those who have come out, throwing objects dropped earlier from the balcony after them. Marshal Yullenshern appears near the king. He wants to sweeten the bitter pill: Elizabeth refused because she had a lover - the Earl of Leicester. Then we must kill Lester! - without hesitation decides the king. And kill Lester Yullenstiern! But he refuses this honor, Yullensherna is a nobleman, not a murderer. The king also sends Yullensherna away.

Göran Persson returns. calmed down, Eric tells him: he just refused Elizabeth - after all, she got a lover. Although the malicious Sture, of course, will spread rumors that it was she who rejected Eric. Göran Persson urges the king to be calm: let Eric not judge others too harshly and repeat the word "I love" more often, then they will love him too. Good is rewarded. He himself, for example, sheltered an abandoned woman with a three-year-old child. And what? His house was filled with joy.

So who will Göran Persson advise him to marry? Catherine of Poland. But the king had just given permission to marry her to his half-brother Duke Johan! He has already sailed on the ship. So you have to catch up with him and judge! Yullenstierna has just reported: Duke Johan is already secretly married to a Polish princess. By doing so, he violated the ban on intercourse with a foreign power without the permission of the king. Eric agrees. Why shouldn't Göran Persson be his advisor again? Yoran agrees. But only if he has real power in his hands. The post of secretary of state, who is responsible for everything, but does not even dare to utter a word in front of the king, he does not need. He will not resign his post as royal procurator. Eric accepts his terms.

Göran Persson's house. His mother asks if the king really brought him back to court? And of course, forgot to assign a salary? Yes, it was out of the question. But Göran Persson is ready to serve the king without a salary. He will not abandon the king. They were born under the same star. Apart from Yoran, Eric has only his Karin.

In Persson's house is Svante Sture, the Secretary of State. He insults Yoran and his family, calling the Magda he has warmed a whore, and the owner himself - a priestly offspring. Göran is not afraid of a distinguished guest, for him he is a symbol of the hated nobles, predators that separate the king and the people, Persson reminds Sture that it is to him that he owes his title of the first count of Sweden. But let him know: now the second official in the country after the king is he, Yoran, so let Svante beware! He leaves.

Max, summoned by Yoran, enters. He gets a warning: leave Karin alone! It can be transferred to another city. Or eliminate! Max is cheeky to Yorana and leaves the house. But almost immediately a king appears on his doorstep. Does Göran Persson know that the duke, having married Katharina, is now seated with the rebellious Finns in the castle of Abo? Then Duke Johan, according to Persson, should be captured and executed. But only by decision of the Riksdag (Swedish parliament). Everything should be done, if possible, within the law. Does the king know that his worst enemy Svante Sture has just been here, insulting Göran and his family! Goran himself is to blame, the king believes, he has been offered any title to choose from more than once, but he refuses. Why? Because Yoran wants to be judged only by his deeds! Yes, Eric understands him, he himself feels like a stranger among the Swedish nobility. Maybe because his roots are in Germany?

Unexpectedly, Mons, Karin's father, appears at the door. He is stunned to find the king in Yoran's house, but sets out his case rudely and boldly. He will not tolerate his daughter living in debauchery! There is a man who is ready to cover up her sin and marry her. And here, in family matters, let no one stand in the way of Mons! Even the king himself! Eric explodes, but curbs his anger: in front of him is the grandfather of his children. Göran Persson refuses to take the petition from Mons. Okay, then Mons will go to Secretary of State Svanta Sture!

After Mons leaves, Göran promises the king that he will settle the matter. And he settles it in his own way, calling his nephew - the one-eyed giant Peder Wellamson. He should take six hefty fellows to help, put the ensign in a bag and drown him. So that not a drop of blood is shed!

Duke Johan, who had angered Finland and Poland against Sweden, was taken prisoner. The Riksdag sentences him to death, but Eric grants him a pardon. The dowager queen (his stepmother) intriguing against the king prepares a triumphal meeting for the pardoned. However, Göran Persson sets a trap for the conspirators: at the time of the meeting and welcoming speeches, everyone is arrested. Now they must be judged by the Riksdag assembled in Uppsala. Before the accusatory speech, Eric, at the request of Karin, lets the children in: they want to see dad in a royal ermine mantle (in the height of summer!) And in a golden crown. Little Sigrid, unbeknownst to her father, wraps her doll in a scroll with a written speech.

Of course, the king does not know how to speak without a piece of paper, and the Riksdag does not want to listen to witnesses from his side - they are of too low origin. The conspirators are acquitted. But this does not prevent Persson from judging them - now not according to the law, but, as he believes, according to justice. The talents of Peder Wellamson's one-eyed nephew are again used. He requires a small compensation - a promotion to corporal. The conspirators are killed in the basement.

Neither Göran Persson nor King Erik know that by that time Karin had been taken away by the Queen Dowager along with her children. She came to Karin to ask for relatives, but, having learned that Karin did not influence her husband’s decisions in any way and was generally the last woman at court, she pretended to take pity on her and frightened her, saying that the only person Karin could turn to for help was namely Ensign Max, did not disappear at all, but was killed on the vile order of Göran Persson. After that, the queen easily takes away Karin with the children.

Royal castle in Stockholm. Duke Johan (he is already at large) agrees to seize power with his brother Duke Charles. But you can't leave a madman on the throne. Although is conscience, repentance, repentance - madness? The king simply looked for the children he had taken away in the forest, got lost, slept on the bare ground, in the rain. But it is absolutely madness - to go to the soldier Mons and ask him for the hand of the returned daughter Karin! Both dukes are invited to the wedding, but they will not go to it - they guess about the trap set by him.

The same festively cleaned castle. Eric admits that the enemy turned out to be more generous than he thought: his children were spared, and he took the lives of the nobles ... Yes, he, Eric, does not deserve his happy fate! Erica is also frustrated that he could not invite the faithful Göran Persson to the wedding, this was opposed by the nobility.

The Master of Ceremonies announces: Erika and the Queen want to see the people! Eric orders people to be let in. Among them is the father of Karin soldier Mons: he is, as always, rude and arrogant and almost takes the king out of patience. Eric would have gladly expelled this audience. But who is it? Göran Persson? Yes, he has just come from Uppsala: he managed to persuade the Riksdag - Göran achieved the condemnation of the executed nobles. But the king has already sent letters around the country with the news that the executed are innocent! Well, Yoran will no longer handle the affairs of the king! Eric destroys everything he builds. And now both dukes did not come to the wedding. Someone warned them. Most likely Karin. Yullensherna approaches the king: the nobles will not come to the festival - here is a pack of printed letters. Well, Eric decides, let the common people walk around the tables! The one-eyed companion of misfortune Wellamson enters the hall, he reports: the castle is surrounded, in the next hall - the dukes Karl and Johan. Marshal Yullenstierna falls on his knees before Eric: Lord, save and have mercy on the good king, friend of the people, Eric the intercessor!

The common people in the hall are feasting, but people are uncomfortable: do they praise the weak-minded? Or maybe he's not so weak-minded after all, if they're sitting here at the tables! Eric is a kind king, he married a simple girl.

Yllenstierna enters the hall. He announces: His Majesty King Johan III of Sweden! Duke Karl, walking next to Johan, moves away from him on the move and makes a sign to his entourage. Johan betrayed him: they agreed that they would share the throne. Yllenstierna exclaims:

"The world seems to have gone mad! So did Eric!"

A little girl at the table asks her mother: "Will it all be over soon?" Duke Charles turns to her with a smile: "No, dear child, the struggle never ends - never!"

B. A. Erkhov

(Der grune Heinrich)

Roman (1850-1855, 2nd ed. 1878)

The action takes place at the beginning of the last century in Switzerland.

One fine day in the village of Glattfelden, which is located somewhere in the north of Switzerland, a stately and handsome stranger appears, dressed in a green frock coat. This is Master Lee. Once upon a time, he left his native village and went to wander the world.

Having made his way from an apprentice to a skilled stonemason and architect, having worked in all the big cities of Germany, he returns to his homeland. Here master Lee decides to try his luck in the capital and establish his own business in Zurich. Before moving to the city, he marries the daughter of a country pastor.

Upon arrival, the young architect not only works hard and hard, but also takes part in public life. Unfortunately, death overtakes him in his prime.

Master Lee left his widow a lot of unfinished business, and after they were put in order, it turns out that the entire fortune of the family is only one house. It is populated from top to bottom, like a beehive. It is the income from the tenants that helps the widow Leah and her son named Heinrich to make ends meet.

In this house the boy realizes himself for the first time as a thinking being. Already at an early age, he begins to think about what God is. One day he refuses to pray, just like the girl Meret, whose story will strike Henry's imagination many years later. The girl refused to pray and was tortured to death by a certain pastor.

Heinrich meets a rag-dealer named Mrs. Margrethe. He spends a lot of time in her shop, listening to stories about ghosts, sorcerers, evil spirits, etc.

Heinrich is seven years old, and his mother sends him to school. Two of his suits are made from his father's green military uniform. Therefore, the boys of our hero are nicknamed "green Heinrich". At school, for the first time, he encounters such concepts as lies, arrogance, boasting.

Heinrich spends a lot of time alone with himself, in his secret children's world. Like many of his peers, he catches butterflies and beetles, collects colorful stones. Having somehow seen the menagerie, Heinrich decides to create the same one for himself. In his menagerie there are sparrows, a rabbit, a mouse, several lizards, spiders, snakes. But one day Heinrich decides to kill the animals: alive, he buries his pets in the ground.

Once in the anatomical museum at the hospital and seeing vessels with embryos in it, he decides to create something similar at home. Heinrich sculpts embryos from wax and puts them in bottles of cologne and alcohol. He gives each one a name. For each of them he draws up a horoscope, according to some manual on Theosophy, which he found in the house of Mrs. Margrethe. But this world is also dying: defending himself from an angry cat, Heinrich throws his wax freaks at her.

Finally, quiet games alone with himself bother Heinrich. He meets with a group of boys. Together they arrange theatrical performances, and when a troupe of German actors arrives in the city and gives a performance of Faust, Heinrich also takes part in the performance. He plays the role of a fur seal.

At the age of twelve, Heinrich enters a real school. Among the sons of wealthy citizens, our hero feels like a stranger. To become like everyone else, Heinrich steals silver coins from his mother's savings. When the hero accidentally takes part in the obstruction of one unloved teacher, his comrades pass him off as "the main instigator of outrage." As a result, Heinrich is expelled from the school. Now, free from classes, he discovers a passion for drawing and declares to his mother that he wants to become an artist. Mother opposes this and decides to send Heinrich to the village to her brother pastor. Here the young hero meets a young widow named Judith.

Acute, inexpressible pleasure seizes Heinrich when he is next to her.

And in the village Heinrich continues to paint. He often goes to the forests, where he draws trees and forest streams from nature. For this, his relatives call him "artist". One day the hero finds himself in the house of a rural teacher. There he meets Anna, his daughter. In his heart, Heinrich carries away her bright, unearthly image.

In one of the letters, Heinrich again informs his mother of his intention to become an artist. Mrs. Lee turns to different people for advice on what to do with her son, however, she does not receive a sensible answer from anyone. Meanwhile, in the village, Heinrich continues his painting studies. He gives several of his drawings to Judith. But his heart belongs to Anna. Green Heinrich becomes a frequent visitor to her father's house.

Meanwhile, Heinrich's grandmother falls seriously ill and dies. At the wake, according to ancient custom, Anna and Heinrich perform a dance. After the sad ritual, our hero escorts Anna home. Their path lies through the cemetery. And here, among the graves, they kiss for the first time.

Heinrich needs to return to the city. He becomes an apprentice to a certain engraver, Habersaat, an art artisan who creates gaudy Swiss landscapes to the same standard: festive blue skies and emerald green landscapes. Heinrich does not like copying from Habersaat's samples at all.

When next summer our hero again goes to the village, hoping, of course, to see Anna, he is disappointed: his beloved has gone to study in French Switzerland. Heinrich writes long love letters to Anna, but does not send them. He lets the most passionate of his letters float on the river, thinking that no one will read it. However, bathing Judith finds this letter.

Our hero returns to the city, where he continues his "training" in painting. But Heinrich does not want to be an artisan, he breaks with his mentor and informs his mother about it.

In the spring of the following year, Heinrich again goes to the village and meets with Anna, who has returned to her homeland. However, now their relationship is much colder than it was before. The refined manners instilled in Anna abroad scare Henry away. Every time the hero sees Anna, he feels shy and does not dare to enter into a conversation with her. He often retires to the forest thicket, where he paints a portrait of his beloved. For the first time he knows love languor.

Time is running fast. And now another six months have passed. Shortly after Christmas, Henry receives an invitation from his uncle to take part in the celebration: several villages have united in order to celebrate Shrovetide with a grandiose theatrical performance. The performance is based on Schiller's "William Tell". Anna plays the role of Bertha von Bruneck, Heinrich gets the role of Ulrich von Rudenz.

Returning from the holiday, Heinrich, seized with passion, begins to shower Anna with kisses, but the girl breaks out of his arms. A strange feeling seizes Heinrich: it seems to him that he is holding in his arms an infinitely distant and lifeless object.

After seeing Anna off, the hero, on his way home, enters a tavern where village youth are having fun. In the tavern, he meets Judith, who invites him to her place. Judith shows Heinrich his letter to Anna and demands that he tell her the whole story of his relationship with the teacher's daughter. Suddenly, Judith hugs Heinrich and starts kissing him. Heinrich reciprocates her feelings, but suddenly the image of Anna appears before our hero, he breaks out of the arms of a young woman and runs away, promising himself never to see Judith again.

Returning to Zurich, Heinrich finally finds a worthy teacher of painting: he becomes an illustrious and talented watercolorist named Remer (which means "Roman" in German), who had just returned from Rome. Under his leadership, Heinrich begins to make complex and meaningful work. After some time, it turns out that Remer suffers from a severe mental illness. He suddenly leaves for Paris, where, according to rumors that have reached Henry, he spends the rest of his days in a hospital for the insane.

One day a village teacher comes to visit Heinrich's mother with his daughter. Anna is seriously ill, and her father brought her to the city to see the doctors. When they are about to return to the village, Heinrich announces his intention to interrupt his painting and go with them.

He spends all his days in the village teacher's house at Anna's bedside. In the evenings, breaking his promise, he secretly meets with Judith. Anna's health, meanwhile, is deteriorating. She almost never gets out of bed. After a while, Anna dies. When at the funeral the last ray of sunlight illuminates the face of the deceased, surrounded by white roses, Heinrich suddenly feels almost happy: as if part of his life, part of his experience was buried with Anna.

Immediately after the funeral, Henry hurries to Judith. He says goodbye to his girlfriend forever and returns to the city with his mother.

Heinrich is eighteen years old. He is subject to military service. One day, a large wagon passes along the road that crosses the parade ground for military exercises. Such carts, loaded to the top with all sorts of goods, serve as a means of transportation for families heading to America. Among the settlers, Henry notices Judith.

To continue his art education, Heinrich goes to Munich. Unfortunately, due to lack of funds, he does not have the opportunity to study at the Royal Academy, but he meets two young painters: the Swede Erickson and a talented Dutchman named Luce. Together they take part in the festival of artists. Heinrich and his friends portray the heroes of ancient myths: Luce is dressed as an Assyrian king, Erikson as the leader of the retinue of the goddess of hunting, Rosalia, his beloved, a rich young widow, portrays Venus, and Agnes, Luce's girlfriend, rides a chariot in the form of Diana.

After the holiday, Luce tries to seduce Rosalia, promising her to leave, to forget Agnes. Not only Erickson, with whom, as it turns out, Rosalia is already secretly engaged, but Heinrich becomes a witness to this scene. And when our hero tries to stand up for the honor of Agnes, Luce challenges him to a duel. Immediately, he takes his challenge back and informs everyone present of his intention to leave Munich.

Erickson and Rosalia get married and soon leave Munich. Heinrich is left alone.

He continues his education by attending lectures on anatomy, philosophy, history and literature. He soon gains some fame in student circles, but a free life leads to the fact that our hero is at the mercy of creditors. He unsuccessfully tries to sell one of his paintings. The hero's mother not only sends Henry her last savings, but also mortgages her house. Her money does not last long for Heinrich. For several days in a row, Heinrich is forced to starve. The hero sells his flute and some of his drawings for next to nothing. He is forced to work for a junk dealer, painting flagpoles for the holidays. His bleak existence is brightened up by friendship with the maid Hulda.

The mistress of the house where Heinrich is staying suddenly dies. In addition, the hero meets his compatriot, who makes a honeymoon trip to Europe. He tells Heinrich about his mother. After this meeting, Heinrich has a dream in which his mother calls him to her. Heinrich decides to return to his homeland.

For several days, Heinrich wanders along the road. Tired, he wants to spend the night in the church. But the pastor chases him away. Tired Heinrich sits down on a garden bench in the middle of the cemetery. There he is found by the daughter of Count Dietrich V…bergsky Dorothea Schonfund. She takes him to the count's castle, where, among a large collection of paintings, Heinrich, much to his surprise, finds his own creations.

In the castle, Heinrich puts the count's collection of paintings in order, falls in love with Dorothea, with whom he debates with the local pastor. Here he meets the atheist Peter Gilgus, who professes the teachings of Ludwig Feuerbach. On the advice of Count Heinrich again decides to put his paintings up for sale, and two of them are bought by his Munich friend Erikson. Unexpectedly, Heinrich receives the inheritance of a junk dealer for whom he once worked. Having become rich, he makes the final decision to return home. His mother is dying, and when Heinrich enters her room, the priest is already reading a prayer over her.

After the death of his mother, Heinrich Lee enters the civil service. His life now flows quietly and measuredly. But his soul is devastated, more and more often Henry is haunted by the desire to commit suicide. By chance, he meets Judith, who, having become rich, returned from America. Judith confesses her love to Heinrich.

For twenty years Heinrich and Judith have been living together. During a deadly epidemic, Judith, helping the children of the poor, falls seriously ill and dies.

A. V. Markin

(Jurg Jenatsch. Eine Bundnergeschichte)

Historical novel (1876)

During the Thirty Years' War in Graubünden, which annexed Valtellina a century ago, the head of the Catholic party, the influential patrician Pompeo Planta, was convicted of conspiring with Austria-Spain. With the assistance of a young Protestant pastor, Jürg Jenach, the court sentences Plant to exile and deprives him of civil and property rights.

Jürg Jenach's former classmate Heinrich Waser makes sketches in the Julian Pass of Graubünden. Now he is a smart and well-intentioned Zurich recorder with great hopes for the future. Unexpectedly, he meets Pompeo Plant with his daughter Lucrezia. Jürg Jenach, the son of a poor shepherd from Charance, and Lucrezia grew up together, from childhood she chose him as her protector, experiencing tender affection for him. While Pompeo Planta is talking to Vaser, the girl secretly writes words of warning about impending disaster to Enach on the recorder's sketch,

On the way to Valtellinsky Berbenn, where Jurg Enach preaches, Vaser is not allowed to spend the night in one of the farmsteads. Wanting to know the reason, he peeps out the window, watching the old woman. She scolds the silly boy Agostino, afraid to trust him with the package. Taking advantage of the situation, Vaser offers his services and spends the night in the closet allotted to him. Involuntarily, he becomes a witness to the conversation between Pompeo Plant and the hired killer Robustelli, from where he learns about the impending assassination attempt on Jenach.

In the morning, Vaser sets off with Agostino. The fanatical boy tells that the old woman ordered him to kill his sister, but Heinrich does not take seriously the fool's words.

Upon Vaser's arrival, Jurg and his wife Lucia, a woman of perfect beauty and devotion, greet him. Her Catholic relatives in Valtellina are unhappy that she married a Protestant. Jenach, explaining to a friend the cruelty towards the Catholic clergy, speaks of the inevitability of victims. This is a man of unbridled will, courageous to the point of despair and infinitely proud, devoted with all his soul to Grisons. Noticing Vaser's excitement, the pastor, putting a knife to his throat, makes him talk about the impending assassination attempt.

Enach, accompanied by Vaser, unsuccessfully attempts to penetrate the Spanish border fortress of Fuentes. Then they visit the French Duke Heinrich Rohan, who is resting near Lake Como on his way to Venice. The former leader of the Huguenots in internal strife is now authorized by Cardinal Richelieu to watch over the interests of France in a political intrigue against Austria-Spain. Jenach talks with the duke over a military map, revealing an excellent knowledge of topography, Rogan, agreeing with the ardent statements of the pastor, notes that military-political and spiritual power should not be combined in one person.

On the way back, news of a Catholic revolt reaches Jenach and Vaser. Jürg decides to take off his spiritual vestment, as "the Graubünden needs a sword."

The people are besieging the pastor's house, in which the Protestant brethren, led by Enach, are located. While Jurg is contemplating how to cross from Valtellina, the fanatic Agostino shoots through the window and kills his sister Lucia. Enach with a sword in his right hand, carrying his wife on his left, appears on the threshold of a burning house, anger and a thirst for revenge rage in his soul.

The massacre at Burbenne is just one of the manifestations of the strife, the instigator of which is Planta. The Spaniards advance from Fuentes and occupy Valtellina by military force.

Jenach, who became the leader of the people's party, besieges the castle of Plant - Rydberg. Breaking into Rydberg, the Avengers find Pompeo, hiding in the chimney of the fireplace, and brutally crack down on him, hacking him to death with an axe. An old servant of Auk hides a bloody murder weapon, predicting retribution.

Jurg is fighting against the Spanish and Austrian conquerors, legends are made about his courage and valor, Jenach is called the "Graubünden Tell". But the resistance is crushed by the superior forces of the usurpers.

Zurich, fearful of Austria, takes a position of non-intervention. The respected Waser is rapidly moving up the ranks, he is entrusted with resolving political issues with Grisons.

One day, Jürg Enach asks Waser for shelter for the night, then the "Graubünden Tell" decides to leave his homeland and enter the German army.

He fights in Germany, then under the Swedish banner, and finally goes to the service of the Venetian Republic. Managing affairs in Dalmatia, Enach proves to be a brave and talented warrior. Jürg is in correspondence with Rogan, thinking over plans for the release of Graubünden.

The Venetian politician Grimani is interested in eliminating Jenach, as he feels in him a dangerous force capable of revolting in Graubünden.

But Enach arbitrarily leaves Dolmatia and goes to Venice. He stands up for a child crushed by a drunken colonel who was racing on a horse, and kills the offender in a duel.

In the Venetian Cathedral, a meeting takes place between Duke Rogan and Jenach. Calling for the liberation of the homeland, Yurg draws an allegory: identifying himself with George the Victorious, he likens France to a Cappadocian princess, and Spain to a dragon. The duke, appreciating the openness and purposefulness of Jenach, agrees to negotiations.

Lucrezia finds shelter with her uncle in Milan. Cousin Rudolf tries to win her favor to no avail. Once, fulfilling a friendly duty, he helped the nephew of the viceroy Serbelloni to enter the chambers of Lucrezia. But the girl rises to her defense and injures Serbelonni. After that, she allows her to return to her homeland.

Arriving in Venice, Lucretia turns to the duchess, and then to Rogan with a request to allow retribution for her father. Enach, who accidentally heard the prayers of Plant's daughter, gives himself into her hands. Lucrezia must decide who owns Jenach's life - her or Graubünden. Despite the nobility of Yurga, she is unable to make peace. Rogan decides to take Jenach into his service. But Grimani condemns the former pastor for the colonel's murder. The Duke intercedes for Jenach. Nicknamed "Cassandra" Grimani foretells Rogan's future, pointing to Jenach's boundless ambition. Not heeding the foresight of the Venetian, Rogan insists on the release of Yurg.

Jürg becomes close to Rogan, acting in Graubünden against the Spanish dominance. The Spaniards capture Jenach, but in order to make sure that it is really him, they ask the local people to identify the prisoner. A worker who remembers the events of Plant's bloody murder confirms Jenach's identity. Lucrezia, passing by, exposes her incognito and claims that this is not the man who killed her father, and then, risking her own life, helps Yurg escape.

Further, events unfold favorably for Graubünden, Rogan manages to oust the Austrians and Spaniards. Enach wins the respect and trust of the duke during daring sorties against enemies. Rogan wholeheartedly cheers for the Grisons region and its prosperity, the French people call the "good duke".

However, France is in no hurry to return independence to Graubünden and withdraw troops, the war with Germany has depleted the treasury, so there is nothing to pay the Graubünden regiments. Among the local population, dissatisfaction with the French intervention is growing, and at the same time faith in Yurga the liberator. The "good duke" receives a dispatch in which the treaty approved by him in Cuvenna is returned with a number of amendments: the troops must remain until the conclusion of a general peace, and the Protestants must reside in Valtellina for no more than two months a year. Rogan hides this document from Graubünden, informing Jurg about it only.

Enach, putting his humanity at stake, becomes Judas in relation to the duke. He accepts the terms of Spain: in return for a break with France, Graubünden gained independence. He instructs Lucretia to conduct secret negotiations, with whom, having stepped over all obstacles, he hopes to unite. Their homeland is dear to both of them - and Lucrezia leaves for Milan, plunging into the political struggle around Valtellina.

lulling Rogan's attention, Jenach raises the Grisons against France. Having led the rebellion and becoming commander-in-chief of the Graubünden troops, he presents an ultimatum: the French troops must leave the Rhine fortifications and Valtellina, and the duke remains hostage. Rogan does not agree to Jenach's terms, amazed at his betrayal. But when it comes to volunteers who do not want to swear, the duke, in order to save them from reprisal, signs the scroll. Baron Lekk, close to Rogan, offers to avenge the honor of France, but the duke believes that bloodshed and deceit cannot restore the glory of his native country: "I would rather preserve honor, even if I had to lose my homeland." Then Rogan enters the service of the Duke of Weimar as a simple soldier and dies from wounds in one of the battles.

Spain demands Catholicism in Graubünden and the free passage of troops. Jenach accepts Catholicism, trying to persuade Austria-Spain to sign an alliance treaty. At the same time, he threatens to return French influence and only then achieves the signing of an agreement according to which peace is concluded with Austria and Spain and the borders and liberties of Grisons are restored.

On the day the contract was handed over to Chur, the Mayor of Zurich Waser arrives, bringing the news of Rogan's death. Jürg presents Graubünden with a letter of peace.

Cousin Rudolph comes to Lucretia, who is ready to commit blood feud in order to marry a girl. When during the holiday he leaves with a hired retinue, taking with him the ax with which Planta was killed, Lucrezia follows her cousin,

Plant's daughter arrives in Chur and finds Jenach in the city hall, where he is surrounded by masked men. Rudolf brings the ax, but Yurg manages to repulse the attack, while he kills both Rudolf and the old servant Luka. Dying, the old man puts the ax into the hands of Lucrezia. She, full of love and hatred, executes Enach, fulfilling the will of an inevitable fate.

A. B. Rykunova

(La bibliotheque de mon Oncle)

Tale (1832-1838)

The action takes place at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. The story is told from the perspective of the main character. In a secluded quarter of Geneva, in a house located near St. Paul's Cathedral and the Episcopal prison, a contemplative young man is growing up, who lost his parents early and is tutored by an uncle. He studies under the strict supervision of Mr. Rathen, a mentor and educator not only in matters of science, but also in morality. Jules is a diligent teenager, but in addition to respect, the teacher also causes ridicule from him, he is not averse to stunning Rathen with "unreasonable" laughter at the wart with hairs on the mentor's nose.

The boy gradually becomes a young man, a premonition of love hovers in his still childish mind. When reading pastorals, the images of young shepherdesses fill his heart. However, Mr. Rathen, a man of extraordinary education and chastity, tries to protect Jules from any hint of feeling, skipping entire pages in essays that talk about the vicissitudes of love. But, as the grown-up Jules, who tells and analyzes his story from the top of his years, notes, such an upbringing instills a lot of prejudices, and prohibitions that suppress feelings do not pacify them.

For the blots made on the pages of "Notes on the Gallic War", Rathen punishes his pupil by not allowing him to leave the room for two days. The boy enjoys forced idleness, regales himself with hot pies, gives free rein to his powers of observation during the fight between a neighbor's cat and a rat. Wanting to scare the cat, he accidentally breaks the lock on the door leading to his uncle's library. Here the attention of Jules is attracted by a book that a rat managed to partially gnaw. In the dictionary entry, he reads about the love of the abbess Heloise and Abelard. Jules is struck by Eloise's letters written in Latin. The love story inflames the boy, and he is carried away into the world of the Middle Ages, experiencing the sweet intoxication of fiction.

The thirst for feeling is embodied in Jules' first passion. His dream is a young Englishwoman Lucy, who attends painting sessions accompanied by her father. This is a skillful portrait painter who knows how to appease the "sprout of vanity" that grows in every person. He has a talent for making people look like themselves and at the same time, beautiful. Usually the artist hangs the work to dry on rods nailed to the window, and then Jules can look at them.

Left locked up, the young man in love decides to climb through his uncle's library into the workshop to see Lucy's portrait. But an unfortunate fall arranges an incredible rout in the painter's room. Jules examines the portrait, then returns to his room, not knowing how to explain to Rathen what happened in the studio. The boy's adventures are witnessed by a criminal, recently sentenced to life imprisonment, watching from the prison window. Singing psalms, he plays on the pity of Jules. The touched young man gives him the Bible, and at the same time a file, in order to free him from the excruciating pain caused by the shackles. At this time, the artist is amazed at the chaos reigning in the workshop. Jules is ready to confess everything, but the prisoner deceives the painter, telling a fable about raging cats. Dissatisfied with the explanation, the artist, together with Mr. Rathen, explores the room with his uncle's library, since it was only possible to climb out onto the roof, and then climb into the studio. Jules hears that Rathen finds his handkerchief, and the gendarmes report the prisoner's escape.

Driven by remorse, shame and fear, the young man flees to Lausanne, hoping to find understanding and protection from his uncle. On the way, enjoying the greatness of the Alps, he calms down and begins to believe in a happy outcome of misadventures. Suddenly, an Englishwoman's carriage stops on the way of Jules, her father - a respectable noble old man - offers help. Jules confesses to what he did, but Lucy and the old man forgive him. Good Englishmen take the fugitive to Lausanne and hand it over to Uncle Tom. Jules then tells how his youth ended.

Three years have passed. Jules is now an eighteen-year-old student devoting himself to the study of law. Often he is distracted from his studies and stands at the window for a long time, watching the street, the roofs of houses, looking up to the sky, rejoicing in the rain. This "useful idleness" allows him to immerse himself in thoughts, to connect with the infinite space of the outside world. Jules lives with Uncle Tom, who "reads, makes notes, compiles, formulates his thoughts and collects in his brain the quintessences of thousands of volumes with which his room is lined", his whole life is the service of science and oblivion of reality.

Jules' heart revives a feeling for a stranger who daily passes by his windows. One day, she turns to Uncle Tom for a Hebrew Bible to read to a dying Jewish old man. Seeing the girl, Jules involuntarily gasps, she catches his enthusiastic look and immediately blushes. From a conversation with his uncle, the young man learns that his beloved is Jewish, but this attracts Jules even more. Having built a stand out of books, the admirer watches the windows of the hospital, looking at the beautiful Jewish woman at the head of the sick old man. But the tomes fall apart with a roar, and an alarmed uncle runs into the room. The young man cannot explain his behavior, and the uncle decides that he is ill. In dismay, Jules forgets, he dreams of the favor of his beloved, waking up, the young man decides to explain. Having made a scarecrow, Jules covers it with her blanket and runs to the library. While the uncle is coming down to visit his nephew, a girl comes. Jules opens the door for her. Both are somewhat confused. The young man hides in a room, and a beautiful Jewish woman meets the returning old man and tells about the incident. Uncle Tom finds this incredible. While he is looking for a book, the guest smiles over a page of some tome. After her departure, Jules studies the book, trying to find the place that his beloved liked. Finally he succeeds, he reads about the love of a timid nobleman, like Jules, for the sake of meeting his beloved who hid in the upper room. Then the young man understands that he can hope for reciprocity. He rushes to the hospital to meet the girl, but learns that the old Jew has died. A few days later, Uncle Tom is handed the Bible, in the postscript to which a beautiful Jewish woman asks to give the book to Jules in memory of her. The girl died of smallpox.

Jules is very upset by the loss of his beloved, he opens up to his uncle and finds support in him. With the death of her beloved, Jules says goodbye to her youth. Time heals wounds, but the young man is haunted by thoughts of death. He abandons his studies in law, feeling a vocation for painting. At first, the uncle hinders Jules, but then blesses him in the field of the artist. And the young man indulges in an attraction to art, making sketches while walking.

Unexpectedly, Jules meets Lucy, dressed in mourning for her father, and her husband. The Englishwoman gets acquainted with the works of Jules and orders copies from her father's portrait.

The young artist works in an attic, divided into two parts by a partition, and a land surveyor is located next door. His daughter - a timid, shy girl Henriette, brought up in severity and simplicity, attracts the attention of Jules. Every morning, going to his part of the attic, he meets Henrietta on the stairs. Jules falls in love with a girl. This time, feeling that his dreams are destined to come true, he seriously thinks about marriage. But the lover lacks the determination to open up to Henrietta. Case comes to the rescue. Lucy, inquiring about the work on copies, starts a conversation about the surveyor's daughter. Jules, knowing that behind the partition Henrietta will hear everything he says, confesses his love for her. After some time, a land surveyor comes to the artist, they talk about a possible marriage and whether the artist is able to support his family. Lucy again helps Jules by paying a large sum for copies and placing a new order, and then recommending him to her compatriots. Henrietta's father agrees, believing that the highest value in marriage is not wealth, but mutual trust and love for work. The uncle gives the groom a small fortune, bequeathed by Jules' parents, in addition, he decides to sell his library in order to secure the future of the young spouses. After marriage, Jules enters the surveyor's family, thanks to his work and the patronage of Ayushi, he becomes famous and lives in abundance.

Two years later, Uncle Tom dies, and Jules, mourning his death, writes a letter to Lucy, emphasizing the common destinies in their destinies - the loss of a loved one.

A. B. Rykunova

1. In more detail, the principles of construction of this publication are set out in the preface to the volume "Russian Literature of the XNUMXth Century".

Editor: V. I. Novikov

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