Peak lady. a.s

"," A secluded "house" on Vasilyevsky" and the famous passage "Guests gathered at the dacha ...". The story has been filmed several times.

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✪ Queen of Spades- Alexander Pushkin (audiobook)

✪ Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The Queen of Spades, opera in three acts - Mariinsky Theater (2015)

✪ The Queen of Spades. Alexander Pushkin

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Plot

The plot of the story beats the theme of unpredictable fate, fortune, fate, beloved by Pushkin (as well as other romantics). The young German military engineer Hermann leads a modest life and accumulates a fortune, he does not even pick up cards and is limited only to watching the game. His friend Tomsky tells the story of how his grandmother, the countess, while in Paris, lost a large sum in cards. She tried to borrow from the Count of Saint-Germain, but instead of money, he revealed to her the secret of the three winning cards. The countess, thanks to the secret, fully recouped.

Hermann, having seduced her pupil, Lisa, enters the countess's bedroom, pleas and threats trying to find out the cherished secret. Seeing Hermann armed with a pistol (which, as it turned out later, turned out to be unloaded), the countess dies of a heart attack. At the funeral, Hermann imagines that the late countess opens her eyes and casts a glance at him. In the evening, her ghost appears to Hermann and says that three cards (“three, seven, ace”) will bring him a win, but he should not bet more than one card per day. The second condition is that he must marry Lisa. Hermann subsequently did not fulfill the last condition. Three cards become an obsession for Hermann:

... Seeing a young girl, he said: "How slim she is! .. A real red three." They asked him: what time is it, he answered: - five minutes to seven. - Every pot-bellied man reminded him of an ace. Three, seven, ace - pursued him in a dream, taking on all possible forms: the three bloomed in front of him in the form of a magnificent grandiflora, the seven seemed to be a Gothic gate, the ace was a huge spider. All his thoughts merged into one - to take advantage of the secret, which cost him dearly ...

The famous gambler millionaire Chekalinsky arrives in St. Petersburg. Hermann puts all his capital (47 thousand rubles) on three, wins and doubles it. The next day, he bets all his money (94 thousand rubles) on the seven, wins and doubles his capital again. On the third day, Hermann bets money (188 thousand rubles) on an ace. An ace comes up. Hermann thinks he has won, but Chekalinsky says that Lady Hermann has lost. In some incredible way, Hermann "turned around" - he put money instead of an ace on a lady. Hermann sees on the map a grinning and winking Queen of Spades, who reminds him of a countess. Ruined Hermann ends up in a hospital for the mentally ill, where he does not react to anything and every minute “mutters unusually soon: - Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, lady! .. "

Work on the story

The plot of The Queen of Spades was prompted to Pushkin by the young Prince Golitsyn, who, having lost, regained what he had lost by betting, on the advice of his grandmother, on three cards once prompted to her by Saint-Germain. This grandmother is the “mustachioed princess” N. P. Golitsyna, well-known in Moscow society, nee Chernysheva, mother of the Moscow governor D. V. Golitsyn.

1. In handwritten drafts, the hero is named Herman; perhaps the second "n" was added by the publishers under the influence of the German spelling.
2. The phrase "his name is Hermann" includes the construction "call + creation. case”, which in the Russian language of that time was used only with a name; in other works Pushkin also follows this rule.
3. Küchelbecker, who was fluent in German, in his diary calls the hero of the story Herman, that is, the presence of a double "n" did not play a decisive role for him.

As noted by the philologist, Professor Anatoly Andreev, the surname Hermann contains "Germanic semantics Herr Mann("Mr. Man")".

The same parallel is played by the Russian playwright Nikolay Kolyada in his play DREISIEBENAS(THREEKASEMERCATUS) .

Opinions and ratings

• Vladislav Khodasevich brought The Queen of Spades closer to other Pushkin's works about "the contact of the human personality with dark forces":

Before talking with the Countess, Hermann himself went towards the black power. When the countess died, he thought that his plan was crumbling, that everything was over and life would henceforth go on as before, with the same capital and untouched interest. But then the roles shifted: from the attacker he turned into the object of attack. The dead old woman appeared to him. “I came to you against my will,” she said in a firm voice, “but I was ordered to fulfill your request,” etc. cards and one, last, most important - incorrect, or at the last, decisive moment, pushed his hand and made him lose everything. Be that as it may, they raised it almost to the maximum height - and pushed it down. And in the end - the fate of Hermann is literally the same as the fate of Pavel and Eugene: he goes crazy.

• D. Mirsky singled out The Queen of Spades from Pushkin’s works as “the best and most characteristic work for him in prose”:

It is impossible to summarize it: it is a masterpiece of conciseness. Like Belkin's Tales, this is a work of pure art, entertaining only as a whole. In terms of the power of imagination, it surpasses everything that Pushkin wrote in prose: in terms of tension, it is like a compressed spring. In its violent romanticism, it is close to the "Hymn to the Plague" and to the poem "God forbid I go crazy." But the fantastic romantic plot is poured into an irreproachable classical form, so economical and compressed in its noble nakedness that even Prosper Mérimée, the most sophisticatedly economical of French writers, did not dare to translate it exactly and attached all sorts of embellishments and explanations to his French translation, thinking probably builds up meat on a dry skeleton.

Screen adaptations

• The Queen of Spades (film,  1910) - silent film
• The Queen of Spades (film,  1916) - silent film
• The Queen of Spades (film, 1922) - Hungarian film
• The Queen of Spades (film, 1937) - French film
• The Queen of Spades (film,  1960) - adaptation of the opera
• The Queen of Spades (film,  1982) - a film by Igor Maslennikov
• The Queen of Spades (film,  1987) - film-play by Pyotr Fomenko
• These ... three true cards ..., 1988 - a film by Alexander Orlov
• Queen of Spades (film, 2016) - a film by Pavel Lungin

The Queen of Spades is one of the most intriguing and adventurous works in the spirit of romanticism. Alexander Pushkin not only beautifully described the history already known to everyone, as was the case in some of his creations, but also put all the ingenuity of his literary genius into it. In addition, in the intricacies of masterfully written prose, a message that is still relevant to this day is hidden: happiness is not in money, and not even in luck. A detailed analysis of the "Queen of Spades" will help to better understand the work.

The plot of the work is borrowed from reality. The real story of the "Queen of Spades" is as follows: Pushkin's acquaintance, Prince Golitsin, an avid card player, managed to win back thanks to the advice of his grandmother, Natalya Petrovna Golitsina, who ordered him to put everything on three cards. She is the prototype of the Queen of Spades, because at one time she had an acquaintance with the magician and magician Saint-Germain. According to her, he was not indifferent to her, so he told the cherished secret. The writer himself also often tested his fortune, this can be guessed from his good understanding of card terms and the intricacies of the game.

In the process of creating The Queen of Spades, the author was in Boldin (1833), it was his most “fruitful” autumn. He worked avidly, so the book is full of extraordinary plot twists and dramatic conflicts. Of course, the love collision and moral fall of the hero are fictitious, but they convince us of the danger of playing with fate. He published the work after the link, in 1834, in the journal Library for Reading.

Genre and direction

"The Queen of Spades" is usually defined as a story. This genre implies an average volume, one main storyline and the participation of minor characters in it. Literary critics consider this book to be Pushkin's first work, opening a cycle of further reflections on human vices and the punishments that follow them.

In the analysis, it is important to take into account the realities of the cultural era when the creation was written. The direction of The Queen of Spades is romanticism, known to posterity as a period of mystical longing for the ideal, when fictional worlds penetrated the real one, and even the most astute reader could not determine whether there was magic in reality? Or did the writer simply portray the hero's dream? So in Pushkin's book it is not clear who drove Hermann to madness: the magic of cards or an unfortunate loss? Be that as it may, the hero's craving for enrichment at any cost is ridiculed and punished, and the superiority of spiritual wealth over material wealth is glorified and extolled.

What is the piece about?

The story tells how one day, at a card game with horse guard Narumov, the grandson of the old princess Tomsky tells a joke about three cards known only to his grandmother, which will certainly win. The story makes a great impression on the young officer Hermann, who, by all means, decides to find out this card combination. He often begins to appear at the Countess's house, considering his further actions, and one day, he notices her pupil, Elizaveta Ivanovna, at the window. Hermann begins to show her signs of attention, and after some time he appoints her a nightly date in her room.

Having entered the princess's house, he tries to get a secret combination of three cards from the hostess, intimidates her with a pistol, but she dies right before his eyes, without revealing her secret. Having visited the funeral of the princess, the killer sees that she is winking at him from the coffin, and at night, either in a dream or in reality, she appears and tells him the combination - three, seven, ace. She sets conditions for him - set not more map a day and marry Elizaveta Ivanovna. The hero does not fulfill the second request. Having won two wins, betting a three and a seven, for the third time, instead of an ace, the Queen of Spades winking at him appears on the table. Hermann loses money and goes crazy. The double essence of the story "The Queen of Spades" is that the reader himself chooses the meaning of the finale:

• Firstly, the princess really could have magical abilities and take revenge on the young man for disobedience.
• Secondly, the character could go crazy even at the stage of the emergence of an obsession to find out the secret, that is, further events are the consequences of his mental or mental disorder.

Main characters and their characteristics

• Hermann- a young man of pleasant appearance, having "the profile of Napoleon, and the soul of Mephistotle", a romantic by nature. Otrodu did not take cards in his hands, but he likes to watch someone else's game. He did not see the point of "sacrifice the necessary in the hope of acquiring the superfluous", he was a player only in his soul, but the secret of the three cards radically changed his worldview. If earlier he was pedantic, restrained and thrifty, then in the finale he becomes a greedy, treacherous and cruel person. Money reveals the hidden depravity of his soul, which absorbs all the good that was in the heart of the hero.
• Anna Fedotovna- an old, decrepit countess, spoiled by social life, living out her last years. Although she keeps the pupil in strictness, nevertheless, she thinks about her future. The image of the Queen of Spades, who fancied Hermann, differs from the heroine in life. She is vindictive, mysterious and categorical. A deal with her is a kind of deal with the devil, because Hermann pays for the secret with his soul, and the lady knows this. It is no coincidence that she demands from the young man to make amends with the pupil and marry her. She knows that he will not do this, because a soulless hero is not capable of honesty and nobility. This betrays in her deceit and hypocrisy inherent in otherworldly forces. The Queen of Spades is also a symbol of easy material success that makes people dizzy. He destroys humanity and virtue in them, leaving a field scorched by vices in their place.
• Elizabeth- a modest and shy young girl, a pupil of Anna Fedotovna, tortured by the constant reproaches, whims and inconstancy of the countess. She is naive and kind, looking for understanding and love in the world, but finds only deceit and cruelty. Lisa is also a romantic heroine, but her illusions fail, because reality does not show favor to everyone.
• Tomsk Prince, relative of Anna Fedotovna. He plays the role of a reasoner, it is thanks to his story that the plot of the action takes place: Hermann turns onto a crooked path and follows his desires.

Topics

1. fate and fate. A fatal set of circumstances dooms the protagonist to madness. Herman was destined to pay for the fact that he did not fulfill all the conditions of the old countess, namely, did not marry Elizaveta Ivanovna. Even if we discard mysticism, the unscrupulous, greedy pursuit of wealth could not end otherwise. The author urges not to deceive fate, because it is impossible to compete with it.
2. Mystic. At the decisive moment of the game, instead of an ace, the Queen of Spades appears among Hermann's cards. Perhaps he himself mixed up the card, being in a stressful state, but the possibility of the influence of otherworldly forces, revenge on the part of the countess, is not ruled out. By her own playing card with the image of the Queen of Spades in many fortune-telling portends misfortune and failure. Or, as the epigraph to the first chapter of the story says, "The Queen of Spades means secret malevolence."
3. Love. The heroine is sincerely disposed towards Hermann, but he does not appreciate the real wealth in the form of this favor. He uses the girl's love to find out the secret, and she blindly believes his hypocrisy. Here the theme of indifference to other people is manifested: main character ready to go over their heads, just to achieve their goal.
4. Aims and means. Hermann goes to a positive goal in vile ways, so his work is doomed to failure. Deceiving a girl, intimidating an old woman, deceiving the whole world, he gains success, but loses himself.

Problems

• Greed. Having an insidious plan to cash in on the secret, Hermann does not bother to fulfill her posthumous request, and neglects the fact that she came to him not of her own free will, but by decree given from above. He does not regret the feelings of Elizaveta Ivanovna, who managed to trust him and be imbued with tender love messages. The main problem of the work "The Queen of Spades" lies in the prudence of the protagonist, which has a negative impact on his life.
• Hypocrisy. With his help, Hermann manages to deceive not only the gullible girl, but the whole world, which takes his success for clean coin. All those around him envy the player's luck, wish him defeat, but retain an air of respect and benevolence. This lie permeates the entire upper world.
• Addiction people from material goods. The hero fiercely achieves wealth for the sake of recognition of the environment, because in the world of salons and balls only money is valued. The problem is not in one person, but in a system where everything has its monetary equivalent.

the main idea

The story of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin makes you think: is dubious luck worth the unjustified risk? After all, having felt like a favorite of fortune once, a person begins to get involved in the game, it becomes difficult for him to overcome dependence on a constant feeling of excitement. But this is only one facet of the work. The idea pursued by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is an ironic embodiment of a typical romantic hero, who is not in vain a German. Romanticism comes from Germany, and the author critically assessed it. For example, he was ironic about his far from real life canons even in Ruslan and Lyudmila. The poet condemns the isolation of this direction from reality and the indispensable desire to put it in a bad light. First of all, he brings down criticism on the romantic hero. Accordingly, Hermann, despite the mystical bias and belief in the magic of three cards, remains an ordinary tradesman with a banal set of values. His sublimely ostentatious nature does not change for the better from magic, because he uses it for greedy purposes. That is, the main idea of ​​The Queen of Spades is that no outward romantic attributes such as mysticism, excitement and extraordinary character will help the character get rid of the hustle and bustle of the material world, but will only justify his immorality, make crime possible, because the essence of a romantic hero is opposition with society. It can easily take such a form, and this is the danger of the German cult of individualism - belief in the superiority of the individual over society. Therefore, the finale of the book proves the opposite: society is higher than Hermann, who violated its laws. The meaning of the "Queen of Spades" is to show the inevitability of punishment for the crime committed. Having learned three cherished cards, thanks to which it was possible to multiply his fortune several times, the player could not control himself, lost his mind.

What does it teach?

After reading The Queen of Spades, the reader involuntarily thinks about the negative impact of the desire for constant profit. Huge sums of money beckon a person again and again to return to the card table. Based on the negative example of Hermann, we can conclude that you should not chase easy money, thereby tempting fate. The path to the goal, even if this goal is welfare, must be honest and worthy.

In addition, the nobility of a person is measured not by the fullness of the wallet, but by the wealth of the soul. Only the one who cultivates true virtue in himself is worthy of respect and happiness. Love, sincerity and friendship cannot be bought with a card win, whatever it may be.

Criticism

The story found positive responses among poets and literary critics, and also gained great popularity in European countries. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky spoke of the work as "perfect fantastic prose." The Russian literary scholar and literary critic Dmitry Petrovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky called The Queen of Spades "the best and most characteristic work of Pushkin in prose for him."

Indeed, the book caused a whole wave of unexpected reactions in the society of that time. For example, under the influence of what they read, players began to bet on the three, seven and ace, and the court ladies occupied themselves with searching for the prototype of the mysterious Queen of Spades. Pushkin only sneered in his diary about what fashionable trend his creation gave rise to. It was not in vain that the critic Annenkov recalled the sensation that had been made as follows: “The story made a general conversation when it appeared and was re-read, from magnificent palaces to modest dwellings, with the same pleasure.”

The famous reviewer of Russian classics Belinsky also did not ignore the book and spoke flatteringly for the author:

"The Queen of Spades" is not actually a story, but a masterful story. In it, the old countess, her pupil, their relationship and the strong, but demonically selfish character of Hermann are surprisingly correctly outlined. Actually, this is not a story, but an anecdote: for a story, the content of The Queen of Spades is too exclusive and accidental. But the story - we repeat - the height of skill.

In The Queen of Spades, the hero of the story is a truly original creation, the fruit of deep observation and knowledge of the human heart; it is furnished with faces spied on in society itself; the story is simple, distinguished by elegance ...

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

The Queen of Spades means secret malevolence.

The latest divination book.

I

And on rainy days
They were going
Often;
Bent - God forgive them! -
From fifty
One hundred
And they won
And unsubscribed
Chalk.
So, on rainy days,
They were engaged
Deed.

Once we were playing cards with Narumov, a horse guard. The long winter night passed unnoticed; sat down to supper at five o'clock in the morning. Those who were the winners ate with great appetite, the rest sat distractedly in front of their empty utensils. But the champagne appeared, the conversation quickened, and everyone took part in it.

What have you done Surin? - asked the owner.

Lost, as usual. I must admit that I am unhappy: I play mirandole, I never get excited, nothing can confuse me, but I keep losing!

And you've never been tempted? never put on rue?.. Your firmness is amazing for me.

And what is Hermann! - said one of the guests, pointing to a young engineer, - he never took

cards in hand, never bent a single password, and sits with us until five o'clock and looks at our game!

The game occupies me greatly, - said Hermann, - but I am not able to sacrifice the necessary in the hope of acquiring the superfluous.

Hermann is German: he is prudent, that's all! Tomsky remarked. - And if anyone is incomprehensible to me, it is my grandmother Countess Anna Fedotovna.

How? what? the guests shouted.

I cannot comprehend, - continued Tomsky, - how my grandmother does not ponte!

But why is it surprising, - said Narumov, - that an eighty-year-old old woman does not ponte?

So you don't know anything about her?

Not! right, nothing!

Oh, so listen:

You need to know that my grandmother, sixty years ago, went to Paris and was there in great fashion. The people ran after her to see la Vénus moscovite; 1) Richelieu dragged after her, and grandmother assures that he almost shot himself because of her cruelty.

At that time, ladies played pharaoh. Once at court, she lost something very much on the word of the Duke of Orleans. Arriving home, the grandmother, peeling off the flies from her face and untying the fizhma, announced to her grandfather about her loss and ordered him to pay.

The late grandfather, as far as I remember, was the family of my grandmother's butler. He was afraid of her like fire; however, hearing about such a terrible loss, he lost his temper, brought the bills, proved to her that in half a year they had spent half a million, that they had neither a village near Moscow nor a Saratov village near Paris, and completely refused to pay. Grandmother gave him a slap in the face and went to bed alone, as a token of her disfavor.

The next day, she ordered her husband to be called, hoping that domestic punishment had an effect on him, but found him unshakable. For the first time in her life she went with him to arguments and explanations; I thought to reassure him, condescendingly proving that debt is debt

1) Moscow Venus (French).

different and that there is a difference between a prince and a coachman. - Where! grandfather rebelled. No, and only! Grandma didn't know what to do.

She was briefly acquainted with a very remarkable person. You have heard of the Comte Saint-Germain, of whom so many wonderful stories are told. You know that he pretended to be an eternal Jew, the inventor of the life elixir and the philosopher's stone, and so on. They laughed at him as a charlatan, and Casanova in her Notes says that he was a spy; however, Saint-Germain, in spite of his mystery, had a very respectable appearance and was a very amiable person in society. Grandmother still loves him without memory and gets angry if they talk about him with disrespect. Grandmother knew that Saint Germain could have a lot of money. She decided to run to him. I wrote him a note and asked him to come to her immediately.

The old eccentric appeared at once and found him in terrible grief. She described to him in the darkest colors her husband's barbarity, and finally said that she placed all her hope in his friendship and courtesy.

Saint Germain considered.

“I can serve you with this amount,” he said, “but I know that you will not be calm until you pay me off, and I would not want to introduce you to new troubles. There is another remedy: you can recoup." “But, dear Count,” answered the grandmother, “I tell you that we have no money at all.” - "Money is not needed here," objected Saint-Germain: "if you please listen to me." Then he revealed to her a secret, for which any of us would give dearly ...

Young players doubled the focus. Tomsky lit his pipe, took a puff, and went on.

That same evening my grandmother appeared at Versailles, au jeu de la Reine. Duke of Orleans Metal; grandmother slightly apologized for not bringing her debt, wove a little story to justify it and began to play against him. She chose three cards, bet

1) on card game at the queen's (French).

them one after another: all three won her a sonic, and the grandmother won back completely.

Happening! - said one of the guests.

Story! Hermann noted.

Maybe powder cards? - picked up the third.

I don't think so," replied Tomsky importantly.

How! - said Narumov, - do you have a grandmother who guesses three cards in a row, and you still haven't adopted her cabalism from her?

Yes, damn it! - Tomsky answered, - she had four sons, including my father: all four are desperate players, and she did not reveal her secret to anyone; although it would not be bad for them and even for me. But this is what my uncle, Count Ivan Ilyich, told me, and of what he assured me with honor. The late Chaplitsky, the same one who died in poverty, having squandered millions, once in his youth lost - Zorich remembers - about three hundred thousand. He was in despair. Grandmother, who was always strict with the pranks of young people, somehow took pity on Chaplitsky. She gave him three cards, so that he put them one after another, and took from him his word of honor never to play again. Chaplitsky appeared to his winner: they sat down to play. Chaplitsky bet fifty thousand on the first card and won the sonic; bent passwords, passwords-ne, - recouped and still won ...

But it's time for bed: it's already a quarter to six.

In fact, it was already dawn: the young people finished their glasses and parted.

II

II paraît que monsieur est décidément pour les suivantes.
Que voulez vous, madame? Elles sont plus fraîches 1) .

Secular conversation.

The old countess *** was sitting in her dressing-room in front of a mirror. Three girls surrounded her. One held a jar of rouge, another a box of hairpins, a third a tall cap with fiery ribbons. The Countess had not the slightest pretension to beauty that had long since faded, but retained all the habits of her youth, strictly followed the fashions of the seventies, and dressed as long and as diligently as she had sixty years ago. At the window sat a young lady, her pupil, at the embroidery frame.

Hello, grand'maman 2), - said the young officer, having entered. - Bon jour, mademoiselle Lise 3) . Grand'maman, I'm asking you.

What is Paul? four)

Let me introduce one of my friends and bring him to your place on Friday for the ball.

1) You seem to strongly prefer maids.

What to do? They are fresher (French).

2) grandmother (French).

3) Hello Lisa (French).

4) Paul (French).

Bring him to me straight to the ball, and then you will introduce him to me. Were you yesterday at ***?

How! it was very fun; danced until five o'clock. How good was Yeletskaya!

And, my dear! What's good about her? Was her grandmother, Princess Darya Petrovna, like that? .. By the way: I’m tea, she’s already very old, Princess Darya Petrovna?

How old is she? answered Tomsky absentmindedly, "she's been dead for seven years."

The young lady raised her head and made a sign to the young man. He remembered that the death of her peers had been concealed from the old countess, and he bit his lip. But the countess heard the news, new to her, with great indifference.

Dead! she said, "I didn't know!" Together we were granted maids of honor, and when we introduced ourselves, the empress ...

And the countess for the hundredth time told her grandson her anecdote.

Well, Paul, she said later, now help me up. Lizanka, where is my snuffbox?

And the countess with her girls went behind the screens to finish her toilette. Tomsky stayed with the young lady.

Who do you want to represent? Lizaveta Ivanovna asked quietly.

Narumova. You know him?

Not! Is he military or civilian?

Military.

Engineer?

Not! cavalryman. Why do you think he is an engineer?

The young lady laughed and did not answer a word.

Paul! shouted the countess from behind the screens, “send me some new novel, but please, not from the current ones.

How is it, grandmaman?

That is, such a novel, where the hero would not crush either his father or mother, and where there would be no drowned bodies. I'm terribly afraid of drowned people!

There are no such novels today. Don't you want Russians?

Are there Russian novels?.. Come, father, please come!

Excuse me, grand'maman: I'm in a hurry... Excuse me, Lizaveta Ivanovna! Why did you think that Narumov was an engineer?

And Tomsky came out of the lavatory.

Lizaveta Ivanovna was left alone: ​​she left her work and began to look out the window. Soon, on one side of the street, a young officer appeared from behind a coal house. A blush covered her cheeks: she set to work again and bent her head over the canvas itself. At that moment the countess entered, fully dressed.

Order, Lizanka, - she said, - to lay the carriage, and we'll go for a walk.

Lizanka got up from the hoop and began to clean up her work.

What are you, my mother! deaf, right? cried the countess. - Tell them to lay the carriage as soon as possible.

Now! - the young lady answered quietly and ran into the hall.

The servant entered and gave the countess books from Prince Pavel Alexandrovich.

Good! Thank you, said the Countess. - Lizanka, Lizanka! where are you running to?

Dress.

You can do it, mother. Sit here. Open up the first volume; read aloud...

The young lady took the book and read a few lines.

Louder! said the Countess. - What's wrong with you, my mother? was she sleeping with her voice, or what?.. Wait a minute: move the bench for me, closer ... well!

Lizaveta Ivanovna read two more pages. The Countess yawned.

Throw that book down, she said, what nonsense! Send this to Prince Pavel and tell him to thank him... But what about the carriage?

The carriage is ready,” said Lizaveta Ivanovna, glancing out into the street.

Why aren't you dressed? - said the countess, - you always have to wait for you! This, mother, is unbearable.

Lisa ran to her room. In less than two minutes, the countess began to call with all her urine. Three girls ran in one door, and the valet in another.

What is it you do not call? the Countess told them. - Tell Lizaveta Ivanovna that I am waiting for her.

Lizaveta Ivanovna came in wearing a bonnet and a hat.

Finally, my mother! said the Countess. - What outfits! Why is this? .. whom to seduce? .. And what is the weather like? - seems to be the wind.

Not at all, your excellency! very quiet! answered the valet.

You always speak randomly! Open the porthole. So it is: the wind! and chilly! Postpone the carriage! Lizanka, we won't go: there was nothing to dress up.

"And here's my life!" thought Lizaveta Ivanovna.

In fact, Lizaveta Ivanovna was a miserable creature. Someone else's bread is bitter, says Dante, and the steps of someone else's porch are heavy, and who knows the bitterness of dependence, if not the poor pupil of a noble old woman? Countess ***, of course, did not have an evil soul; but she was wayward, like a woman spoiled by the world, stingy and immersed in cold selfishness, like all old people who have fallen out of love in their age and are alien to the present. She participated in all the vanities of the big world, dragged herself to balls, where she sat in a corner, flushed and dressed in the old fashion, like an ugly and necessary decoration of a ballroom; visiting guests approached her with low bows, as if according to the established rite, and then no one took care of her. She hosted the whole city, observing strict etiquette and not recognizing anyone by sight. Numerous of her servants, having grown fat and graying in her anteroom and maiden's, did what they wanted, vying with each other robbing the dying old woman. Lizaveta Ivanovna was a domestic martyr. She spilled tea and was reprimanded for spending too much sugar; she read novels aloud and was to blame for all the mistakes of the author; she accompanied the countess on her walks and was in charge of the weather and the pavement. She was given a salary that was never paid; meanwhile, they demanded of her that she be dressed like everyone else, that is, like

very few. She played the most miserable role in the world. Everyone knew her and no one noticed; at balls she danced only when vis-à-vis was lacking, and the ladies took her by the arm whenever they had to go to the dressing-room to fix something in their attire. She was proud, she vividly felt her situation and looked around herself, impatiently waiting for a deliverer; but the young people, prudent in their frivolous vanity, did not honor her with attention, although Lizaveta Ivanovna was a hundred times nicer than the insolent and cold brides around whom they hung around. How many times, quietly leaving the boring and magnificent living room, she went off to cry in her poor room, where there were screens pasted over with wallpaper, a chest of drawers, a mirror and a painted bed, and where a tallow candle burned darkly in a copper shandal!

Once - it happened two days after the evening described at the beginning of this story, and a week before the scene on which we stopped - once Lizaveta Ivanovna, sitting under the window at the embroidery frame, accidentally looked into the street and saw a young engineer standing motionless and fixed his eyes on her window. She lowered her head and went back to work; five minutes later she looked again - the young officer was standing in the same place. Not having the habit of flirting with passing officers, she stopped looking at the street and sewed for about two hours without raising her head. Served for dinner. She got up, began to put away her embroidery frame, and, looking inadvertently into the street, saw the officer again. It seemed rather strange to her. After dinner, she went to the window with a feeling of some unease, but the officer was no longer there - and she forgot about him ...

Two days later, going out with the countess to get into the carriage, she saw him again. He stood at the very entrance, covering his face with a beaver collar: his black eyes sparkled from under his hat. Lizaveta Ivanovna was frightened, without knowing why, and got into the carriage with an inexplicable trembling.

1) couples (French).

Returning home, she ran to the window - the officer stood in the same place, fixing his eyes on her: she moved away, tormented by curiosity and excited by a feeling completely new to her.

Since that time, not a day has passed that the young man, at a certain hour, did not appear under the windows of their house. An unconditional relationship was established between him and her. Sitting in her place at work, she felt his approach - she raised her head, looked at him longer and longer every day. The young man seemed to be grateful to her for this: she saw with the sharp eyes of youth how a quick blush covered his pale cheeks whenever their eyes met. A week later she smiled at him...

When Tomsky asked permission to introduce his friend to the countess, the poor girl's heart began to beat. But having learned that Narumov was not an engineer, but a horse guard, she regretted that she had expressed her secret to the windy Tomsky with an indiscreet question.

Hermann was the son of a Russified German who left him a small capital. Being firmly convinced of the need to strengthen his independence, Hermann did not even touch the interest, he lived on his salary, did not allow himself the slightest whim. However, he was secretive and ambitious, and his comrades rarely had the opportunity to laugh at his excessive frugality. He had strong passions and a fiery imagination, but firmness saved him from the ordinary delusions of youth. So, for example, being a player at heart, he never took cards in his hands, because he calculated that his condition did not allow him (as he said) sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of gaining what is superfluous,- and meanwhile spent whole nights sitting at the card tables and followed with feverish trepidation the various turns of the game.

The anecdote about the three cards had a strong effect on his imagination and the whole night did not leave his head. “What if,” he thought the next day in the evening, wandering around Petersburg, “what if the old countess reveals her secret to me! - or assign me these three correct cards! Why not try your luck?

To introduce herself to her, to win her favor, - perhaps, to become her lover - but all this takes time - and she is eighty-seven years old - she can die in a week, in two days! .. And the most anecdote? .. Can he be trusted?.. No! calculation, moderation and diligence: these are my three true cards, this is what will triple, sevenfold my capital and bring me peace and independence!

Reasoning in this way, he found himself in one of the main streets of Petersburg, in front of a house of ancient architecture. The street was lined with carriages, the carriages rolled one after another to the lighted entrance. The slender leg of a young beauty, the rattling jackboot, the striped stocking and the diplomatic shoe were constantly stretched out of the carriages. Fur coats and raincoats flashed past the stately porter. Hermann stopped.

Whose is this house? he asked the corner guard.

Countess ***, answered the watchman.

Hermann trembled. The amazing anecdote again presented itself to his imagination. He began to walk around the house, thinking about his mistress and about her wonderful ability. Late he returned to his humble corner; For a long time he could not fall asleep, and when sleep took possession of him, he dreamed of cards, a green table, piles of banknotes and heaps of chervonets. He placed card after card, bent the corners resolutely, won incessantly, and raked in the gold, and put banknotes in his pocket. Waking up late, he sighed about the loss of his fantastic wealth, went again to wander around the city and again found himself in front of the house of the countess ***. An unknown force seemed to be drawing him to him. He stopped and looked at the windows. In one he saw a black-haired head, probably bent over a book or work. The head rose. Hermann saw a fresh face and black eyes. This moment sealed his fate.

III

Vous m'écrivez, mon ange, des lettres de quatre pages plus vite que je ne puis les lire 1) .

Correspondence.

Only Lizaveta Ivanovna had time to take off her hood and hat, when the countess sent for her and ordered the carriage to be brought up again. They went to sit down. At the very moment when two footmen lifted the old woman and pushed her through the doors, Lizaveta Ivanovna saw her engineer at the very wheel; he grabbed her hand; she could not recover from fright, the young man disappeared: the letter remained in her hand. She hid it behind her glove and did not hear or see anything all the way. The Countess was in the habit of constantly asking questions in the carriage: who met us? What is the name of this bridge? What does it say on the sign? Lizaveta Ivanovna this time answered at random and out of place, and irritated the countess.

What happened to you, my mother! Has tetanus found on you, or what? You either don't hear me, or don't understand?.. Thank God, I don't burr and I haven't lost my mind yet!

1) You write to me, my angel, letters of four pages, faster than I can read them (French).

Lizaveta Ivanovna did not listen to her. Returning home, she ran to her room, took out a letter from behind her glove: it was not sealed. Lizaveta Ivanovna read it. The letter contained a declaration of love: it was gentle, respectful and taken word for word from a German novel. But Lizaveta Ivanovna did not know how to speak German and was very pleased with it.

However, the letter she received worried her extremely. For the first time she entered into a secret, intimate relationship with a young man. His audacity horrified her. She reproached herself for her careless behavior and did not know what to do: should she stop sitting at the window and inattentively cool the desire for further persecution in the young officer? - Should I send him a letter? - whether to answer coldly and decisively? She had no one to consult with, she had neither a friend nor a mentor. Lizaveta Ivanovna decided to answer.

She sat down at the writing table, took a pen, paper - and thought. Several times she began her letter, and tore it up: now the expressions seemed to her too condescending, now too cruel. At last she managed to write a few lines with which she was satisfied. “I am sure,” she wrote, “that you have honest intentions and that you did not mean to offend me with a rash act; but our acquaintance should not have begun in this way. I return your letter to you and hope that I will no longer have reasons to complain about undeserved disrespect.

The next day, seeing Hermann walking, Lizaveta Ivanovna got up from her embroidery frame, went out into the hall, opened the window and threw the letter into the street, hoping for the agility of the young officer. Hermann ran up, picked it up and entered the candy store. Breaking the seal, he found his letter and Lizaveta Ivanovna's reply. He expected this and returned home, very busy with his intrigue.

Three days after that, a young, quick-eyed mamzel brought a note from a fashionable shop to Lizaveta Ivanovna. Lizaveta Ivanovna opened it with

anxiety, foreseeing monetary demands, and suddenly recognized Hermann's hand.

You, my dear, are mistaken, - she said, - this note is not for me.

No, it's right for you! - answered the brave girl, not hiding a sly smile. - Please read!

Lizaveta Ivanovna ran through the note. Hermann demanded a meeting.

Can't be! - said Lizaveta Ivanovna, frightened both by the haste of demands and by the method he used. - It's written, right, not to me! And tore the letter into small pieces.

If the letter is not for you, why did you tear it up? - said Mamzel, - I would return it to the one who sent it.

Please, darling! - said Lizaveta Ivanovna, flushing at her remark, - do not bring any notes to me ahead. And tell the one who sent you that he should be ashamed...

But Hermann did not give up. Lizaveta Ivanovna received letters from him every day, now in one way or another. They were no longer translated from German. Hermann wrote them, inspired by passion, and spoke in a language characteristic of him: they expressed both the inflexibility of his desires and the disorder of his unbridled imagination. Lizaveta Ivanovna no longer thought of sending them away: she reveled in them; began to answer them, - and her notes hour by hour became longer and more tender. Finally, she threw the following letter through the window:

“Today is a ball at the *** envoy. The Countess will be there. We will stay until two o'clock. Here's your chance to see me alone. As soon as the countess leaves, her people will probably disperse, the porter will remain in the hallway, but he usually goes to his closet. Come at half past eleven. Step right onto the stairs. If you find someone in the hall, then you will ask if the countess is at home. You will be told no, and there is nothing to do. You will have to turn back. But you probably won't meet anyone. The girls are sitting at home, all in the same room. From the front, go left, go straight ahead

to the Countess's bedroom. In the bedroom, behind the screens, you will see two small doors: on the right to the study, where the countess never enters; to the left into the corridor, and right there a narrow winding staircase: it leads to my room.

Hermann trembled like a tiger, waiting for the appointed time. At ten o'clock in the evening he was already standing in front of the countess's house. The weather was terrible: the wind howled, wet snow fell in flakes; the lanterns glowed dimly; the streets were empty. From time to time Vanka dragged along on his skinny horse, looking out for a belated rider. Hermann stood in one frock coat, feeling neither wind nor snow. At last the carriage was brought to the countess. Hermann saw how the lackeys carried under their arms a hunched old woman wrapped in a sable fur coat, and how her pupil flashed after her, in a cold cloak, with her head trimmed with fresh flowers. The doors slammed shut. The carriage rolled heavily on the loose snow. The porter locked the doors. The windows are dark. Hermann began to walk around the deserted house: he went up to the lamp, looked at his watch - it was twenty past eleven. He remained under the lantern, fixing his eyes on the hour hand and waiting for the rest of the minutes. Precisely at half-past eleven, Hermann stepped onto the Countess's porch and went up into the brightly lit entrance hall. There was no porter. Hermann ran up the stairs, opened the front door, and saw a servant sleeping under a lamp, in old, soiled armchairs. With a light and firm step, Hermann walked past him. The hall and drawing room were dark. The lamp dimly illuminated them from the hallway. Hermann entered the bedroom. In front of the kivot, filled with ancient images, a golden lamp glowed. Faded damask armchairs and sofas with feather pillows, with gilding gone, stood in sad symmetry near the walls, upholstered in Chinese wallpaper. On the wall hung two portraits painted in Paris by m-me Lebrun 1). One of them depicted a man of about forty, ruddy and plump, in a light green uniform and with a star; the other - a young beauty with an eagle

1) Mrs. Lebrun (French).

nose, with combed temples and with a rose in powdered hair. Porcelain shepherdesses, table clocks made by the glorious Leroy 1), boxes, tape measures, fans and various ladies' toys, invented at the end of the last century, together with the Montgolfier ball and Mesmer magnetism, stuck out in all corners. Hermann went behind the screen. Behind them stood a small iron bed; on the right was a door leading to an office; on the left, the other - in the corridor. Hermann opened it, saw a narrow, winding staircase that led to the room of a poor pupil ... But he turned back and entered a dark office.

Time passed slowly. Everything was quiet. Twelve struck in the living room; in all the rooms the clocks, one after the other, rang twelve, - everything fell silent again. Hermann stood leaning against the cold stove. He was calm; his heart was beating evenly, like that of a man who has decided on something dangerous, but necessary. The clock struck one and two in the morning, and he heard the distant rumble of a carriage. Involuntary excitement took possession of him. The carriage pulled up and stopped. He heard the thud of the step being lowered. There was a fuss in the house. People ran, voices were heard, and the house was lit up. Three old maids ran into the bedroom, and the countess, barely alive, entered and sank into the Voltaire chairs. Hermann looked through the crack: Lizaveta Ivanovna passed him. Hermann heard her hurried steps on the steps of her stairs. Something akin to remorse echoed in his heart and fell silent again. He turned to stone.

The Countess began to undress in front of the mirror. They broke off her cap, decorated with roses; removed the powdered wig from her gray and close-cropped head. Pins rained down around her. A yellow dress embroidered with silver fell at her swollen feet. Hermann had witnessed the hideous mysteries of her toilet; at last the countess remained in her sleeping-jacket and night-cap: in this attire, more characteristic of her old age, she seemed less terrible and ugly.

Like all old people in general, the Countess suffered from insomnia. She undressed and sat down by the window.

1) Leroy (French).

Voltaire chairs and sent the maids away. The candles were taken out, the room was again lit up by one lamp. The countess sat all yellow, moving her pendulous lips, swaying right and left. In her cloudy eyes there was a complete absence of thought; looking at her, one might think that the swaying of the terrible old woman did not come from her will, but from the action of hidden galvanism.

Suddenly this dead face changed inexplicably. The lips ceased to move, the eyes brightened: an unfamiliar man stood in front of the countess.

Don't be scared, for God's sake, don't be scared! he said in a clear and quiet voice. - I have no intention of harming you; I have come to beg you for one favor.

The old woman looked at him silently and seemed not to hear him. Hermann imagined that she was deaf, and, leaning over her very ear, repeated the same thing to her. The old woman was still silent.

You can, - Hermann continued, - make up the happiness of my life, and it will cost you nothing: I know that you can guess three cards in a row ...

Hermann stopped. The countess seemed to understand what was required of her; she seemed to be searching for words for her answer.

It was a joke,” she said at last, “I swear to you! it was a joke!

This is nothing to joke about, - objected angrily Hermann. - Remember Chaplitsky, whom you helped to recoup.

The Countess seemed to be confused. Her features depicted a strong movement of the soul, but she soon fell into her former insensibility.

Can you, Hermann continued, assign me these three correct cards?

The Countess was silent; Hermann continued:

For whom do you keep your secret? For grandchildren? They are rich without that; they don't even know the value of money. Your three cards won't help Motu. Whoever does not know how to take care of his father's inheritance, he will still die in poverty, despite any demonic efforts. I'm not a mote; I know the value of money. Your three cards will not be wasted for me. Well!..

He stopped and waited in trepidation for her answer. The Countess was silent; Hermann knelt down.

If ever, - he said, - your heart knew the feeling of love, if you remember its delights, if you ever smiled at the crying of a newborn son, if something human ever beat in your chest, then I implore you with the feelings of your wife , mistresses, mothers - everything that is sacred in life - do not refuse me my request! - tell me your secret! - what is in it for you? .. Perhaps it is associated with a terrible sin, with the destruction of eternal bliss, with a diabolical contract ... Think: you are old; you will not live long - I am ready to take your sin on my soul. Reveal your secret to me. Think that a person's happiness is in your hands; that not only I, but my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will bless your memory and will honor it as a shrine ...

The old woman did not answer a word.

Hermann got up.

Old witch! - he said, clenching his teeth, - so I'll make you answer ...

With that, he took a pistol out of his pocket. At the sight of the pistol, the countess for the second time showed a strong feeling. She nodded her head and raised her hand, as if shielding herself from the shot... Then she rolled backwards... and remained motionless.

Stop being childish,” said Hermann, taking her hand. - I ask for the last time: do you want to assign me your three cards? - Yes or no?

The Countess did not answer. Hermann saw that she was dead.

IV

Homme sans mœurs et sans religion! one)

Correspondence.

Lizaveta Ivanovna was sitting in her room, still in her ball gown, deep in thought. Arriving home, she hurried to send away the sleepy girl, who reluctantly offered her her service - she said that she would undress herself, and with trepidation went into her room, hoping to find Hermann there and wishing not to find him. At first glance, she was convinced of his absence and thanked fate for the obstacle that prevented their meeting. She sat down, without undressing, and began to recall all the circumstances that had carried her so far in such a short time and so far. Three weeks had not passed since she first saw the young man through the window - and she was already in correspondence with him - and he managed to demand a night meeting from her! She knew his name only because some of his letters were signed by him; never spoke to him, never heard his voice, never heard of him ... until this very evening. Strange affair! On that same evening, at the ball, Tomsky, sulking at the young princess

1) May 7, 18**. A man who has no moral rules and nothing sacred! (French)

Polina ***, who, contrary to her custom, did not flirt with him, wanted to take revenge by showing indifference: he called Lizaveta Ivanovna and danced an endless mazurka with her. All the time he joked about her addiction to engineering officers, assured that he knew much more than she could have supposed, and some of his jokes were so well directed that Lizaveta Ivanovna thought several times that her secret was known to him.

From whom do you know all this? she asked laughing.

From a friend of a person you know,” Tomsky answered, “a very remarkable person!

Who is this wonderful person?

His name is Hermann.

Lizaveta Ivanovna made no answer, but her hands and feet went cold...

This Hermann, continued Tomsky, has a truly romantic face: he has the profile of Napoleon, and the soul of Mephistopheles. I think that he has at least three atrocities on his conscience. How pale you are!

My head hurts... What did Hermann tell you, or what do you call him?...

Hermann is very dissatisfied with his friend: he says that in his place he would have acted quite differently ... I even believe that Hermann himself has plans for you, but at least he listens very indifferently to the amorous exclamations of his friend.

Where did he see me?

In church, maybe - for a walk! .. God knows! maybe in your room, while you sleep: it will make...

Three ladies approached them with questions - oubli ou regret? 1) - interrupted the conversation, which was becoming painfully curious for Lizaveta Ivanovna.

The lady chosen by Tomsky was Princess *** herself. She managed to explain herself to him, running around an extra circle and once again turning in front of her chair. Tomsky, returning to his place, no longer thought about

1) oblivion or regret (French).

Hermann, nor about Lizaveta Ivanovna. She certainly wanted to resume the interrupted conversation; but the mazurka ended, and soon after the old countess left.

Tomsky's words were nothing more than mazurka chatter, but they were deeply planted in the soul of a young dreamer. The portrait sketched by Tomsky resembled the image she had drawn up herself, and, thanks to the latest novels, this already vulgar face frightened and captivated her imagination. She sat with her bare arms folded in a cross, her head bowed to her open chest, still covered with flowers ... Suddenly the door opened, and Hermann entered. She trembled...

Where were you? she asked in a frightened whisper.

In the bedroom of the old countess, Hermann answered, I am now from her. The Countess is dead.

My God! .. what are you saying? ..

And it seems, - continued Hermann, - I am the cause of her death.

Lizaveta Ivanovna looked at him, and Tomsky's words resounded in her soul: this man has at least three evil deeds in his soul! Hermann sat down on the window beside her and told everything.

Lizaveta Ivanovna listened to him with horror. So, these impassioned letters, these fiery demands, this audacious, relentless pursuit, all this was not love! Money - that's what his soul yearned for! Not she could satisfy his desires and make him happy! The poor pupil was nothing but the blind helper of the robber, the murderer of her old benefactor!... She wept bitterly in her late, painful repentance. Hermann looked at her in silence: his heart was also tormented, but neither the tears of the poor girl, nor the amazing beauty of her sorrow disturbed his severe soul. He felt no remorse at the thought of the dead old woman. One thing horrified him: the irretrievable loss of a secret from which he expected enrichment.

You are a monster! said Lizaveta Ivanovna at last.

I didn't want her dead, Hermann answered, my pistol is not loaded.

They fell silent.

Morning came. Lizaveta Ivanovna put out the dying candle: a pale light illuminated her room. She wiped her tear-stained eyes and raised them to Hermann: he was sitting at the window with folded arms and a menacing frown. In this position, he surprisingly resembled a portrait of Napoleon. This similarity struck even Lizaveta Ivanovna.

How do you get out of the house? said Lizaveta Ivanovna at last. “I was thinking of taking you up a secret staircase, but I must go past the bedroom, and I'm afraid.

Tell me how to find this hidden staircase; I `ll exit.

Lizaveta Ivanovna got up, took a key from the chest of drawers, handed it to Hermann, and gave him detailed instructions. Hermann shook her cold, unanswered hand, kissed her bowed head, and went out.

He went down the winding stairs and entered the countess's bedroom again. The dead old woman sat petrified; her face showed deep calm. Hermann stopped in front of her, looked at her for a long time, as if wishing to ascertain the terrible truth; at last he entered the office, felt the door behind the wallpaper, and began to descend the dark stairs, agitated by strange feelings. Along this very staircase, he thought, perhaps sixty years ago, into this very bedroom, at the same hour, in an embroidered caftan, combed à l'oiseau royal, 1), clutching his triangular hat to his heart, a lucky young man crept, long ago already decayed in the grave, and the heart of his elderly mistress stopped beating today ...

Under the stairs, Hermann found a door, which he unlocked with the same key, and found himself in a through corridor that led him out into the street.

1) "royal bird" (French).

V

Three days after the fateful night, at nine o'clock in the morning, Hermann went to the *** monastery, where the body of the deceased countess was to be buried. Feeling no remorse, he could not, however, completely drown out the voice of conscience, which told him: you are the murderer of the old woman! Having little true faith, he had many prejudices. He believed that the dead countess could have a harmful effect on his life - and decided to come to her funeral to ask her forgiveness.

The church was full. Hermann could hardly make his way through the crowd of people. The coffin stood on a rich hearse under a velvet canopy. The deceased lay in it with her hands folded on her chest, in a lace cap and in a white satin dress. All around were her household: servants in black caftans with coat of arms ribbons on their shoulders and with candles in their hands; relatives in deep mourning - children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Nobody cried; tears would be - une affectation 1). Countess so

1) pretense (French).

she was old, that her death could not strike anyone, and that her relatives had long looked at her as if she had become obsolete. The young bishop delivered the funeral sermon. In simple and touching terms, he presented the peaceful dormition of the righteous woman, whom for many years was a quiet, touching preparation for a Christian death. “The angel of death found her,” said the orator, “waking in good thoughts and waiting for the midnight bridegroom.” The service was performed with sad propriety. Relatives were the first to go to say goodbye to the body. Then numerous guests moved on, who had come to bow to the one who had so long been a participant in their vain amusements. After them, and all home. Finally, an old lordly lady, the same age as the deceased, approached. Two young girls led her by the arms. She was unable to bow to the ground, and alone shed a few tears, kissing the cold hand of her mistress. After her, Hermann decided to approach the coffin. He bowed to the ground and lay for several minutes on the cold floor strewn with fir trees. At last he got up, pale as the deceased herself, climbed the steps of the hearse and bent down... At that moment it seemed to him that the dead woman looked at him mockingly, screwing up one eye. Hermann, hastily leaning back, stumbled and fell backward on the ground. He was raised. At the same time, Lizaveta Ivanovna was carried out in a swoon to the porch. This episode outraged for several minutes the solemnity of the gloomy rite. A dull murmur arose between the visitors, and a thin chamberlain, a close relative of the deceased, whispered into the ear of an Englishman standing next to him that the young officer was her natural son, to which the Englishman answered coldly: Oh?

All day Hermann was extremely upset. Dining in a secluded tavern, he, contrary to his usual habit, drank a lot, in the hope of drowning his inner excitement. But the wine fired his imagination even more. Returning home, he threw himself on the bed without undressing and fell asleep soundly.

He woke up at night: the moon illuminated his room. He glanced at his watch: it was a quarter to three.

His sleep has passed; he sat down on the bed and thought of the funeral of the old countess.

At this time, someone from the street looked at him through the window - and immediately walked away. Hermann paid no attention to that. A minute later he heard the door in the front room being unlocked. Hermann thought that his orderly, drunk as usual, was returning from a night walk. But he heard an unfamiliar gait: someone was walking, quietly shuffling his shoes. The door opened and a woman in a white dress entered. Hermann mistook her for his old nurse and wondered what could have brought her at such a time. But the white woman, slipping, suddenly found herself in front of him - and Hermann recognized the countess!

I came to you against my will,” she said in a firm voice, “but I am ordered to fulfill your request. Three, seven and ace will win you in a row, but so that you do not put more than one card per day and that you do not play all your life afterwards. I forgive you my death, so that you marry my pupil Lizaveta Ivanovna ...

With that, she turned quietly, walked to the door, and disappeared, shuffling her shoes. Hermann heard the slam of the door in the entryway, and saw that someone again looked at him through the window.

Hermann could not come to his senses for a long time. He went into another room. His orderly slept on the floor; Hermann woke him up by force. The batman was drunk as usual: it was impossible to get any sense out of him. The door to the vestibule was locked. Hermann returned to his room, lit a candle and wrote down his vision.

VI

Two fixed ideas cannot exist together in a moral nature, just as two bodies cannot occupy the same place in the physical world. Three, seven, ace - soon obscured the image of the dead old woman in German's imagination. Three, seven, ace - did not leave his head and moved on his lips. When he saw a young girl, he said: “How slim she is! .. A real red three.” They asked him: “what time is it”, he answered: “five minutes to seven”. Every pot-bellied man reminded him of an ace. Three, seven, ace - pursued him in a dream, taking on all possible forms: the three bloomed in front of him in the form of a magnificent grandiflora, the seven seemed to be a Gothic gate, the ace a huge spider. All his thoughts merged into one - to take advantage of the secret, which cost him dearly. He began to think about retirement and travel. He wanted to force the treasure from an enchanted fortune in the open houses of Paris. Chance saved him the trouble.

A society of wealthy gamblers was formed in Moscow, under the chairmanship of the glorious Chekalinsky, who spent the whole century at cards and once made millions by winning bills and losing clear money. Long-term experience earned him the power of attorney of his comrades, and an open house, a glorious cook, affectionateness and gaiety gained the respect of the public. He came to Petersburg. The youth rushed to him, forgetting balls for cards and preferring the temptations of the pharaoh to the seductions of red tape. Narumov brought Hermann to him.

They passed a series of splendid rooms filled with courteous waiters. Several generals and privy councilors played whist; young people were lounging on damask sofas, eating ice-cream and smoking pipes. In the living room, at a long table, around which twenty players were crowded, the owner was sitting and throwing a bank. He was a man of about sixty, of the most respectable appearance; the head was covered with silver gray hair; a full and fresh face depicted good nature; his eyes shone, animated by an everlasting smile. Narumov introduced Hermann to him. Chekalinsky shook his hand in a friendly manner, asked him not to stand on ceremony and continued to throw.

Talya lasted a long time. There were more than thirty cards on the table.

Chekalinsky stopped after each throw to give the players time to decide, wrote down the loss, politely listened to their demands, even more courteously turned back an extra corner, bent by an absent-minded hand. Finally, the tail is over. Chekalinsky shuffled the cards and prepared to throw another.

Allow me to put the card, - said Hermann, holding out his hand from behind the fat gentleman, who immediately ponted. Chekalinsky smiled and bowed, silently, as a sign of submissive consent. Narumov, laughing, congratulated Hermann on the permission of the long-term fast and wished him a happy start.

Goes! said Hermann, writing the kush over his card with chalk.

How much? asked the banker, screwing up his eyes.

Forty-seven thousand, answered Hermann.

At these words, all heads instantly turned, and all eyes turned to Hermann. "He's crazy!" thought Narumov.

Let me tell you, - said Chekalinsky with his unchanging smile, - that your game is strong: no one has ever bet more than two hundred and seventy-five samples here.

Well? - objected Hermann, - do you beat my card or not?

Chekalinsky bowed with the same air of humble consent.

I only wanted to report to you, - he said, - that, having been awarded the power of attorney of my comrades, I cannot throw anything other than with clean money. For my part, of course, I am sure that your word is enough, but for the sake of the order of the game and the scores, I ask you to put money on the card.

Hermann took a bank note out of his pocket and handed it to Chekalinsky, who, having glanced at it briefly, placed it on Hermann's card.

He began to throw. A nine lay to the right, a three to the left.

Won! Hermann said, showing his map.

There was a whisper among the players. Chekalinsky frowned, but the smile immediately returned to his face.

Would you like to receive? he asked Hermann.

Do me a favor.

Chekalinsky took several bank notes out of his pocket and immediately paid off. Hermann accepted his money and moved away from the table. Narumov could not come to his senses. Hermann drank a glass of lemonade and went home.

The next day in the evening he again appeared at Chekalinsky's. Metal owner. Hermann went up to the table; The punters immediately gave him a seat, Chekalinsky bowed affectionately to him.

Hermann waited for a new tag, bet the card, putting his forty-seven thousand and yesterday's winnings on it.

Chekalinsky began to throw. Jack fell to the right, seven to the left.

Hermann opened the seven.

Everyone gasped. Chekalinsky was apparently embarrassed. He counted out ninety-four thousand and handed it to Hermann. Hermann received them with composure and left at the same moment.

The next evening Hermann appeared again at the table. Everyone was expecting him. The generals and privy councilors left their whist to see the game so extraordinary. The young officers jumped off the sofas; all the waiters gathered in the living room. Everyone surrounded Hermann. The other players didn't put their cards down, looking forward to how he would end up. Hermann stood at the table, preparing to ponte alone against the pale, but still smiling Chekalinsky. Each printed a deck of cards. Chekalinsky shuffled. Hermann removed and placed his card, covering it with a pile of bank notes. It looked like a duel. A profound silence reigned all around.

Chekalinsky began to throw, his hands were shaking. To the right lies a queen, to the left an ace.

Ace won! Hermann said and opened his card.

Your lady has been killed,” Chekalinsky said affectionately.

Hermann shuddered: in fact, instead of an ace, he had a queen of spades. He could not believe his eyes, not understanding how he could turn around.

At that moment it seemed to him that the Queen of Spades screwed up her eyes and smiled. The extraordinary resemblance struck him...

Old woman! he cried in horror.

Chekalinsky pulled the lost tickets towards him. Hermann stood motionless. When he moved away from the table, a noisy conversation arose. - Nicely sponsored! the players said. - Chekalinsky shuffled the cards again: the game went on as usual.

CONCLUSION

Hermann has gone mad. He is sitting in the Obukhov hospital in the 17th room, does not answer any questions and mutters unusually quickly: “Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, lady! .. "

The Queen of Spades means secret malevolence.

The latest divination book.

I

And on rainy days
They were going
Often;
Bent - God forgive them! -
From fifty
One hundred
And they won
And unsubscribed
Chalk.
So, on rainy days,
They were engaged
Deed.

Once we were playing cards with Narumov, a horse guard. The long winter night passed unnoticed; sat down to supper at five o'clock in the morning. Those who were the winners ate with great relish; the rest, distracted, sat in front of their instruments. But the champagne appeared, the conversation quickened, and everyone took part in it.
- What did you do, Surin? the owner asked.
Lost, as usual. - I must admit that I am unhappy: I play mirandole, I never get excited, nothing can confuse me, but I keep losing!
"And you've never been tempted?" never put on the root? .. Your hardness is amazing to me.
- And what is Hermann! - said one of the guests, pointing to a young engineer, - he never took cards in his hands, never bent a single password, and sits with us until five o'clock and watches our game!
“The game occupies me greatly,” Hermann said, “but I am not in a position to sacrifice the necessary in the hope of gaining the superfluous.
“Hermann is a German: he is prudent, that’s all!” Tomsky remarked. - And if anyone is incomprehensible to me, it is my grandmother Countess Anna Fedotovna.
- How? what? the guests shouted.
“I can’t comprehend,” continued Tomsky, “how my grandmother doesn’t ponte!”
“Well, why is it surprising,” said Narumov, “that an eighty-year old woman does not ponte?”
"So you don't know anything about her?"
- Not! right, nothing!
- Oh, so listen:
You need to know that my grandmother, sixty years ago, went to Paris and was there in great fashion. People ran after her to see la Venus moscovite; Richelieu dragged after her, and grandmother assures that he almost shot himself from her cruelty.
At that time, ladies played pharaoh. Once at court, she lost something very much on the word of the Duke of Orleans. Arriving home, the grandmother, peeling off the flies from her face and untying the fizhma, announced to her grandfather about her loss and ordered him to pay.
The late grandfather, as far as I remember, was the family of my grandmother's butler. He was afraid of her like fire; however, hearing about such a terrible loss, he lost his temper, brought the bills, proved to her that in half a year they had spent half a million, that they had neither a village near Moscow nor a Saratov village near Paris, and completely refused to pay. Grandmother gave him a slap in the face and went to bed alone, as a token of her disfavor.
The next day, she ordered her husband to be called, hoping that domestic punishment had an effect on him, but found him unshakable. For the first time in her life she went with him to arguments and explanations; I thought to reassure him, condescendingly arguing that there are many debts and that there is a difference between a prince and a coachman. - Where! grandfather rebelled. No, and only! Grandma didn't know what to do.
She was briefly acquainted with a very remarkable person. You have heard of the Comte Saint-Germain, of whom so many wonderful stories are told. You know that he pretended to be the Wandering Jew, the inventor of the life elixir and the philosopher's stone, and so on. They laughed at him as a charlatan, and Casanova in her Notes says that he was a spy; however, Saint-Germain, in spite of his mystery, had a very respectable appearance and was a very amiable person in society. Grandmother still loves him without memory and gets angry if they talk about him with disrespect. Grandmother knew that Saint Germain could have a lot of money. She decided to run to him. I wrote him a note and asked him to come to her immediately.
The old eccentric appeared at once and found him in terrible grief. She described to him in the darkest colors her husband's barbarity, and finally said that she placed all her hope in his friendship and courtesy.
Saint Germain considered.
“I can serve you with this amount,” he said, “but I know that you will not be calm until you pay me off, and I would not want to introduce you to new troubles. There is another remedy: you can recoup." “But, dear Count,” answered the grandmother, “I tell you that we have no money at all.” - "Money is not needed here," Saint-Germain objected: "if you please, listen to me." Then he revealed to her a secret, for which any of us would give dearly ...
Young players doubled the focus. Tomsky lit his pipe, took a puff, and went on.
That same evening my grandmother came to Versailles, au jeu de la Reine. Duke of Orleans Metal; grandmother slightly apologized for not bringing her debt, wove a little story to justify it and began to play against him. She chose three cards, put them one after the other: all three won her a sonic, and her grandmother won back completely.
- Chance! one of the guests said.
- Story! Hermann noted.
“Maybe powder cards?” - picked up the third.
"I don't think so," replied Tomsky importantly.
- How! - said Narumov, - do you have a grandmother who guesses three cards in a row, and you still have not adopted her cabalism from her?
- Yes, the devil with two! - Tomsky answered, - she had four sons, including my father: all four are desperate players, and she did not reveal her secret to anyone; although it would not be bad for them and even for me. But this is what my uncle, Count Ivan Ilyich, told me, and of which he assured me with honor. The late Chaplitsky, the same one who died in poverty, having squandered millions, once in his youth lost - Zorich remembers - about three hundred thousand. He was in despair. Grandmother, who was always strict with the pranks of young people, somehow took pity on Chaplitsky. She gave him three cards, so that he put them one after another, and took from him his word of honor never to play again. Chaplitsky appeared to his winner: they sat down to play. Chaplitsky bet fifty thousand on the first card and won the sonic; bent passwords, passwords-ne, - recouped and still won ...
“But it’s time for bed: it’s already a quarter to six.”
In fact, it was already dawn: the young people finished their glasses and parted.

II

II parait que monsieur est decision pourles suivantes.
- Que voulez-vus, madame? Elles sont plus freiches.

Secular conversation.

The old countess *** was sitting in her dressing-room in front of a mirror. Three girls surrounded her. One held a jar of rouge, another a box of hairpins, a third a tall cap with fiery ribbons. The Countess had not the slightest pretension to beauty, long faded, but retained all the habits of her youth, strictly followed the fashions of the seventies, and dressed as long and as diligently as she had sixty years ago. A young lady, her pupil, was sitting at the window at the embroidery frame.
“Hello, grand’maman,” the young officer said as he entered. Bon jour, mademoiselle Lise. Grand'maman, I'm asking you.
What is it, Paul?
- Allow me to introduce one of my friends and bring him to you on Friday for a ball.
“Bring him straight to the ball for me, and then introduce him to me.” Were you yesterday at ***?
- How! it was very fun; danced until five o'clock. How good was Yeletskaya!
- And, my dear! What's good about her? Was her grandmother, Princess Darya Petrovna, like that? .. By the way: I’m tea, she’s already very old, Princess Darya Petrovna?
- How old are you? replied Tomsky absentmindedly, “she died seven years ago. The young lady raised her head and made a sign to the young man. He remembered that from the old
the countesses concealed the death of her peers, and bit his lip. But the countess heard the news, new to her, with great indifference.
- Died! she said, “but I didn’t know!” Together we were granted maids of honor, and when we introduced ourselves, the empress ...
And the countess for the hundredth time told her grandson her anecdote.
“Well, Paul,” she said later, “now help me up.” Lizanka, where is my snuffbox?
And the countess with her girls went behind the screens to finish her toilette. Tomsky stayed with the young lady.
Who do you want to introduce? Lizaveta Ivanovna asked quietly.
- Narumova. You know him?
- Not! Is he military or civilian?
- Military.
- Engineer?
- Not! cavalryman. Why do you think he is an engineer? The young lady laughed and did not answer a word.
– Paul! the countess shouted from behind the screens, “send me some new novel, but please, not from the current ones.
– How is it, grandmaman?
- That is, such a novel, where the hero would not crush either his father or mother, and where there would be no drowned bodies. I'm terribly afraid of drowned people!
There are no such novels today. Don't you want Russians?
– Are there any Russian novels?.. Come, father, please come!
- Excuse me, grand'maman: I'm in a hurry ... Excuse me, Lizaveta Ivanovna! Why do you think that Narumov is an engineer?
And Tomsky left the lavatory.
Lizaveta Ivanovna was left alone: ​​she left her work and began to look out the window. Soon, on one side of the street, a young officer appeared from behind a coal house. A blush covered her cheeks: she set to work again and bent her head over the canvas itself. At that moment the countess entered, fully dressed.
“Order, Lizanka,” she said, “to lay down the carriage, and we’ll go for a walk.” Lizanka got up from the hoop and began to clean up her work.
- What are you, my mother! deaf, right? cried the countess. “Tell them to lay down the carriage as soon as possible.
- Now! the young lady answered quietly and ran into the hall. The servant entered and gave the countess books from Prince Pavel Alexandrovich.
- Good! Thank you, said the Countess. - Lizanka, Lizanka! where are you running to?
- Dress.
- You can do it, mother. Sit here. Open up the first volume; read aloud ... The young lady took the book and read a few lines.
- Louder! said the Countess. - What's wrong with you, my mother? was she sleeping with her voice, or what? .. Wait a minute: move the bench closer to me ... well!
Lizaveta Ivanovna read two more pages. The Countess yawned.
“Drop this book,” she said. - what nonsense! Send this to Prince Pavel and tell him to thank him... But what about the carriage?
"The carriage is ready," said Lizaveta Ivanovna, glancing out into the street.
Why aren't you dressed? - said the countess, - you always have to wait for you! This, mother, is unbearable.
Lisa ran to her room. In less than two minutes, the countess began to call with all her urine. Three girls ran in one door, and the valet in another.
- What is it you do not call? the Countess told them. - Tell Lizaveta Ivanovna that I am waiting for her.
Lizaveta Ivanovna came in wearing a bonnet and a hat.
Finally, my mother! said the Countess. - What outfits! Why is this? .. Whom to seduce? .. And what is the weather like? It looks like the wind.
“No, no, your excellency! very quiet! answered the valet.
– You always speak at random! Open the porthole. So it is: the wind! and chilly! Postpone the carriage! Lizanka, we won't go: there was nothing to dress up.
"And here's my life!" thought Lizaveta Ivanovna.
In fact, Lizaveta Ivanovna was a miserable creature. Someone else's bread is bitter, says Dante, and the steps of someone else's porch are heavy, and who knows the bitterness of dependence, if not the poor pupil of a noble old woman? Countess ***, of course, did not have an evil soul; but she was wayward, like a woman spoiled by the world, stingy and immersed in cold selfishness, like all old people who have fallen out of love in their age and are alien to the present. She participated in all the vanities of the big world, dragged herself to balls, where she sat in a corner, flushed and dressed in the old fashion, like an ugly and necessary decoration of a ballroom; visiting guests approached her with low bows, as if according to the established rite, and then no one took care of her. She hosted the whole city, observing strict etiquette and not recognizing anyone by sight. Numerous servants of her, having grown fat and gray in her anteroom and girl's, did what they wanted, vying with each other robbing the dying old woman. Lizaveta Ivanovna was a domestic martyr. She spilled tea and was reprimanded for spending too much sugar; she read novels aloud and was to blame for all the mistakes of the author; she accompanied the countess on her walks and was in charge of the weather and the pavement. She was given a salary that was never paid; meanwhile, they demanded of her that she be dressed like everyone else, that is, like very few. She played the most miserable role in the world. Everyone knew her and no one noticed; at balls she danced only when there was not enough vis-a-vis, and the ladies took her by the arm whenever they had to go to the dressing room to fix something in their outfit. She was proud, she vividly felt her position and looked around herself, impatiently waiting for a deliverer; but the young people, prudent in their windy vanity, did not honor her with attention, although Lizaveta Ivanovna was a hundred times nicer than the impudent and cold brides around whom they hung around. How many times, quietly leaving the boring and magnificent living room, she went off to cry in her poor room, where there were screens pasted over with wallpaper, a chest of drawers, a mirror and a painted bed, and where a tallow candle burned darkly in a copper shandal!
Once - it happened two days after the evening described at the beginning of this story, and a week before the scene on which we stopped - once Lizaveta Ivanovna, sitting under the window at the embroidery frame, accidentally looked into the street and saw a young engineer standing motionless and fixed his eyes on her window. She lowered her head and went back to work; five minutes later she looked again - the young officer was standing in the same place. Not having the habit of flirting with passing officers, she stopped looking at the street and sewed for about two hours without raising her head. Served for dinner. She got up, began to put away her embroidery frame, and, looking inadvertently into the street, saw the officer again. It seemed rather strange to her. After dinner, she went to the window with a feeling of some unease, but the officer was no longer there - and she forgot about him ...
Two days later, going out with the countess to get into the carriage, she saw him again. He stood at the very entrance, covering his face with a beaver collar: his black eyes sparkled from under his hat. Lizaveta Ivanovna was frightened, without knowing why, and got into the carriage with an inexplicable trembling.
Returning home, she ran to the window - the officer stood in the same place, fixing his eyes on her: she moved away, tormented by curiosity and excited by a feeling completely new to her.
Since that time, not a day has passed that the young man, at a certain hour, did not appear under the windows of their house. An unconditional relationship was established between him and her. Sitting in her place at work, she felt his approach - she raised her head, looked at him longer and longer every day. The young man seemed to be grateful to her for this: she saw with the sharp eyes of youth how a quick blush covered his pale cheeks every time their eyes met. A week later, she smiled at him ...
When Tomsky asked permission to introduce his friend to the countess, the poor girl's heart began to beat. But having learned that Naumov was not an engineer, but a horse guard, she regretted that she had expressed her secret to the windy Tomsky with an indiscreet question.
Hermann was the son of a Russified German who left him a small capital. Being firmly convinced of the need to strengthen his independence, Hermann did not touch even interest, he lived on his salary, did not allow himself the slightest whim. However, he was secretive and ambitious, and his comrades rarely had the opportunity to laugh at his excessive frugality. He had strong passions and a fiery imagination, but firmness saved him from the ordinary delusions of youth. So, for example, being a gambler at heart, he never took cards in his hands, because he calculated that his condition did not allow him (as he said) to sacrifice the necessary in the hope of acquiring the superfluous - and meanwhile he spent whole nights sitting at the card tables and following with feverish trepidation at various turns of the game.
The anecdote about the three cards had a strong effect on his imagination and the whole night did not leave his head. “What if,” he thought the next day in the evening, wandering around Petersburg, “what if the old countess reveals her secret to me! - or assign me these three correct cards! Why not try happiness? .. To introduce herself to her, to win her favor - perhaps, to become her lover, but this takes time - and she is eighty-seven years old - she can die in a week, yes, in two days! .. Yes, and the most anecdote? .. Can you believe him? .. No! calculation, moderation and diligence: these are my three true cards, this is what will triple, sevenfold my capital and bring me peace and independence!
Reasoning in this way, he found himself in one of the main streets of Petersburg, in front of a house of ancient architecture. The street was lined with carriages, the carriages rolled one after another to the lighted entrance. The slender leg of a young beauty, the rattling jackboot, the striped stocking and the diplomatic shoe were constantly stretched out of the carriages. Fur coats and cloaks flashed past the majestic porter. Hermann stopped.
- Whose is this house? he asked the corner guard.
“Countess ***,” answered the watchman.
Hermann trembled. The amazing anecdote again presented itself to his imagination. He began to walk around the house, thinking about his mistress and about her wonderful ability. Late he returned to his humble corner; For a long time he could not fall asleep, and when sleep took possession of him, he dreamed of cards, a green table, piles of banknotes and piles of chervonets. He placed card after card, bent the corners resolutely, won incessantly, and raked in the gold, and put banknotes in his pocket. Waking up late, he sighed about the loss of his fantastic wealth, went again to wander around the city and again found himself in front of the house of the countess ***. An unknown force seemed to be drawing him to him. He stopped and looked at the windows. In one he saw a black-haired head, probably bent over a book or work. The head went up. Hermann saw a face and black eyes. This moment sealed his fate.

III

Vous m'ecrivez, mon ange, des lettres de quatre pages plus vite que je ne puis les lire.

Correspondence.

Only Lizaveta Ivanovna had time to take off her hood and hat, when the countess sent for her and ordered the carriage to be brought up again. They went to sit down. At the very moment when two footmen lifted the old woman and pushed her through the doors, Lizaveta Ivanovna saw her engineer at the very wheel; he grabbed her hand; she could not recover from fright, the young man disappeared: the letter remained in her hand. She hid it behind her glove and did not hear or see anything all the way. The Countess was in the habit of constantly asking questions in the carriage: who met us? What is the name of this bridge? - What does it say on the sign? Lizaveta Ivanovna this time answered at random and out of place, and irritated the countess.
“What happened to you, my mother! Tetanus found on you, or what? You either don’t hear me or don’t understand me?.. Thank God, I don’t burr and I haven’t lost my mind yet!
Lizaveta Ivanovna did not listen to her. Returning home, she ran to her room, took out a letter from behind her glove: it was not sealed. Lizaveta Ivanovna read it. The letter contained a declaration of love: it was gentle, respectful and taken word for word from a German novel. But Lizaveta Ivanovna did not know how to speak German and was very pleased with it.
However, the letter she received worried her extremely. For the first time she entered into a secret, intimate relationship with a young man. His audacity horrified her. She reproached herself for her careless behavior and did not know what to do: should she stop sitting at the window and inattentively cool the desire for further persecution in the young officer? Should I send him a letter?
– whether to answer coldly and decisively? She had no one to consult with, she had neither a friend nor a mentor. Lizaveta Ivanovna decided to answer.
She sat down at the writing table, took a pen, paper - and thought. Several times she began her letter, and tore it up: now the expressions seemed to her too condescending, now too cruel. At last she managed to write a few lines with which she was satisfied. “I am sure,” she wrote, “that you have honest intentions and that you did not mean to offend me with a rash act; but our acquaintance should not have begun in this way. I return your letter to you and hope that I will no longer have reasons to complain about undeserved disrespect.
The next day, seeing Hermann walking, Lizaveta Ivanovna got up from her embroidery frame, went out into the hall, opened the window and threw the letter into the street, hoping for the agility of the young officer. Hermann ran up, picked it up and entered the candy store. Breaking the seal, he found his letter and the answer of Lizaveta Ivanovna. He expected this and returned home, very busy with his intrigue.
Three days after that, a young, quick-eyed mamzel brought a note to Lizaveta Ivanovna from a fashionable shop. Lizaveta Ivanovna opened it uneasily, foreseeing money demands, and suddenly recognized Hermann's hand.
“You, my dear, are mistaken,” she said, “this note is not for me.
- No, just for you! - the brave girl answered, not hiding a sly smile. - Please read!
Lizaveta Ivanovna ran through the note. Hermann demanded a meeting.
- Can't be! - said Lizaveta Ivanovna, frightened both by the haste of demands and by the method he used. - This is not written for me! And tore the letter into small pieces.
- If the letter is not for you, why did you tear it up? - said Mamzel, - I would return it to the one who sent it.
- Please, darling! said Lizaveta Ivanovna, flushing at her remark, “do not bring any notes to me ahead.” And tell the one who sent you that he should be ashamed...
But Hermann did not give up. Lizaveta Ivanovna received letters from him every day, now in one way or another. They were no longer translated from German. Hermann wrote them, inspired by passion, and spoke in a language characteristic of him: it expressed both the inflexibility of his desires and the disorder of his unbridled imagination. Lizaveta Ivanovna no longer thought of sending them away: she reveled in them; began to answer them, - and her notes hour by hour became longer and more tender. Finally, she threw the following letter through the window:
“Today is a ball at the *** envoy. The Countess will be there. We will stay until two o'clock. Here's your chance to see me alone. As soon as the countess leaves, her people will probably disperse, the porter will remain in the hallway, but he usually goes to his closet. Come at half past eleven. Step right onto the stairs. If you find someone in the hall, then you will ask if the countess is at home. They will tell you no, and there is nothing to do. You will have to turn back. But you probably won't meet anyone. The girls are sitting at home, all in the same room. From the front, go left, go all the way to the countess's bedroom. In the bedroom, behind the screens, you will see two small doors: on the right to the study, where the countess never enters; to the left into the corridor, and right there a narrow winding staircase: it leads to my room.
Hermann trembled like a tiger, waiting for the appointed time. At ten o'clock in the evening he was already standing in front of the countess's house. The weather was terrible: the wind howled, wet snow fell in flakes; the lanterns shone dimly; the streets were empty. From time to time Vanka dragged along on his skinny horse, looking out for a belated rider. - Hermann stood in one frock coat, feeling neither wind nor snow. At last the carriage was brought to the countess. Hermann saw how the lackeys carried under their arms a hunched old woman wrapped in a sable fur coat, and how her pupil flashed after her, in a cold cloak, with her head trimmed with fresh flowers. The doors slammed shut. The carriage rolled heavily on the loose snow. The porter locked the doors. The windows are dark. Hermann began to walk around the empty house: he went up to the lamp, looked at his watch - it was twenty past eleven. Hermann stepped onto the countess' porch and went up into the brightly lit entrance hall. There was no porter. Hermann ran up the stairs, opened the front door, and saw a servant sleeping under a lamp, in old, soiled armchairs. Hermann walked past him with a light and firm step. The hall and drawing room were dark. The lamp dimly illuminated them from the hallway. Hermann entered the bedroom. In front of the kivot, filled with ancient images, a golden lamp glowed. Faded damask armchairs and sofas with feather pillows, with gilding gone, stood in sad symmetry near the walls, upholstered in Chinese wallpaper. On the wall hung two portraits painted in Paris by m-me Lebrun. One of them depicted a man of about forty, ruddy and plump, in a light green uniform and with a star; the other is a young beauty with an aquiline nose, combed temples and a rose in her powdered hair. Porcelain shepherdesses, table clocks made by the glorious Gegow, boxes, tape measures, fans and various ladies' toys, invented at the end of the last century together with the Montgolfier ball and Mesmer magnetism, stuck out in all corners. Hermann went behind the screen. Behind them stood a small iron bed; on the right was a door leading to an office; on the left, the other - in the corridor. Hermann opened it, saw a narrow, winding staircase that led to the room of a poor pupil ... But he turned back and entered a dark office.
Time passed slowly. Everything was quiet. Twelve struck in the living room; in all the rooms the clocks chimed twelve one after another, and everything was silent again. Hermann stood leaning against the cold stove. He was calm; his heart was beating evenly, like that of a man who has decided on something dangerous, but necessary. The clock struck one and two in the morning, and he heard the distant rumble of a carriage. Involuntary excitement took possession of him. The carriage pulled up and stopped. He heard the thud of the step being lowered. There was a fuss in the house. People ran, voices were heard and the house was lit up. Three old maids ran into the bedroom, and the countess, barely alive, entered and sank into the Voltaire chairs. Hermann looked through the crack: Lizaveta Ivanovna passed him. Hermann heard her hasty footsteps on the stairs. Something akin to remorse echoed in his heart and fell silent again. He turned to stone.
The Countess began to undress in front of the mirror. They broke off her cap, decorated with roses; removed the powdered wig from her gray and close-cropped head. Pins rained down around her. A yellow dress embroidered with silver fell to her swollen feet. Hermann witnessed the disgusting mysteries of her toilet; finally, the countess remained in her sleeping jacket and nightcap: in this outfit, more characteristic of her old age, she seemed less terrible and ugly.
Like all old people in general, the Countess suffered from insomnia. Having undressed, she sat down at the window in the Voltaire chairs and sent the maids away. The candles were taken out, the room was again lit up by one lamp. The countess sat all yellow, moving her pendulous lips, swaying right and left. Her cloudy eyes depicted a complete absence of thought; looking at her, one might think that the swaying of the terrible old woman did not come from her will, but from the action of hidden galvanism.
Suddenly this dead face changed inexplicably. The lips ceased to move, the eyes brightened: an unfamiliar man stood in front of the countess.
Don't be scared, for God's sake, don't be scared! he said in a clear and quiet voice. “I have no intention of harming you; I have come to beg you for one favor.
The old woman looked at him silently and seemed not to hear him. Hermann imagined that she was deaf, and, bending over her very ear, repeated the same thing to her. The old woman remained silent.
“You can,” continued Hermann, “make up the happiness of my life, and it will cost you nothing: I know that you can guess three cards in a row ...
Hermann stopped. The countess seemed to understand what was required of her; she seemed to be searching for words for her answer.
It was a joke,” she said at last, “I swear to you! it was a joke!
This is nothing to joke about, Hermann objected angrily. - Remember Chaplitsky, whom you helped to recoup.
The Countess seemed to be confused. Her features depicted a strong movement of the soul, but she soon fell into her former insensibility.
“Can you,” continued Hermann, “assign these three correct cards to me?” The Countess was silent; Hermann continued:
Who are you keeping your secret for? For grandchildren? They are rich without that: they do not know the value of money. Your three cards won't help Motu. Whoever does not know how to take care of his father's inheritance, he will still die in poverty, despite any demonic efforts. I'm not a mote; I know the value of money. Your three cards will not be wasted for me. Well!..
He stopped and waited in trepidation for her answer. The Countess was silent; Hermann knelt down.
“If ever,” he said, “your heart knew the feeling of love, if you remember its delights, if you ever smiled at the crying of a newborn son, if something human ever beat in your chest, then I implore you with feelings spouses, mistresses, mothers - everything that is sacred in life - do not refuse me my request! - tell me your secret! - what do you need in it? .. Maybe it is associated with a terrible sin, with the destruction of eternal bliss, with a diabolical contract ... Think: you are old; you will not live long - I am ready to take your sin on my soul. Reveal your secret to me. Think that a person's happiness is in your hands; that not only I, but also my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will bless your memory and will honor it as a shrine ...
The old woman did not answer a word. Hermann got up.
- Old witch! - he said, clenching his teeth, - so I'll make you answer ... With this word, he took out a pistol from his pocket.
At the sight of the pistol, the countess for the second time showed a strong feeling. She nodded her head and raised her hand, as if shielding herself from the shot... Then she rolled backwards... and remained motionless.
“Stop being childish,” said Hermann, taking her hand. - I ask for the last time: do you want to assign me your three cards? - Yes or no?
The Countess did not answer. Hermann saw that she was dead.

IV

7 Mai 18**. Homme sams mceurs et sans religion!

Correspondence.

Lizaveta Ivanovna was sitting in her room, still in her ball gown, immersed in deep thought. Arriving home, she hurried to send away the sleepy girl who reluctantly offered her her service - she said that she would undress herself, and with trepidation went into her room, hoping to find Hermann there and wishing not to find him. At first glance, she was convinced of his absence and thanked fate for the obstacle that prevented their meeting. She sat down, without undressing, and began to recall all the circumstances that had taken her so far in such a short time and so far. Not even three weeks had passed since she first saw the young man through the window - and she was already in correspondence with him - and he managed to demand a nightly date from her! She knew his name only because some of his letters were signed by him; never spoke to him, never heard his voice, never heard of him ... until this very evening. Strange affair! That very evening, at the ball, Tomsky, sulking at the young Princess Polina, who, contrary to her usual habit, was not flirting with him, wanted to take revenge, showing indifference: he called Lizaveta Ivanovna and danced an endless mazurka with her. All the time he joked about her addiction to engineering officers, assured that he knew much more than she could have expected, and some of his jokes were so well directed that Lizaveta Ivanovna thought several times that her secret was known to him.
- From whom do you know all this? she asked, laughing.
“From a friend of a person you know,” answered Tomsky, “a very remarkable person!”
Who is this wonderful person?
His name is Hermann.
Lizaveta Ivanovna did not answer anything, but her hands and feet went cold...
“This Hermann,” continued Tomsky, “is a truly romantic face: he has the profile of Napoleon, and the soul of Mephistopheles. I think that he has at least three atrocities on his conscience. How pale you are!
My head hurts... What did Hermann tell you, or what do you call him?..
Hermann is very dissatisfied with his friend: he says that in his place he would have acted quite differently ... I even believe that Hermann himself has views on you, at least he listens very indifferently to the amorous exclamations of his friend.
- Where did he see me?
- In the church, maybe - for a walk! .. God knows! maybe in your room, during your sleep: it will become ...
Three ladies approached them with questions - oubli ou regret? - interrupted the conversation, which was becoming painfully curious for Lizaveta Ivanovna.
The lady chosen by Tomsky was Princess *** herself. She managed to explain herself to him, running around an extra circle and once again turning in front of her chair. - Tomsky, returning to his place, no longer thought about either Hermann or Lizaveta Ivanovna. She certainly wanted to resume the interrupted conversation; but the mazurka ended, and soon after the old countess left.
Tomsky's words were nothing more than mazurka chatter, but they were deeply planted in the soul of a young dreamer. The portrait sketched by Tomsky resembled the image she had drawn up herself, and, thanks to the latest novels, this already vulgar face frightened and captivated her imagination. She sat with her bare arms folded in a cross, her head bowed to her open chest, still covered with flowers ... Suddenly the door opened, and Hermann entered. She trembled...
– Where were you? she asked in a frightened whisper.
“In the bedroom of the old countess,” replied Hermann, “I am from her now.” The Countess is dead.
- My God!.. what are you saying?..
“And it seems,” continued Hermann, “I am the cause of her death.”
Lizaveta Ivanovna looked at him, and Tomsky's words resounded in her soul: this man has at least three evil deeds in his soul! Hermann sat down on the window next to her and told everything.
Lizaveta Ivanovna listened to him with horror. So, these impassioned letters, these fiery demands, this audacious, dogged persecution, all this was not love! Money - that's what his soul yearned for! Not she could satisfy his desires and make him happy! The poor pupil was nothing but the blind helper of the robber, the murderer of her old benefactor!.. She wept bitterly in her late, painful repentance. Hermann looked at her in silence: his heart was also tormented, but neither the tears of the poor girl, nor the amazing charm of her sorrows disturbed his harsh soul. He felt no remorse at the thought of the dead old woman. One thing horrified him: the irretrievable loss of a secret from which he expected enrichment.
- You are a monster! said Lizaveta Ivanovna at last.
“I didn’t want her dead,” answered Hermann, “my pistol is not loaded. They fell silent.
Morning came. Lizaveta Ivanovna put out the dying candle: a pale light illuminated her room. She wiped her tear-stained eyes and raised them to Hermann: he was sitting on the window with folded arms and a menacing frown. In this position, he surprisingly resembled a portrait of Napoleon. This similarity struck even Lizaveta Ivanovna.
How do you get out of the house? said Lizaveta Ivanovna at last. “I was thinking of taking you up a secret staircase, but I must go past the bedroom, and I'm afraid.
– Tell me how to find this hidden staircase; I `ll exit.
Lizaveta Ivanovna got up, took a key from the chest of drawers, handed it to Hermann, and gave him detailed instructions. Hermann shook her cold unanswered hand, kissed her bowed head, and went out.
He descended the winding stairs and entered the Countess's bedroom again. The dead old woman sat petrified; her face expressed deep calm. Hermann stopped in front of her, looked at her for a long time, as if wanting to ascertain the terrible truth; at last he entered the office, felt the door behind the wallpaper, and began to descend the dark stairs, agitated by strange feelings. Along this very staircase, he thought, perhaps sixty years ago, into this very bedroom, at the same hour, in an embroidered caftan, combed a l'oiseau royal, clutching a three-cornered hat to his heart, a lucky young man, who had long since decayed in grave, and the heart of his elderly mistress stopped beating today ...
Under the stairs, Hermann found a door, which he unlocked with the same key, and found himself in a through corridor that led him out into the street.

V

That night the late Baroness von V*** appeared to me. She was all in white and said to me: “Hello, Mr. Counselor!”

Swedenborg.

Three days after the fateful night, at nine o'clock in the morning, Hermann went to the *** monastery, where the body of the deceased countess was to be buried. Feeling no remorse, however, he could not completely drown out the voice of conscience, which kept telling him: you are the murderer of the old woman! Having little true faith, he had many prejudices. He believed that the dead countess could have a harmful effect on his life - and decided to come to her funeral to ask her forgiveness.
The church was full. Hermann could hardly make his way through the crowd of people. The coffin stood on a rich hearse under a velvet canopy. The deceased lay in it with her hands folded on her chest, in a lace cap and in a white satin dress. All around were her household: servants in black caftans with coat of arms ribbons on their shoulders and with candles in their hands; relatives in deep mourning - children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Nobody cried; tears would be - une affectation. The countess was so old that her death could not strike anyone, and that her relatives had long looked at her as if she had become obsolete. The young bishop delivered the eulogy. In simple and touching terms, he presented the peaceful dormition of the righteous woman, whom for many years was a quiet, touching preparation for a Christian death. “The angel of death found her,” said the orator, “waking in good thoughts and waiting for the midnight bridegroom.” The service was performed with sad propriety. Relatives were the first to go to say goodbye to the body. Then numerous guests moved on, who had come to bow to the one who had so long been a participant in their vain amusements. After them, and all home. Finally, an old lordly lady, the same age as the deceased, approached. Two young girls led her by the arms. She was unable to bow to the ground, and alone shed a few tears, kissing the cold hand of her mistress. After her, Hermann decided to approach the coffin. He bowed to the ground and lay for several minutes on the cold floor strewn with fir trees. Finally, he got up, pale as the deceased herself, climbed the steps of the hearse and bent down ...
At that moment it seemed to him that the dead woman looked at him mockingly, screwing up one eye. Hermann hurriedly leaning back, stumbled and fell backwards on the ground. He was raised. At the same time, Lizaveta Ivanovna was carried out in a swoon to the porch. This episode outraged for several minutes the solemnity of the gloomy rite. A dull murmur arose between the visitors, and a thin chamberlain, a close relative of the deceased, whispered into the ear of an Englishman standing next to him that the young officer was her natural son, to which the Englishman answered coldly: Oh?
All day Hermann was extremely upset. Dining in a secluded tavern, he, contrary to his usual habit, drank a lot, in the hope of drowning out inner excitement. But the wine fired his imagination even more. Returning home, he threw himself on the bed without undressing and fell sound asleep.
He woke up at night: the moon illuminated his room. He glanced at his watch: it was a quarter to three. His sleep was gone; he sat down on the bed and thought of the funeral of the old countess.
At this time, someone from the street looked into his window - and immediately walked away. Hermann paid no attention to that. A minute later he heard the door in the front room being unlocked. Hermann thought that his orderly, drunk as usual, was returning from a night walk. But he heard an unfamiliar gait: someone was walking, quietly shuffling his shoes. The door opened and a woman in a white dress entered. Hermann mistook her for his old nurse and wondered what could have brought her at such a time. But the white woman, slipping, suddenly found herself in front of him - and Hermann recognized the countess!
“I came to you against my will,” she said in a firm voice, “but I am ordered to fulfill your request. Three, seven and ace will win you in a row - but so that you do not put more than one card per day and that you do not play all your life afterwards. I forgive you my death, so that you marry my pupil Lizaveta Ivanovna ...
With that, she turned quietly, walked to the door, and disappeared, shuffling her shoes. Hermann heard the slam of the door in the entryway, and saw that someone again looked at him through the window.
Hermann could not come to his senses for a long time. He went into another room. His orderly slept on the floor; Hermann woke him up by force. The batman was drunk as usual: it was impossible to get any sense out of him. The door to the vestibule was locked. Hermann returned to his room, lit a candle there, and wrote down his vision.

VI

Atanda!
How dare you tell me atanda?
Your Excellency, I said atande-sir!

Two fixed ideas cannot exist together in a moral nature, just as two bodies cannot occupy the same place in the physical world. Three, seven, ace - soon obscured the image of the dead old woman in Hermann's imagination. Three, seven, ace - did not leave his head and moved on his lips. When he saw a young girl, he said: “How slim she is! .. A real red three.” They asked him: “what time is it”, he answered: “five minutes to seven”. Every pot-bellied man reminded him of an ace. Three, seven, ace - pursued him in a dream, taking on all possible forms: the three bloomed in front of him in the form of a magnificent grandiflora, the seven seemed to be a Gothic gate, the ace a huge spider. All his thoughts merged into one - to take advantage of the secret, which cost him dearly. He began to think about retirement and travel. He wanted to force the treasure from an enchanted fortune in the open houses of Paris. Chance saved him the trouble.
A society of wealthy gamblers was formed in Moscow, under the chairmanship of the glorious Chekalinsky, who spent the whole century at cards and once made millions by winning bills and losing clear money. Long-term experience earned him the power of attorney of his comrades, and an open house, a glorious cook, affectionateness and cheerfulness gained the respect of the public. He came to Petersburg. Young people rushed to him, forgetting balls for cards and preferring the temptations of the pharaoh to the seductions of red tape. Narumov brought Hermann to him.
They passed a series of splendid rooms filled with courteous waiters. Several generals and privy councilors played whist; young people were lounging on damask sofas, eating ice-cream and smoking pipes. In the living room, at a long table, around which twenty players were crowded, the owner was sitting and throwing a bank. He was a man of about sixty, of the most respectable appearance; the head was covered with silver gray hair; a full and fresh face depicted good nature; his eyes shone, animated by an everlasting smile. Narumov introduced Hermann to him. Chekalinsky shook his hand in a friendly manner, asked him not to stand on ceremony and continued to throw.
Talya lasted a long time. There were more than thirty cards on the table. Chekalinsky stopped after each laying in order to give the players time to dispose, wrote down the loss, listened politely to their demands, even more courteously turned back an extra corner, bent by an absent-minded hand. Finally, the tail is over. Chekalinsky shuffled the cards and prepared to throw another.
“Allow me to put down a card,” said Hermann, holding out his hand from behind the fat gentleman, who immediately ponted. Chekalinsky smiled and bowed, silently, as a sign of submissive consent. Narumov, laughing, congratulated Hermann on the permission of the long-term fast and wished him a happy start.
- It's coming! said Hermann, writing the kush over his card with chalk.
- How much? asked the banker, screwing up his eyes, “excuse me, I can’t see it.”
“Forty-seven thousand,” replied Hermann.
At these words, all heads instantly turned, and all eyes turned to Hermann. - He's crazy! thought Narumov.
“Let me tell you,” Chekalinsky said with his unfailing smile, “that your game is strong: no one has ever bet more than two hundred and seventy-five samples here.
- Well? - objected Hermann, - are you beating my card or not? Chekalinsky bowed with the same air of humble consent.
“I only wanted to report to you,” he said, “that, having been awarded the power of attorney of my comrades, I cannot throw anything other than with clean money. For my part, of course, I am sure that your word is enough, but for the sake of the order of the game and the scores, I ask you to put money on the card.
Hermann took a bank note out of his pocket and handed it to Chekalinsky, who, having glanced at it briefly, placed it on Hermann's card.
He began to throw. A nine lay to the right, a three to the left.
- Won! Hermann said, showing his map.
There was a whisper among the players. Chekalinsky frowned, but the smile immediately returned to his face.
- Would you like to receive? he asked Hermann.
- Do me a favor.
Chekalinsky took several bank notes out of his pocket and immediately paid off. Hermann accepted his money and moved away from the table. Narumov could not come to his senses. Hermann drank a glass of lemonade and went home.
The next day in the evening he again appeared at Chekalinsky's. Metal owner. Hermann went up to the table; the punters immediately gave him a seat. Chekalinsky bowed affectionately to him.
Hermann waited for a new draw, left the card, putting his forty-seven thousand and yesterday's winnings on it.
Chekalinsky began to throw. Jack fell to the right, seven to the left.
Hermann opened the seven.
Everyone gasped. Chekalinsky was apparently embarrassed. He counted out ninety-four thousand and handed it to Hermann. Hermann received them with composure and left at the same moment.
The next evening Hermann appeared again at the table. Everyone was expecting him. The generals and privy councilors left their whist to see the game so extraordinary. The young officers jumped off the sofas; all the waiters gathered in the living room. Everyone surrounded Hermann. The other players didn't put their cards down, looking forward to how he would end up. Hermann stood at the table, preparing to ponte alone against the pale, but still smiling Chekalinsky. Each printed a deck of cards. Chekalinsky shuffled. Hermann removed and inserted his card, covering it with a pile of bank notes. It looked like a duel. A profound silence reigned all around.
Chekalinsky began to throw, his hands were shaking. To the right lies a queen, to the left an ace.
- Ace won! Hermann said and opened his card.
“Your lady has been killed,” Chekalinsky said affectionately.
Hermann shuddered: in fact, instead of an ace, he had a queen of spades. He could not believe his eyes, not understanding how he could turn around.
At that moment it seemed to him that the Queen of Spades screwed up her eyes and smiled. The extraordinary resemblance struck him...
- The old woman! he screamed in horror.
Chekalinsky pulled the lost tickets towards him. Hermann stood motionless. When he moved away from the table, a noisy conversation arose. - Well sponsored! the players said. - Chekalinsky shuffled the cards again: the game went on as usual.

Conclusion

Hermann has gone mad. He is sitting in the Obukhov hospital in the 17th room, does not answer any questions and mumbles unusually quickly: “Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, lady! .. "
Lizaveta Ivanovna married a very amiable young man; he serves somewhere and has a decent fortune: he is the son of the former steward of the old countess. Lizaveta Ivanovna brings up a poor relative.
Tomsky is promoted to captain and marries Princess Polina.

About the work

Pushkin's story "The Queen of Spades" is one of the few in Pushkin's work that has a mystical coloring and is therefore unexpected and interesting. The plot of the work was suggested to Pushkin by the young Prince Golitsyn, who once lost to the nines and managed to return everything lost thanks to the advice of his grandmother. She told him three cards to bet on.

The story was written in Boldino in 1833, but the draft has not been preserved. It was published in the second issue of the Library for Reading in 1834 and was incredibly popular. Pushkin gave readers what was expected of him. In April 1834 he wrote in his diary:

“My Queen of Spades is in big fashion. Players ponting for three, seven, ace.

The story was also highly acclaimed by critics. For example, A.A. Kraevsky wrote: “In The Queen of Spades, the hero of the story is a truly original creation, the fruit of deep observation and knowledge of the human heart; it is furnished with faces peeped in society itself<…>; the story is simple, distinguished by elegance.

When it appeared in 1834, The Queen of Spades made a general conversation and was reread, from magnificent palaces to modest dwellings, with the same pleasure. The general success of this light and fantastic story is especially due to the fact that in Pushkin's story there are features of modern morals, which, as he usually does, are indicated extremely subtly and clearly. (P.P. Annenkov).

The famous French novelist Prosper Mérimée translated The Queen of Spades into Russian. Based on this work, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote an amazing opera of the same name. The story went through several adaptations. The last one came out in 2016. This is a film by Pavel Lungin "Queen of Spades".

The Queen of Spades means secret malevolence.

The latest divination book.

And on rainy days
They were going
Often;
Bent - God forgive them! —
From fifty
One hundred
And they won
And unsubscribed
Chalk.
So, on rainy days,
They were engaged
Deed.

Once we were playing cards with Narumov, a horse guard. The long winter night passed unnoticed; sat down to supper at five o'clock in the morning. Those who were the winners ate with great relish; the rest, distracted, sat in front of their instruments. But the champagne appeared, the conversation quickened, and everyone took part in it.
- What did you do, Surin? - asked the owner.
- Lost, as usual. - I must admit that I am unhappy: I play mirandole, I never get excited, nothing can confuse me, but I keep losing!
- And you've never been tempted? never put on the root? .. Your hardness is amazing to me.
- And what is Hermann! - said one of the guests, pointing to a young engineer, - from his birth he did not take cards in his hands, from his birth he did not bend a single password, but he sits with us until five o'clock and looks at our game!
“The game occupies me greatly,” said Hermann, “but I am not in a position to sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of gaining what is superfluous.
- Hermann is a German: he is prudent, that's all! Tomsky remarked. - And if anyone is incomprehensible to me, it is my grandmother Countess Anna Fedotovna.
- How? what? the guests shouted.
“I can’t comprehend,” continued Tomsky, “how my grandmother doesn’t ponte!”
- But why is it surprising, - said Narumov, - that an eighty-year old woman does not ponte?
So you don't know anything about her?
- Not! right, nothing!
- Oh, so listen:
You need to know that my grandmother, sixty years ago, went to Paris and was there in great fashion. People ran after her to see la Venus moscovite; Richelieu dragged after her, and grandmother assures that he almost shot himself from her cruelty.
At that time, ladies played pharaoh. Once at court, she lost something very much on the word of the Duke of Orleans. Arriving home, the grandmother, peeling off the flies from her face and untying the fizhma, announced to her grandfather about her loss and ordered him to pay.
The late grandfather, as far as I remember, was the family of my grandmother's butler. He was afraid of her like fire; however, hearing about such a terrible loss, he lost his temper, brought the bills, proved to her that in half a year they had spent half a million, that they had neither a village near Moscow nor a Saratov village near Paris, and completely refused to pay. Grandmother gave him a slap in the face and went to bed alone, as a token of her disfavor.
The next day, she ordered her husband to be called, hoping that domestic punishment had an effect on him, but found him unshakable. For the first time in her life she went with him to arguments and explanations; I thought to reassure him, condescendingly arguing that there are many debts and that there is a difference between a prince and a coachman. - Where! grandfather rebelled. No, and only! Grandma didn't know what to do.
She was briefly acquainted with a very remarkable person. You have heard of the Comte Saint-Germain, of whom so many wonderful stories are told. You know that he pretended to be the Wandering Jew, the inventor of the life elixir and the philosopher's stone, and so on. They laughed at him as a charlatan, and Casanova in her Notes says that he was a spy; however, Saint-Germain, in spite of his mystery, had a very respectable appearance and was a very amiable person in society. Grandmother still loves him without memory and gets angry if they talk about him with disrespect. Grandmother knew that Saint Germain could have a lot of money. She decided to run to him. I wrote him a note and asked him to come to her immediately.
The old eccentric appeared at once and found him in terrible grief. She described to him in the darkest colors her husband's barbarity, and finally said that she placed all her hope in his friendship and courtesy.
Saint Germain considered.
“I can serve you with this amount,” he said, “but I know that you will not be calm until you pay me off, and I would not want to introduce you to new troubles. There is another remedy: you can recoup." “But, dear count,” answered the grandmother, “I tell you that we have no money at all.” - "Money is not needed here," objected Saint-Germain: "if you please, listen to me." Then he revealed to her a secret, for which any of us would give dearly ...
Young players doubled the focus. Tomsky lit his pipe, took a puff, and went on.
That same evening my grandmother came to Versailles, au jeu de la Reine. Duke of Orleans Metal; grandmother slightly apologized for not bringing her debt, wove a little story to justify it and began to play against him. She chose three cards, put them one after the other: all three won her a sonic, and her grandmother won back completely.
- Chance! - said one of the guests.
- Story! Hermann noted.
- Maybe powder cards? - picked up the third.
"I don't think so," replied Tomsky importantly.
- How! - said Narumov, - do you have a grandmother who guesses three cards in a row, and you still haven't adopted her cabalism from her?
- Yes, to hell with two! - Tomsky answered, - she had four sons, including my father: all four are desperate players, and she did not reveal her secret to anyone; although it would not be bad for them and even for me. But this is what my uncle, Count Ivan Ilyich, told me, and of which he assured me with honor. The late Chaplitsky, the same one who died in poverty, having squandered millions, once in his youth lost - Zorich remembers - about three hundred thousand. He was in despair. Grandmother, who was always strict with the pranks of young people, somehow took pity on Chaplitsky. She gave him three cards, so that he put them one after another, and took from him his word of honor never to play again. Chaplitsky appeared to his winner: they sat down to play. Chaplitsky bet fifty thousand on the first card and won the sonic; bent passwords, passwords-ne, - recouped and still won ...
"But it's time for bed: it's already a quarter to six."
In fact, it was already dawn: the young people finished their glasses and parted.

II parait que monsieur est decision pourles suivantes.
- Que voulez-vus, madame? Elles sont plus freiches.

Secular conversation.

The old countess *** was sitting in her dressing-room in front of a mirror. Three girls surrounded her. One held a jar of rouge, another a box of hairpins, a third a tall cap with fiery ribbons. The Countess had not the slightest pretension to beauty, long faded, but retained all the habits of her youth, strictly followed the fashions of the seventies, and dressed as long and as diligently as she had sixty years ago. A young lady, her pupil, was sitting at the window at the embroidery frame.
- Hello, grand "maman," the young officer said, entering. - Bon jour, mademoiselle Lise. Grand "maman, I'm asking you.
- What is it, Paul?
- Allow me to introduce one of my friends and bring him to you on Friday for a ball.
"Bring him straight to the ball for me, and then you'll introduce him to me." Were you yesterday at ***?
- How! it was very fun; danced until five o'clock. How good was Yeletskaya!
- And, my dear! What's good about her? Was her grandmother, Princess Darya Petrovna, like that? .. By the way: I’m tea, she’s already very old, Princess Darya Petrovna?
- How old are you? replied Tomsky absentmindedly, "she's been dead for seven years." The young lady raised her head and made a sign to the young man. He remembered that from the old
the countesses concealed the death of her peers, and bit his lip. But the countess heard the news, new to her, with great indifference.
- Died! she said, "I didn't know!" Together we were granted maids of honor, and when we introduced ourselves, the empress ...
And the countess for the hundredth time told her grandson her anecdote.
“Well, Paul,” she said later, “now help me up.” Lizanka, where is my snuffbox?
And the countess with her girls went behind the screens to finish her toilette. Tomsky stayed with the young lady.
- Who do you want to introduce? Lizaveta Ivanovna asked quietly.
- Narumova. You know him?
- Not! Is he military or civilian?
- Military.
- Engineer?
- Not! cavalryman. Why do you think he is an engineer? The young lady laughed and did not answer a word.
- Paul! - the countess shouted from behind the screens, - send me some new novel, but please, not from the current ones.
- How is it, grand "maman?
- That is, such a novel, where the hero would not crush either his father or mother, and where there would be no drowned bodies. I'm terribly afraid of drowned people!
- There are no such novels today. Don't you want Russians?
- Are there any Russian novels? .. Come, father, please come!
- Excuse me, grand "maman: I'm in a hurry ... Excuse me, Lizaveta Ivanovna! Why do you think that Narumov is an engineer?
- And Tomsky left the restroom.
Lizaveta Ivanovna was left alone: ​​she left her work and began to look out the window. Soon, on one side of the street, a young officer appeared from behind a coal house. A blush covered her cheeks: she set to work again and bent her head over the canvas itself. At that moment the countess entered, fully dressed.
"Order, Lizanka," she said, "to lay down the carriage, and we'll go for a walk." Lizanka got up from the hoop and began to clean up her work.
- What are you, my mother! deaf, right? cried the countess. - Tell them to lay the carriage as soon as possible.
- Now! - the young lady answered quietly and ran into the hall. The servant entered and gave the countess books from Prince Pavel Alexandrovich.
- Good! Thank you, said the Countess. - Lizanka, Lizanka! where are you running to?
- Dress.
- You can do it, mother. Sit here. Open up the first volume; read aloud... The young lady took the book and read a few lines.
- Louder! said the Countess. - What's wrong with you, my mother? was she sleeping with her voice, or what? .. Wait a minute: move the bench closer to me ... well!
Lizaveta Ivanovna read two more pages. The Countess yawned.
“Drop this book,” she said. - what nonsense! Send this to Prince Pavel and tell him to thank him... But what about the carriage?
"The carriage is ready," said Lizaveta Ivanovna, glancing out into the street.
Why aren't you dressed? - said the countess, - you always have to wait for you! This, mother, is unbearable.
Lisa ran to her room. In less than two minutes, the countess began to call with all her urine. Three girls ran in one door, and the valet in another.
- What is it you do not call? the Countess told them. - Tell Lizaveta Ivanovna that I am waiting for her.
Lizaveta Ivanovna came in wearing a bonnet and a hat.
- Finally, my mother! said the Countess. - What outfits! Why is this? .. Whom to seduce? .. And what is the weather like? - seems to be the wind.
- Not at all, sir, your excellency! very quiet! answered the valet.
- You always speak at random! Open the porthole. So it is: the wind! and chilly! Postpone the carriage! Lizanka, we won't go: there was nothing to dress up.
"And here's my life!" thought Lizaveta Ivanovna.
In fact, Lizaveta Ivanovna was a miserable creature. Someone else's bread is bitter, says Dante, and the steps of someone else's porch are heavy, and who knows the bitterness of dependence, if not the poor pupil of a noble old woman? Countess ***, of course, did not have an evil soul; but she was wayward, like a woman spoiled by the world, stingy and immersed in cold selfishness, like all old people who have fallen out of love in their age and are alien to the present. She participated in all the vanities of the big world, dragged herself to balls, where she sat in a corner, flushed and dressed in the old fashion, like an ugly and necessary decoration of a ballroom; visiting guests approached her with low bows, as if according to the established rite, and then no one took care of her. She hosted the whole city, observing strict etiquette and not recognizing anyone by sight. Numerous servants of her, having grown fat and gray in her anteroom and girl's, did what they wanted, vying with each other robbing the dying old woman. Lizaveta Ivanovna was a domestic martyr. She spilled tea and was reprimanded for spending too much sugar; she read novels aloud and was to blame for all the mistakes of the author; she accompanied the countess on her walks and was in charge of the weather and the pavement. She was given a salary that was never paid; meanwhile, they demanded of her that she be dressed like everyone else, that is, like very few. She played the most miserable role in the world. Everyone knew her and no one noticed; at balls she danced only when there was not enough vis-a-vis, and the ladies took her by the arm whenever they had to go to the dressing room to fix something in their outfit. She was proud, she vividly felt her position and looked around herself, impatiently waiting for a deliverer; but the young people, prudent in their windy vanity, did not honor her with attention, although Lizaveta Ivanovna was a hundred times nicer than the impudent and cold brides around whom they hung around. How many times, quietly leaving the boring and magnificent living room, she went off to cry in her poor room, where there were screens pasted over with wallpaper, a chest of drawers, a mirror and a painted bed, and where a tallow candle burned darkly in a copper shandal!
Once - it happened two days after the evening described at the beginning of this story, and a week before the scene on which we stopped - once Lizaveta Ivanovna, sitting under the window at the embroidery frame, accidentally looked into the street and saw a young engineer standing motionless and fixed his eyes on her window. She lowered her head and went back to work; five minutes later she looked again - the young officer was standing in the same place. Not having the habit of flirting with passing officers, she stopped looking at the street and sewed for about two hours without raising her head. Served for dinner. She got up, began to put away her embroidery frame, and, looking inadvertently into the street, saw the officer again. It seemed rather strange to her. After dinner, she went to the window with a feeling of some unease, but the officer was no longer there - and she forgot about him ...
Two days later, going out with the countess to get into the carriage, she saw him again. He stood at the very entrance, covering his face with a beaver collar: his black eyes sparkled from under his hat. Lizaveta Ivanovna was frightened, without knowing why, and got into the carriage with an inexplicable trembling.
Returning home, she ran to the window - the officer stood in the same place, fixing his eyes on her: she moved away, tormented by curiosity and excited by a feeling completely new to her.
Since that time, not a day has passed that the young man, at a certain hour, did not appear under the windows of their house. An unconditional relationship was established between him and her. Sitting in her place at work, she felt his approach - she raised her head, looked at him longer and longer every day. The young man seemed to be grateful to her for this: she saw with the sharp eyes of youth how a quick blush covered his pale cheeks every time their eyes met. A week later she smiled at him...
When Tomsky asked permission to introduce his friend to the countess, the poor girl's heart began to beat. But having learned that Naumov was not an engineer, but a horse guard, she regretted that she had expressed her secret to the windy Tomsky with an indiscreet question.
Hermann was the son of a Russified German who left him a small capital. Being firmly convinced of the need to strengthen his independence, Hermann did not touch even interest, he lived on his salary, did not allow himself the slightest whim. However, he was secretive and ambitious, and his comrades rarely had the opportunity to laugh at his excessive frugality. He had strong passions and a fiery imagination, but firmness saved him from the ordinary delusions of youth. So, for example, being a gambler at heart, he never took cards in his hands, because he calculated that his condition did not allow him (as he said) to sacrifice the necessary in the hope of acquiring the superfluous - and meanwhile he spent whole nights sitting at the card tables and following with feverish trepidation at various turns of the game.
The anecdote about the three cards had a strong effect on his imagination and the whole night did not leave his head. “What if,” he thought the next day in the evening, wandering around Petersburg, “what if the old countess reveals her secret to me! - or assign me these three correct cards! Why not try happiness? .. To introduce herself to her, to win her favor, - perhaps, to become her lover, but this takes time - and she is eighty-seven years old - she can die in a week, yes, in two days! .. Yes, and the most anecdote? .. Can you believe him? .. No! calculation, moderation and diligence: these are my three true cards, this is what will triple, sevenfold my capital and bring me peace and independence!
Reasoning in this way, he found himself in one of the main streets of Petersburg, in front of a house of ancient architecture. The street was lined with carriages, the carriages rolled one after another to the lighted entrance. The slender leg of a young beauty, the rattling jackboot, the striped stocking and the diplomatic shoe were constantly stretched out of the carriages. Fur coats and cloaks flashed past the majestic porter. Hermann stopped.
- Whose is this house? he asked the corner guard.
- Countess ***, - answered the watchman.
Hermann trembled. The amazing anecdote again presented itself to his imagination. He began to walk around the house, thinking about his mistress and about her wonderful ability. Late he returned to his humble corner; For a long time he could not fall asleep, and when sleep took possession of him, he dreamed of cards, a green table, piles of banknotes and piles of chervonets. He placed card after card, bent the corners resolutely, won incessantly, and raked in the gold, and put banknotes in his pocket. Waking up late, he sighed about the loss of his fantastic wealth, went again to wander around the city and again found himself in front of the house of the countess ***. An unknown force seemed to be drawing him to him. He stopped and looked at the windows. In one he saw a black-haired head, probably bent over a book or work. The head went up. Hermann saw a face and black eyes. This moment sealed his fate.

Vous m "ecrivez, mon ange, des lettres de quatre pages plus vite que je ne puis les lire.

Correspondence.

Only Lizaveta Ivanovna had time to take off her hood and hat, when the countess sent for her and ordered the carriage to be brought up again. They went to sit down. At the very moment when two footmen lifted the old woman and pushed her through the doors, Lizaveta Ivanovna saw her engineer at the very wheel; he grabbed her hand; she could not recover from fright, the young man disappeared: the letter remained in her hand. She hid it behind her glove and did not hear or see anything all the way. The Countess was in the habit of constantly asking questions in the carriage: who met us? What is the name of this bridge? What does it say on the sign? Lizaveta Ivanovna this time answered at random and out of place, and irritated the countess.
- What happened to you, my mother! Tetanus found on you, or what? You either don’t hear me or don’t understand me?.. Thank God, I don’t burr and I haven’t lost my mind yet!
Lizaveta Ivanovna did not listen to her. Returning home, she ran to her room, took out a letter from behind her glove: it was not sealed. Lizaveta Ivanovna read it. The letter contained a declaration of love: it was gentle, respectful and taken word for word from a German novel. But Lizaveta Ivanovna did not know how to speak German and was very pleased with it.
However, the letter she received worried her extremely. For the first time she entered into a secret, intimate relationship with a young man. His audacity horrified her. She reproached herself for her careless behavior and did not know what to do: should she stop sitting at the window and inattentively cool the desire for further persecution in the young officer? - Should I send him a letter?
- whether to answer coldly and decisively? She had no one to consult with, she had neither a friend nor a mentor. Lizaveta Ivanovna decided to answer.
She sat down at the writing table, took a pen, paper - and thought. Several times she began her letter, and tore it up: now the expressions seemed to her too condescending, now too cruel. At last she managed to write a few lines with which she was satisfied. “I am sure,” she wrote, “that you have honest intentions and that you did not mean to offend me with a rash act; but our acquaintance should not have begun in this way. I return your letter to you and hope that I will no longer have reasons to complain about undeserved disrespect.
The next day, seeing Hermann walking, Lizaveta Ivanovna got up from her embroidery frame, went out into the hall, opened the window and threw the letter into the street, hoping for the agility of the young officer. Hermann ran up, picked it up and entered the candy store. Breaking the seal, he found his letter and the answer of Lizaveta Ivanovna. He expected this and returned home, very busy with his intrigue.
Three days after that, a young, quick-eyed mamzel brought a note to Lizaveta Ivanovna from a fashionable shop. Lizaveta Ivanovna opened it uneasily, foreseeing money demands, and suddenly recognized Hermann's hand.
“You, my dear, are mistaken,” she said, “this note is not for me.
- No, just to you! - answered the brave girl, not hiding a sly smile. - Please read!
Lizaveta Ivanovna ran through the note. Hermann demanded a meeting.
- Can't be! - said Lizaveta Ivanovna, frightened both by the haste of the demands and by the method he used. - It's written right not to me! And tore the letter into small pieces.
- If the letter is not for you, why did you tear it up? - said Mamzel, - I would return it to the one who sent it.
- Please, darling! - said Lizaveta Ivanovna, flushing from her remark, - do not carry any notes forward to me. And tell the one who sent you that he should be ashamed...
But Hermann did not give up. Lizaveta Ivanovna received letters from him every day, now in one way or another. They were no longer translated from German. Hermann wrote them, inspired by passion, and spoke in a language characteristic of him: it expressed both the inflexibility of his desires and the disorder of his unbridled imagination. Lizaveta Ivanovna no longer thought of sending them away: she reveled in them; began to answer them, - and her notes hour by hour became longer and more tender. Finally, she threw the following letter through the window:
“Today is a ball at the *** envoy. The Countess will be there. We will stay until two o'clock. Here's your chance to see me alone. As soon as the countess leaves, her people will probably disperse, the porter will remain in the hallway, but he usually goes to his closet. Come at half past eleven. Step right onto the stairs. If you find someone in the hall, then you will ask if the countess is at home. You will be told no, and there is nothing to do. You will have to turn back. But you probably won't meet anyone. The girls are sitting at home, all in the same room. From the front, go left, go all the way to the countess's bedroom. In the bedroom, behind the screens, you will see two small doors: on the right to the study, where the countess never enters; to the left into the corridor, and right there a narrow winding staircase: it leads to my room.
Hermann trembled like a tiger, waiting for the appointed time. At ten o'clock in the evening he was already standing in front of the countess's house. The weather was terrible: the wind howled, wet snow fell in flakes; the lanterns shone dimly; the streets were empty. From time to time Vanka dragged along on his skinny horse, looking out for a belated rider. - Hermann stood in one frock coat, feeling neither wind nor snow. At last the carriage was brought to the countess. Hermann saw how the lackeys carried under their arms a hunched old woman wrapped in a sable fur coat, and how her pupil flashed after her, in a cold cloak, with her head trimmed with fresh flowers. The doors slammed shut. The carriage rolled heavily on the loose snow. The porter locked the doors. The windows are dark. Hermann began to walk around the deserted house: he went up to the lamp, looked at his watch - it was twenty past eleven. Hermann stepped onto the countess' porch and went up into the brightly lit entrance hall. There was no porter. Hermann ran up the stairs, opened the front door, and saw a servant sleeping under a lamp, in old, soiled armchairs. Hermann walked past him with a light and firm step. The hall and drawing room were dark. The lamp dimly illuminated them from the hallway. Hermann entered the bedroom. In front of the kivot, filled with ancient images, a golden lamp glowed. Faded damask armchairs and sofas with feather pillows, with gilding gone, stood in sad symmetry near the walls, upholstered in Chinese wallpaper. On the wall hung two portraits painted in Paris by m-me Lebrun. One of them depicted a man of about forty, ruddy and plump, in a light green uniform and with a star; the other - a young beauty with an aquiline nose, with combed temples and with a rose in powdered hair. Porcelain shepherdesses, table clocks made by the glorious Gegow, boxes, tape measures, fans and various ladies' toys, invented at the end of the last century together with the Montgolfier ball and Mesmer magnetism, stuck out in all corners. Hermann went behind the screen. Behind them stood a small iron bed; on the right was a door leading to an office; on the left, the other - in the corridor. Hermann opened it, saw a narrow, winding staircase that led to the room of a poor pupil ... But he turned back and entered a dark office.
Time passed slowly. Everything was quiet. Twelve struck in the living room; in all the rooms the clocks, one after the other, rang twelve, and everything fell silent again. Hermann stood leaning against the cold stove. He was calm; his heart was beating evenly, like that of a man who has decided on something dangerous, but necessary. The clock struck one and two in the morning, and he heard the distant rumble of a carriage. Involuntary excitement took possession of him. The carriage pulled up and stopped. He heard the thud of the step being lowered. There was a fuss in the house. People ran, voices were heard and the house was lit up. Three old maids ran into the bedroom, and the countess, barely alive, entered and sank into the Voltaire chairs. Hermann looked through the crack: Lizaveta Ivanovna passed him. Hermann heard her hasty footsteps on the stairs. Something akin to remorse echoed in his heart and fell silent again. He turned to stone.
The Countess began to undress in front of the mirror. They broke off her cap, decorated with roses; removed the powdered wig from her gray and close-cropped head. Pins rained down around her. A yellow dress embroidered with silver fell to her swollen feet. Hermann witnessed the disgusting mysteries of her toilet; finally, the countess remained in her sleeping jacket and nightcap: in this outfit, more characteristic of her old age, she seemed less terrible and ugly.
Like all old people in general, the Countess suffered from insomnia. Having undressed, she sat down at the window in the Voltaire chairs and sent the maids away. The candles were taken out, the room was again lit up by one lamp. The countess sat all yellow, moving her pendulous lips, swaying right and left. Her cloudy eyes depicted a complete absence of thought; looking at her, one might think that the swaying of the terrible old woman did not come from her will, but from the action of hidden galvanism.
Suddenly this dead face changed inexplicably. The lips ceased to move, the eyes brightened: an unfamiliar man stood in front of the countess.
- Don't be scared, for God's sake, don't be scared! he said in a clear and quiet voice. - I have no intention of harming you; I have come to beg you for one favor.
The old woman looked at him silently and seemed not to hear him. Hermann imagined that she was deaf, and, bending over her very ear, repeated the same thing to her. The old woman remained silent.
“You can,” continued Hermann, “make up the happiness of my life, and it will cost you nothing: I know that you can guess three cards in a row ...
Hermann stopped. The countess seemed to understand what was required of her; she seemed to be searching for words for her answer.
It was a joke,” she said at last, “I swear to you! it was a joke!
This is nothing to joke about, - objected angrily Hermann. - Remember Chaplitsky, whom you helped to recoup.
The Countess seemed to be confused. Her features depicted a strong movement of the soul, but she soon fell into her former insensibility.
"Can you," continued Hermann, "assign me these three correct cards?" The Countess was silent; Hermann continued:
Who are you keeping your secret for? For grandchildren? They are rich without that: they do not know the value of money. Your three cards won't help Motu. Whoever does not know how to take care of his father's inheritance, he will still die in poverty, despite any demonic efforts. I'm not a mote; I know the value of money. Your three cards will not be wasted for me. Well!..
He stopped and waited in trepidation for her answer. The Countess was silent; Hermann knelt down.
“If ever,” he said, “your heart knew the feeling of love, if you remember its delights, if you ever smiled at the crying of a newborn son, if something human ever beat in your chest, then I implore you with feelings spouses, mistresses, mothers - everything that is sacred in life - do not refuse me my request! - tell me your secret! - what is in it for you? .. Perhaps it is associated with a terrible sin, with the destruction of eternal bliss, with a diabolical contract ... Think: you are old; you will not live long - I am ready to take your sin on my soul. Reveal your secret to me. Think that a person's happiness is in your hands; that not only I, but also my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will bless your memory and will honor it as a shrine ...
The old woman did not answer a word. Hermann got up.
- Old witch! - he said, clenching his teeth, - so I'll make you answer ... With this word, he took out a pistol from his pocket.
At the sight of the pistol, the countess for the second time showed a strong feeling. She nodded her head and raised her hand, as if shielding herself from the shot... Then she rolled backwards... and remained motionless.
"Stop being childish," said Hermann, taking her hand. - I ask for the last time: do you want to assign me your three cards? - Yes or no?
The Countess did not answer. Hermann saw that she was dead.

7 Mai 18**. Homme sams mceurs et sans religion!

Correspondence.

Lizaveta Ivanovna was sitting in her room, still in her ball gown, immersed in deep thought. Arriving home, she hurried to send away the sleepy girl, who reluctantly offered her her service - she said that she would undress herself, and with trepidation went into her room, hoping to find Hermann there and wishing not to find him. At first glance, she was convinced of his absence and thanked fate for the obstacle that prevented their meeting. She sat down, without undressing, and began to recall all the circumstances that had taken her so far in such a short time and so far. Not even three weeks had passed since she first saw a young man through the window - and she was already in correspondence with him - and he managed to demand a nightly date from her! She knew his name only because some of his letters were signed by him; never spoke to him, never heard his voice, never heard of him ... until this very evening. Strange affair! That very evening, at the ball, Tomsky, sulking at the young Princess Polina, who, contrary to her usual habit, was not flirting with him, wanted to take revenge, showing indifference: he called Lizaveta Ivanovna and danced an endless mazurka with her. All the time he joked about her addiction to engineering officers, assured that he knew much more than she could have expected, and some of his jokes were so well directed that Lizaveta Ivanovna thought several times that her secret was known to him.
- From whom do you know all this? she asked, laughing.
“From a friend of a person known to you,” replied Tomsky, “a very remarkable person!”
- Who is this wonderful person?
- His name is Hermann.
Lizaveta Ivanovna made no answer, but her hands and feet went cold...
“This Hermann,” continued Tomsky, “is a truly romantic face: he has the profile of Napoleon, and the soul of Mephistopheles. I think that he has at least three atrocities on his conscience. How pale you are!
My head hurts... What did Hermann tell you, or what do you call him?...
Hermann is very dissatisfied with his friend: he says that in his place he would have acted quite differently ... I even believe that Hermann himself has plans for you, at least he listens very indifferently to the amorous exclamations of his friend.
Where did he see me?
- In the church, maybe - for a walk! .. God knows! maybe in your room, while you sleep: it will make...
Three ladies approached them with questions - oubli ou regret? - interrupted the conversation, which was becoming painfully curious for Lizaveta Ivanovna.
The lady chosen by Tomsky was Princess *** herself. She managed to explain herself to him, running around an extra circle and once again turning in front of her chair. - Tomsky, returning to his place, no longer thought about either Hermann or Lizaveta Ivanovna. She certainly wanted to resume the interrupted conversation; but the mazurka ended, and soon after the old countess left.
Tomsky's words were nothing more than mazurka chatter, but they were deeply planted in the soul of a young dreamer. The portrait sketched by Tomsky resembled the image she had drawn up herself, and, thanks to the latest novels, this already vulgar face frightened and captivated her imagination. She sat with her bare arms folded in a cross, her head bowed to her open chest, still covered with flowers ... Suddenly the door opened, and Hermann entered. She trembled...
- Where were you? she asked in a frightened whisper.
- In the bedroom of the old countess, - answered Hermann, - I'm from her now. The Countess is dead.
- My God! .. what are you talking about? ..
“And it seems,” continued Hermann, “I am the cause of her death.
Lizaveta Ivanovna looked at him, and Tomsky's words resounded in her soul: this man has at least three evil deeds in his soul! Hermann sat down on the window next to her and told everything.
Lizaveta Ivanovna listened to him with horror. So, these impassioned letters, these fiery demands, this audacious, dogged persecution, all this was not love! Money - that's what his soul yearned for! Not she could satisfy his desires and make him happy! The poor pupil was nothing but the blind helper of the robber, the murderer of her old benefactor!.. She wept bitterly in her late, painful repentance. Hermann looked at her in silence: his heart was also tormented, but neither the tears of the poor girl, nor the amazing charm of her sorrows disturbed his harsh soul. He felt no remorse at the thought of the dead old woman. One thing horrified him: the irretrievable loss of a secret from which he expected enrichment.
- You are a monster! said Lizaveta Ivanovna at last.
- I didn't want her to die, - answered Hermann, - my pistol is not loaded. They fell silent.
Morning came. Lizaveta Ivanovna put out the dying candle: a pale light illuminated her room. She wiped her tear-stained eyes and raised them to Hermann: he was sitting on the window with folded arms and a menacing frown. In this position, he surprisingly resembled a portrait of Napoleon. This similarity struck even Lizaveta Ivanovna.
How do you get out of the house? said Lizaveta Ivanovna at last. - I thought to take you through a hidden staircase, but you have to go past the bedroom, and I'm afraid.
- Tell me how to find this hidden staircase; I `ll exit.
Lizaveta Ivanovna got up, took a key from the chest of drawers, handed it to Hermann, and gave him detailed instructions. Hermann shook her cold unanswered hand, kissed her bowed head, and went out.
He descended the winding stairs and entered the Countess's bedroom again. The dead old woman sat petrified; her face expressed deep calm. Hermann stopped in front of her, looked at her for a long time, as if wanting to ascertain the terrible truth; at last he entered the office, felt the door behind the wallpaper, and began to descend the dark stairs, agitated by strange feelings. Along this very staircase, he thought, maybe sixty years ago, into this very bedroom, at the same hour, in an embroidered caftan, combed a l "oiseau royal, clutching a three-cornered hat to his heart, a young lucky man, who had long since decayed in the grave, was sneaking , and the heart of his elderly mistress stopped beating today ...
Under the stairs, Hermann found a door, which he unlocked with the same key, and found himself in a through corridor that led him out into the street.

That night the late Baroness von V*** appeared to me. She was all in white and said to me: “Hello, Mr. Counselor!”

Swedenborg.

Three days after the fateful night, at nine o'clock in the morning, Hermann went to the *** monastery, where the body of the deceased countess was to be buried. Feeling no remorse, however, he could not completely drown out the voice of conscience, which kept telling him: you are the murderer of the old woman! Having little true faith, he had many prejudices. He believed that the dead countess could have a harmful effect on his life - and decided to come to her funeral to ask her forgiveness.
The church was full. Hermann could hardly make his way through the crowd of people. The coffin stood on a rich hearse under a velvet canopy. The deceased lay in it with her hands folded on her chest, in a lace cap and in a white satin dress. All around were her household: servants in black caftans with coat of arms ribbons on their shoulders and with candles in their hands; relatives in deep mourning - children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Nobody cried; tears would be - une affectation. The countess was so old that her death could not strike anyone, and that her relatives had long looked at her as if she had become obsolete. The young bishop delivered the eulogy. In simple and touching terms, he presented the peaceful dormition of the righteous woman, whom for many years was a quiet, touching preparation for a Christian death. “The angel of death found her,” said the orator, “waking in good thoughts and waiting for the midnight bridegroom.” The service was performed with sad propriety. Relatives were the first to go to say goodbye to the body. Then numerous guests moved on, who had come to bow to the one who had so long been a participant in their vain amusements. After them, and all home. Finally, an old lordly lady, the same age as the deceased, approached. Two young girls led her by the arms. She was unable to bow to the ground, and alone shed a few tears, kissing the cold hand of her mistress. After her, Hermann decided to approach the coffin. He bowed to the ground and lay for several minutes on the cold floor strewn with fir trees. At last he got up, pale as the deceased herself, climbed the steps of the hearse and bent down...
At that moment it seemed to him that the dead woman looked at him mockingly, screwing up one eye. Hermann hurriedly leaning back, stumbled and fell backwards on the ground. He was raised. At the same time, Lizaveta Ivanovna was carried out in a swoon to the porch. This episode outraged for several minutes the solemnity of the gloomy rite. A dull murmur arose between the visitors, and a thin chamberlain, a close relative of the deceased, whispered into the ear of an Englishman standing next to him that the young officer was her natural son, to which the Englishman answered coldly: Oh?
All day Hermann was extremely upset. Dining in a secluded tavern, he, contrary to his usual habit, drank a lot, in the hope of drowning out inner excitement. But the wine fired his imagination even more. Returning home, he threw himself on the bed without undressing and fell sound asleep.
He woke up at night: the moon illuminated his room. He glanced at his watch: it was a quarter to three. His sleep was gone; he sat down on the bed and thought of the funeral of the old countess.
At this time, someone from the street looked into his window - and immediately walked away. Hermann paid no attention to that. A minute later he heard the door in the front room being unlocked. Hermann thought that his orderly, drunk as usual, was returning from a night walk. But he heard an unfamiliar gait: someone was walking, quietly shuffling his shoes. The door opened and a woman in a white dress entered. Hermann mistook her for his old nurse and wondered what could have brought her at such a time. But the white woman, slipping, suddenly found herself in front of him - and Hermann recognized the countess!
- I came to you against my will, - she said in a firm voice, - but I was ordered to fulfill your request. Three, seven and ace will win you in a row - but so that you do not put more than one card per day and that you do not play all your life afterwards. I forgive you my death, so that you marry my pupil Lizaveta Ivanovna ...
With that, she turned quietly, walked to the door, and disappeared, shuffling her shoes. Hermann heard the slam of the door in the entryway, and saw that someone again looked at him through the window.
Hermann could not come to his senses for a long time. He went into another room. His orderly slept on the floor; Hermann woke him up by force. The batman was drunk as usual: it was impossible to get any sense out of him. The door to the vestibule was locked. Hermann returned to his room, lit a candle there, and wrote down his vision.

Atanda!
How dare you tell me atanda?
Your Excellency, I said atande-sir!

Two fixed ideas cannot exist together in a moral nature, just as two bodies cannot occupy the same place in the physical world. Three, seven, ace - soon obscured the image of the dead old woman in Hermann's imagination. Three, seven, ace - did not leave his head and moved on his lips. When he saw a young girl, he said: “How slim she is! .. A real red three.” They asked him: “what time is it”, he answered: “five minutes to seven”. Every pot-bellied man reminded him of an ace. Three, seven, ace - pursued him in a dream, taking on all possible forms: the three bloomed in front of him in the form of a magnificent grandiflora, the seven seemed to be a Gothic gate, the ace a huge spider. All his thoughts merged into one - to take advantage of the secret, which cost him dearly. He began to think about retirement and travel. He wanted to force the treasure from an enchanted fortune in the open houses of Paris. Chance saved him the trouble.
A society of wealthy gamblers was formed in Moscow, under the chairmanship of the glorious Chekalinsky, who spent the whole century at cards and once made millions by winning bills and losing clear money. Long-term experience earned him the power of attorney of his comrades, and an open house, a glorious cook, affectionateness and cheerfulness gained the respect of the public. He came to Petersburg. Young people rushed to him, forgetting balls for cards and preferring the temptations of the pharaoh to the seductions of red tape. Narumov brought Hermann to him.
They passed a series of splendid rooms filled with courteous waiters. Several generals and privy councilors played whist; young people were lounging on damask sofas, eating ice-cream and smoking pipes. In the living room, at a long table, around which twenty players were crowded, the owner was sitting and throwing a bank. He was a man of about sixty, of the most respectable appearance; the head was covered with silver gray hair; a full and fresh face depicted good nature; his eyes shone, animated by an everlasting smile. Narumov introduced Hermann to him. Chekalinsky shook his hand in a friendly manner, asked him not to stand on ceremony and continued to throw.
Talya lasted a long time. There were more than thirty cards on the table. Chekalinsky stopped after each laying in order to give the players time to dispose, wrote down the loss, listened politely to their demands, even more courteously turned back an extra corner, bent by an absent-minded hand. Finally, the tail is over. Chekalinsky shuffled the cards and prepared to throw another.
“Allow me to put down a card,” said Hermann, holding out his hand from behind the fat gentleman, who immediately ponted. Chekalinsky smiled and bowed, silently, as a sign of submissive consent. Narumov, laughing, congratulated Hermann on the permission of the long-term fast and wished him a happy start.
- It's coming! - said Hermann, inscribing the sum over his card with chalk.
- How much? - Asked, squinting, the banker, - excuse me, sir, I can't make out.
“Forty-seven thousand,” answered Hermann.
At these words, all heads instantly turned, and all eyes turned to Hermann. - He's crazy! thought Narumov.
“Let me tell you,” Chekalinsky said with his unfailing smile, “that your game is strong: no one has ever set more than two hundred and seventy-five samples here.
- Well? - Hermann objected, - are you beating my card or not? Chekalinsky bowed with the same air of humble consent.
“I only wanted to report to you,” he said, “that, having been awarded the power of attorney of my comrades, I cannot throw anything other than with clean money. For my part, of course, I am sure that your word is enough, but for the sake of the order of the game and the scores, I ask you to put money on the card.
Hermann took a bank note out of his pocket and handed it to Chekalinsky, who, having glanced at it briefly, placed it on Hermann's card.
He began to throw. A nine lay to the right, a three to the left.
- Won! Hermann said, showing his map.
There was a whisper among the players. Chekalinsky frowned, but the smile immediately returned to his face.
- Would you like to receive? he asked Hermann.
- Do me a favor.
Chekalinsky took several bank notes out of his pocket and immediately paid off. Hermann accepted his money and moved away from the table. Narumov could not come to his senses. Hermann drank a glass of lemonade and went home.
The next day in the evening he again appeared at Chekalinsky's. Metal owner. Hermann went up to the table; the punters immediately gave him a seat. Chekalinsky bowed affectionately to him.
Hermann waited for a new draw, left the card, putting his forty-seven thousand and yesterday's winnings on it.
Chekalinsky began to throw. Jack fell to the right, seven to the left.
Hermann opened the seven.
Everyone gasped. Chekalinsky was apparently embarrassed. He counted out ninety-four thousand and handed it to Hermann. Hermann received them with composure and left at the same moment.
The next evening Hermann appeared again at the table. Everyone was expecting him. The generals and privy councilors left their whist to see the game so extraordinary. The young officers jumped off the sofas; all the waiters gathered in the living room. Everyone surrounded Hermann. The other players didn't put their cards down, looking forward to how he would end up. Hermann stood at the table, preparing to ponte alone against the pale, but still smiling Chekalinsky. Each printed a deck of cards. Chekalinsky shuffled. Hermann removed and inserted his card, covering it with a pile of bank notes. It looked like a duel. A profound silence reigned all around.
Chekalinsky began to throw, his hands were shaking. To the right lies a queen, to the left an ace.
- Ace won! Hermann said and opened his card.
“Your lady has been killed,” Chekalinsky said affectionately.
Hermann shuddered: in fact, instead of an ace, he had a queen of spades. He could not believe his eyes, not understanding how he could turn around.
At that moment it seemed to him that the Queen of Spades screwed up her eyes and smiled. The extraordinary resemblance struck him...
- The old woman! he cried in horror.
Chekalinsky pulled the lost tickets towards him. Hermann stood motionless. When he moved away from the table, a noisy conversation arose. - Nicely sponsored! the players said. - Chekalinsky shuffled the cards again: the game went on as usual.

Conclusion

Hermann has gone mad. He is sitting in the Obukhov hospital in the 17th room, does not answer any questions and mumbles unusually quickly: “Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, lady! .. "
Lizaveta Ivanovna married a very amiable young man; he serves somewhere and has a decent fortune: he is the son of the former steward of the old countess. Lizaveta Ivanovna brings up a poor relative.
Tomsky is promoted to captain and marries Princess Polina.