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LENFILM
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Aleksandr Sergeyevich
PUSHKIN
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THE QUEEN OF SPADES
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Narrator
Alla DEMIDOVA
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The Queen of Spades
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denotes secret ill-will.
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From the latest Fortune-Teller.
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Chapter I
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In the cold, rain, and sleet
They together would meet
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To play.
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Lord, forgive them their sin:
Gambling, late to win
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They'd stay.
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They won and they lost,
And put down the cost
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In chalk.
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So on cold autumn days
They wasted no time
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In talk.
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There was a card party
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at the rooms of Narumov
of the Horse Guards.
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The winter night passed quickly;
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they had supper
as late as 5 am.
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Those who had won,
ate with a good appetite;
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the others sat staring absently
at their empty plates.
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When the champagne appeared,
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however, the conversation
became more animated,
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and all took a part in it.
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And how did you fare, Surin?
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asked the host.
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Oh, I lost, as usual.
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I must confess
that I am unlucky:
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I play mirandole,
I always keep cool,
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I never allow anything to put
me out, and yet I always lose!
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And you did not
once allow yourself
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to be tempted
to back the red?...
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Your firmness astonishes me.
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But what do you think
of Hermann?
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said one of the guests,
pointing to a young Engineer:
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he has never had a card
in his hand in his life,
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he has never in,
his life laid a wager,
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and yet he sits here till
five o'clock in the morning
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watching our play.
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Play interests me very much,
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said Hermann:
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but I am not in the position
to sacrifice the necessary
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in the hope of winning
the superfluous.
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Hermann is a German:
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he is economical -
that is all!
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observed Tomsky.
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But if there is one person
that I cannot understand,
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it is my grandmother,
the Countess Anna Fedotovna.
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How so?
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I cannot understand,
how it is that my grandmother
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does not punt.
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What is there remarkable about
an old lady of eighty not punting?
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Then you do not know
the reason why?
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No, really; haven't
the faintest idea.
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Oh! then listen.
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About sixty years ago,
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my grandmother went to Paris,
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where she created
quite a sensation.
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People used to run after her to catch
a glimpse of the 'Muscovite Venus.'
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Richelieu made love to her,
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and my grandmother maintains that
he almost blew out his brains
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in consequence of her cruelty.
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At that time ladies
used to play at faro.
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On one occasion at the Court,
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she lost a very
considerable sum
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to the Duke of Orleans.
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On returning home,
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my grandmother removed the patches
from her face, took off her hoops,
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informed my grandfather of her loss at the
gaming-table, and ordered him to pay the money.
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My deceased grandfather, as far as I remember,
was a sort of house-steward to my grandmother.
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He dreaded her like fire;
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but, on hearing of such a heavy loss,
he almost went out of his mind;
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brought the counts,
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and told her that she had
spent half a million francs,
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they had neither their Moscow
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and nor Saratov estates Paris,
refused to pay the debt.
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My grandmother gave him a box on the ear
and slept by herself as a sign of her displeasure.
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The next day
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she sent for her husband,
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hoping that this domestic punishment
had produced an effect upon him,
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but she found him inflexible.
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For the first time in her life,
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she entered into reasonings
and explanations with him,
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thinking to be able to convince him
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by pointing out to him that
there are debts and debts,
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and that there is a great difference
between a Prince and a coachmaker.
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But it was all in vain, my grandfather
still remained obdurate.
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My grandmother did not
know what to do.
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She had shortly before become
acquainted with a very remarkable man.
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You have heard
of Count St. Germain,
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about whom so many
marvellous stories are told.
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You know that he represented
himself as the Wandering Jew,
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as the discoverer of the elixir of life,
of the philosopher's stone, and so forth.
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Some laughed at him
as a charlatan;
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but Casanova, in his memoirs,
says that he was a spy.
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But be that as it may, St. Germain,
in spite of the mystery surrounding him,
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was a very fascinating person,
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and was much sought after in
the best circles of society.
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Even to this day my grandmother retains
an affectionate recollection of him,
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and becomes quite angry if any one
speaks disrespectfully of him.
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My grandmother knew that St. Germain
had large sums of money at his disposal.
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She resolved to have
recourse to him,
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and she wrote a letter to him asking
him to come to her without delay.
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The queer old man immediately waited upon
her and found her overwhelmed with grief.
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She described to him in the blackest
colours the barbarity of her husband,
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and ended by declaring that
her whole hope depended
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upon his friendship and amiability.
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St. Germain reflected.
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'I could advance you
the sum you want,' said he;
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'but I know that you
would not rest easy
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until you had paid me back,
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and I should not like to bring
fresh troubles upon you.
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But there is another way
of getting out of your difficulty:
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you can win back your money.'
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'But, my dear Count,'
replied my grandmother,
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'I tell you that I haven't
any money left.'
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'Money is not necessary,'
replied St. Germain:
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'be pleased to listen to me.'
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Then he revealed to her a secret,
for which each of us
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would give a good deal...
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The young officers listened
with increased attention.
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Tomsky lit his pipe, puffed away
for a moment and then continued:
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That same evening
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my grandmother went to Versailles
to the au jeu de la Reine
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The Duke of Orleans
kept the bank;
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my grandmother excused herself in
an off-hand manner for not having yet
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00:08:04,823 --> 00:08:06,698
paid her debt, by inventing
some little story,
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and then began
to play against him.
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She chose three cards
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and played them
one after the other:
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all three won sonika,
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and my grandmother recovered
every farthing that she had lost.
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Mere chance!
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A tale!
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Perhaps they were marked cards!
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I do not think so.
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What! you have a grandmother who knows
how to hit upon three lucky cards in succession,
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and you have never yet succeeded
in getting the secret of it out of her?
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That's the deuce of it!
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she had four sons,
one of whom was my father;
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all four were determined gamblers,
and yet not to one of them
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did she ever reveal her secret,
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although it would not have been
a bad thing either for them or for me.
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But this is what I heard from
my uncle, Count Ivan Ilyich,
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and he assured me, on
his honour, that it was true.
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The late Chaplitzky -
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the same who died in poverty after
having squandered millions -
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once lost, in his youth, about
three hundred thousand roubles -
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to Zorich, if I remember rightly.
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He was in despair.
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My grandmother, who was always very
severe upon the extravagance of young men,
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00:09:20,984 --> 00:09:24,744
took pity, however, upon Chaplitzky.
She gave him three cards,
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telling him to play them one after the other,
at the same time exacting from him
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a solemn promise that he would never
play at cards again as long as he lived.
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Chaplitzky then went to his victorious
opponent, and they began a fresh game.
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On the first card he staked
fifty thousand rubles
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and won sonika;
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he doubled the stake and won again,
till at last, by pursuing the same tactics,
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he won back more than he had lost...
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But it is time to go to bed:
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it is a quarter to six already.
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And indeed it was already
beginning to dawn:
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the young men emptied
their glasses
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and then took leave of each other.
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Chapter II
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It appears, Monsieur, that you
clearly prefer the maids.
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Would you wish me otherwise, Madame?
They are much fresher.
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A Society Conversation.
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The old Countess was seated in her
dressing-room in front of her looking-glass.
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Three waiting maids
stood around her.
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One held a small pot of rouge,
another a box of hair-pins,
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and the third a tall can
with bright red ribbons.
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00:10:51,384 --> 00:10:54,687
The Countess had no longer
the slightest pretensions to beauty,
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00:10:55,747 --> 00:10:58,165
but she still preserved the
habits of her youth,
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dressed in strict accordance with
the fashion of seventy years before,
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and made as long and as careful
a toilette as she would have done
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sixty years previously.
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Near the window,
at an embroidery frame,
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sat a young lady, her ward.
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Good morning, grandmamma,
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said a young officer,
entering the room.
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00:11:35,658 --> 00:11:36,898
Bonjour, Mademoiselle Lise.
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00:11:38,547 --> 00:11:41,244
I want to ask you something.
- What is it, Paul?
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I want you to let me introduce
one of my friends to you,
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and to allow me to bring
him to the ball on Friday.
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Bring him direct to the ball
and introduce him to me there.
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Were you at... yesterday?
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Yes; everything went off
very pleasantly,
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00:12:02,820 --> 00:12:04,402
and dancing was kept up
until five o'clock.
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00:12:05,300 --> 00:12:07,157
How charming Yeletzkaya was!
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00:12:10,184 --> 00:12:12,680
But, my dear, what is there
charming about her?
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Isn't she like her grandmother,
the Princess Daria Petrovna?
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Incidentally:
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00:12:24,576 --> 00:12:30,105
she must have grown old,
the Princess Daria Petrovna.
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00:12:31,184 --> 00:12:34,134
How do you mean, old?
she died seven years ago.
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00:12:37,660 --> 00:12:40,452
The young lady gave a sign
to the young man.
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00:12:40,901 --> 00:12:43,775
He remembered that the Countess
had never to been told about their death
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00:12:44,070 --> 00:12:45,133
and he bit his lips.
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00:12:45,737 --> 00:12:47,990
But the old Countess
heard the news
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00:12:48,281 --> 00:12:49,263
with the greatest indifference.
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Dead!
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and I did not know it.
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We were appointed maids
of honour at the same time,
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00:13:01,385 --> 00:13:05,618
and when we were
presented to the Empress...
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00:13:06,673 --> 00:13:10,531
And the Countess for the hundredth time
related to her grandson one of her anecdotes.
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00:13:11,542 --> 00:13:12,370
Then she said,
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00:13:12,944 --> 00:13:16,548
Come, Paul, help me to get up.
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00:13:28,690 --> 00:13:31,359
Lizanka, where is my snuff-box?
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00:13:38,300 --> 00:13:42,809
And the Countess with her three maids
went behind a screen to finish her toilette.
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00:13:46,307 --> 00:13:49,090
Tomsky was left alone
with the young lady.
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00:13:51,464 --> 00:13:52,964
Who is the gentleman you wish
to introduce to the Countess?
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00:13:54,848 --> 00:13:55,722
Narumov.
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00:13:56,802 --> 00:13:57,672
Do you know him?
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00:13:58,420 --> 00:13:59,126
No.
216
00:14:02,463 --> 00:14:05,756
- Is he a soldier or a civilian?
- A soldier.
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00:14:07,333 --> 00:14:10,061
- Is he in the Engineers?
- No, in the Cavalry.
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00:14:11,433 --> 00:14:14,993
What made you think
that he was in the Engineers?
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00:14:18,405 --> 00:14:21,340
The young lady smiled,
but made no reply.
220
00:14:21,906 --> 00:14:22,790
Paul!
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00:14:24,146 --> 00:14:29,638
send me some new novel, only pray
don't let it be one of the present day style.
222
00:14:30,667 --> 00:14:32,011
What do you mean, grandmother?
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00:14:32,498 --> 00:14:37,533
That is, a novel, in which the hero strangles
neither his father nor his mother,
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00:14:38,202 --> 00:14:40,713
and in which there are
no drowned bodies.
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00:14:41,228 --> 00:14:43,039
I have a great horror
of drowned persons.
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00:14:44,679 --> 00:14:47,938
There are no such novels nowadays.
Would you like a Russian one?
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00:14:49,038 --> 00:14:51,215
Are there any Russian novels?
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00:14:51,827 --> 00:14:54,928
Send me one, my dear,
pray send me one!
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00:14:55,924 --> 00:14:57,641
Good-bye, grandmother:
I am in a hurry...
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00:15:00,089 --> 00:15:02,096
Good-bye, Lizaveta Ivanovna.
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00:15:03,460 --> 00:15:06,471
What made you think that
Narumov was in the Engineers?
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00:15:11,135 --> 00:15:13,195
And Tomsky left the boudoir.
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00:15:17,266 --> 00:15:19,623
Lizaveta Ivanovna was left alone:
234
00:15:21,275 --> 00:15:24,557
she laid aside her work and
began to look out of the window.
235
00:15:26,003 --> 00:15:29,593
A few moments afterwards, at a corner
house on the other side of the street,
236
00:15:30,043 --> 00:15:31,392
a young officer appeared.
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00:15:32,476 --> 00:15:34,130
A deep blush covered
her cheeks;
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00:15:38,811 --> 00:15:41,307
she took up her work again
239
00:15:42,664 --> 00:15:45,206
and bent her head down
over the frame.
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00:15:47,475 --> 00:15:52,091
At the same moment the Countess
returned completely dressed.
241
00:15:52,558 --> 00:15:57,194
Order the carriage, Lizaveta,
we will go out for a drive.
242
00:15:58,332 --> 00:16:00,781
What is the matter with you,
my child, are you deaf?
243
00:16:01,342 --> 00:16:04,569
Order the carriage
to be got ready at once.
244
00:16:05,348 --> 00:16:06,033
I will do so this moment.
245
00:16:14,315 --> 00:16:17,716
Madam! Some books from
Paul Aleksandrovich for you!
246
00:16:18,601 --> 00:16:21,134
Tell him that I am
much obliged to him.
247
00:16:22,463 --> 00:16:25,236
Lizaveta! Lizaveta!
Where are you running to?
248
00:16:27,295 --> 00:16:28,025
I am going to dress.
249
00:16:29,121 --> 00:16:30,676
There is plenty of time,
my dear.
250
00:16:35,793 --> 00:16:37,050
Sit down here.
251
00:16:42,829 --> 00:16:45,455
Open the first volume
and read to me aloud.
252
00:16:47,697 --> 00:16:50,677
Her companion took the book
and read a few lines.
253
00:16:53,968 --> 00:16:54,797
Louder!
254
00:16:57,868 --> 00:16:59,443
What is the matter with you,
my child?
255
00:17:00,224 --> 00:17:01,776
Have you lost your voice?
256
00:17:04,953 --> 00:17:05,563
Wait -
257
00:17:06,809 --> 00:17:08,298
give me that footstool -
258
00:17:18,308 --> 00:17:19,104
a little nearer -
259
00:17:20,230 --> 00:17:20,839
that will do.
260
00:17:24,938 --> 00:17:27,374
Lizaveta read two more pages.
261
00:17:28,762 --> 00:17:30,552
The Countess yawned.
262
00:17:32,877 --> 00:17:34,203
Put the book down,
263
00:17:35,551 --> 00:17:36,558
what a lot of nonsense!
264
00:17:38,297 --> 00:17:41,566
Send it back to Prince Paul
with my thanks...
265
00:17:44,129 --> 00:17:45,481
But where is the carriage?
266
00:17:49,856 --> 00:17:50,600
The carriage is ready.
267
00:17:54,889 --> 00:17:56,408
How is it that you are not dressed?
268
00:17:57,572 --> 00:17:59,195
I must always wait for you.
269
00:18:00,529 --> 00:18:02,689
It is intolerable, my dear!
270
00:18:22,427 --> 00:18:24,409
How is it that you cannot
hear me when I ring for you?
271
00:18:26,917 --> 00:18:29,600
Tell Lizaveta Ivanovna
that I am waiting for her..
272
00:18:31,134 --> 00:18:32,706
At last you are here!
273
00:18:36,419 --> 00:18:37,510
But why such an elaborate toilette?
274
00:18:40,167 --> 00:18:42,642
Whom do you intend to captivate?
275
00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:47,464
What sort of weather is it?
It seems rather windy.
276
00:18:47,733 --> 00:18:49,542
No, your Ladyship,
it is very calm.
277
00:18:50,068 --> 00:18:51,972
You never think of what
you are talking about.
278
00:18:52,835 --> 00:18:53,859
Open the window.
279
00:18:56,097 --> 00:18:59,541
So it is: windy and bitterly cold.
280
00:19:00,261 --> 00:19:01,582
Unharness the horses.
281
00:19:05,394 --> 00:19:08,731
Lizaveta, we won't go out - there was
no need for you to deck yourself like that.
282
00:19:11,498 --> 00:19:15,104
"What a life is mine!"
thought Lizaveta Ivanovna.
283
00:19:16,332 --> 00:19:20,486
And, in truth, Lizaveta Ivanovna
was a very unfortunate creature.
284
00:19:21,794 --> 00:19:24,307
"The bread of the stranger
is bitter," says Dante,
285
00:19:25,194 --> 00:19:27,583
"and his staircase hard to climb."
286
00:19:29,047 --> 00:19:30,845
But who can know what the bitterness
of dependence is so well
287
00:19:31,204 --> 00:19:33,604
as the poor companion
of an old lady of quality?
288
00:19:35,945 --> 00:19:38,034
The Countess had by
no means a bad heart,
289
00:19:39,389 --> 00:19:42,432
bat she was capricious, like a woman
who had been spoilt by the world,
290
00:19:43,398 --> 00:19:44,180
as well as being avaricious
291
00:19:45,233 --> 00:19:48,303
and egotistical, like all old people
who have seen their best days,
292
00:19:48,727 --> 00:19:51,699
and whose thoughts are with
the past and not the present.
293
00:19:53,167 --> 00:19:55,648
She participated in all
the vanities of the great world,
294
00:19:56,583 --> 00:20:01,642
went to balls, where she sat in a corner,
painted and dressed in old-fashioned style,
295
00:20:02,015 --> 00:20:04,835
like a deformed but indispensable
ornament of the ball-room;
296
00:20:05,725 --> 00:20:08,578
all the guests on entering approached
her and made a profound bow,
297
00:20:08,984 --> 00:20:10,225
as if in accordance
with a set ceremony,
298
00:20:11,015 --> 00:20:14,351
but after that nobody took
any further notice of her.
299
00:20:16,649 --> 00:20:21,736
She received the whole
town at her house, although...
300
00:20:22,684 --> 00:20:24,398
she could no longer recognise
the faces of people.
301
00:20:26,150 --> 00:20:27,518
Her numerous domestics,
302
00:20:28,366 --> 00:20:32,869
growing fat and old in her
ante-chamber and servants' hall,
303
00:20:33,294 --> 00:20:34,227
did just as they liked,
304
00:20:34,717 --> 00:20:37,939
and vied with each other
in robbing the aged Countess..
305
00:20:42,168 --> 00:20:43,571
Lizaveta Ivanovna
306
00:20:45,645 --> 00:20:47,133
was the martyr of the household.
307
00:20:49,415 --> 00:20:50,451
She made tea,
308
00:20:51,610 --> 00:20:53,697
and was reproached
with using too much sugar;
309
00:20:55,569 --> 00:20:56,912
she read novels aloud to the Countess,
310
00:20:57,847 --> 00:20:59,952
and the faults of the author
were visited upon her head;
311
00:21:00,814 --> 00:21:02,747
she accompanied
the Countess in her walks,
312
00:21:03,870 --> 00:21:05,946
and was held answerable for the weather
or the state of the pavement.
313
00:21:06,946 --> 00:21:10,190
A salary was attached to the post,
but she very rarely received it,
314
00:21:10,864 --> 00:21:13,699
although she was expected
to dress like everybody else,
315
00:21:14,154 --> 00:21:15,912
that is to say,
like very few indeed.
316
00:21:19,171 --> 00:21:22,229
In society she played
the most pitiable role.
317
00:21:23,919 --> 00:21:24,760
Everybody knew her,
318
00:21:26,136 --> 00:21:27,487
and nobody paid her any attention.
319
00:21:28,923 --> 00:21:32,970
At balls she danced only
when a partner was wanted,
320
00:21:34,387 --> 00:21:36,506
and ladies would only
take hold of her arm
321
00:21:36,915 --> 00:21:39,862
when it was necessary to lead her out
of the room to attend to their dresses.
322
00:21:43,478 --> 00:21:46,731
She was very self-conscious,
323
00:21:48,099 --> 00:21:50,047
and felt her position keenly,
324
00:21:51,546 --> 00:21:53,062
and she looked about her
325
00:21:54,121 --> 00:21:57,168
with impatience for a deliverer
to come to her rescue;
326
00:21:59,316 --> 00:22:00,671
but the young men,
327
00:22:01,470 --> 00:22:03,838
calculating in their giddiness,
328
00:22:04,759 --> 00:22:06,504
honoured her with
but very little attention,
329
00:22:06,898 --> 00:22:09,065
although Lizaveta Ivanovna was
a hundred times prettier than
330
00:22:09,766 --> 00:22:12,604
the bare-faced and cold-hearted marriageable
girls around whom they hovered.
331
00:22:15,989 --> 00:22:17,003
Many a time
332
00:22:17,618 --> 00:22:19,811
did she quietly slink away from
the glittering but wearisome drawing-room,
333
00:22:20,499 --> 00:22:22,593
to go and cry in her
own poor little room,
334
00:22:23,805 --> 00:22:27,005
in which stood a screen,
a chest of drawers,
335
00:22:28,473 --> 00:22:31,949
a looking-glass
and a painted bedstead,
336
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:37,239
and where a tallow candle burnt
feebly in a copper candle-stick.
337
00:22:38,472 --> 00:22:39,521
One morning -
338
00:22:40,098 --> 00:22:44,228
this was about two days after the evening
party described at the beginning of this story,
339
00:22:44,710 --> 00:22:47,830
and a week previous to the scene
at which we have just assisted -
340
00:22:48,504 --> 00:22:52,198
One morning Lizaveta Ivanovna was seated
near the window at her embroidery frame,
341
00:22:52,744 --> 00:22:56,618
when, happening to look out into the street,
she caught sight of a young Engineer officer,
342
00:22:56,879 --> 00:23:01,107
standing motionless with his eyes
fixed upon her window.
343
00:23:02,807 --> 00:23:05,994
She lowered her head and
went on again with her work.
344
00:23:09,655 --> 00:23:11,279
About five minutes afterwards
she looked out again -
345
00:23:12,776 --> 00:23:16,224
the young officer was still
standing in the same place.
346
00:23:17,179 --> 00:23:20,420
Not being in the habit of
coquetting with passing officers,
347
00:23:20,889 --> 00:23:22,297
she did not continue
to gaze out into the street,
348
00:23:22,604 --> 00:23:24,508
but went on sewing for a couple
of hours, without raising her head.
349
00:23:25,821 --> 00:23:27,066
Dinner was announced.
350
00:23:27,631 --> 00:23:30,374
She rose up and began
to put her embroidery away,
351
00:23:30,826 --> 00:23:33,867
but glancing casually out
of the window,
352
00:23:34,918 --> 00:23:37,876
she perceived the officer again.
353
00:23:39,584 --> 00:23:42,372
This seemed to her very strange.
354
00:23:45,132 --> 00:23:48,815
After dinner she went to the window
with a certain feeling of uneasiness,
355
00:23:49,219 --> 00:23:52,000
but the officer
was no longer there -
356
00:23:53,292 --> 00:23:55,573
and she thought
no more about him.
357
00:23:57,989 --> 00:23:59,110
A couple of days afterwards,
358
00:23:59,626 --> 00:24:03,792
just as she was stepping into the carriage
with the Countess, she saw him again.
359
00:24:04,851 --> 00:24:09,126
He was standing close behind the door,
with his face half-concealed by his fur collar,
360
00:24:09,675 --> 00:24:11,771
but his dark eyes
sparkled beneath his cap.
361
00:24:12,902 --> 00:24:16,259
Lizaveta felt alarmed,
though she knew not why,
362
00:24:17,254 --> 00:24:20,810
and she trembled as she
seated herself in the carriage.
363
00:24:21,889 --> 00:24:24,055
On returning home,
she hastened to the window -
364
00:24:24,805 --> 00:24:29,546
the officer was standing in his accustomed
place, with his eyes fixed upon her.
365
00:24:31,187 --> 00:24:34,414
She drew back,
a prey to curiosity
366
00:24:35,227 --> 00:24:39,287
and agitated by a feeling
which was quite new to her.
367
00:24:41,170 --> 00:24:44,164
From that time forward
not a day passed
368
00:24:44,710 --> 00:24:47,477
without the young officer
making his appearance
369
00:24:47,893 --> 00:24:49,501
under the window
at the customary hour,
370
00:24:50,269 --> 00:24:54,337
and between him and her there was
established a sort of mute acquaintance.
371
00:24:55,647 --> 00:24:57,427
Sitting in her place at work,
372
00:24:58,534 --> 00:25:00,645
she used to feel his approach;
373
00:25:01,905 --> 00:25:03,218
and raising her head,
374
00:25:04,385 --> 00:25:07,258
she would look at him
longer and longer
375
00:25:08,220 --> 00:25:11,252
each day.
376
00:25:12,731 --> 00:25:15,589
The young man seemed
to be very grateful to her:
377
00:25:16,489 --> 00:25:18,345
she saw with the sharp eye of youth,
378
00:25:18,724 --> 00:25:21,075
how a sudden flush covered
his pale cheeks each time
379
00:25:21,624 --> 00:25:23,386
that their glances met.
380
00:25:24,336 --> 00:25:27,161
After about a week she
commenced to smile at him...
381
00:25:30,019 --> 00:25:33,808
When Tomsky asked for permission
to introduce his friend to the Countess,
382
00:25:34,919 --> 00:25:36,851
the girl began to fret
383
00:25:38,518 --> 00:25:41,954
But hearing that Narumov
was a guardsman,
384
00:25:44,820 --> 00:25:51,142
she regretted that she had opened
her secret to the Tomsky.
385
00:25:57,721 --> 00:25:58,649
Hermann was the son of a German
386
00:26:00,650 --> 00:26:04,456
who had become a naturalised Russian,
and from whom he had inherited a small capital.
387
00:26:06,965 --> 00:26:08,418
Being firmly convinced
388
00:26:08,789 --> 00:26:11,209
of the necessity of
preserving his independence,
389
00:26:12,299 --> 00:26:13,751
Hermann did not touch
his private income,
390
00:26:14,468 --> 00:26:15,700
but lived on his pay,
391
00:26:16,355 --> 00:26:18,713
without allowing himself
the slightest luxury.
392
00:26:20,681 --> 00:26:23,627
Moreover, he was
reserved and ambitious,
393
00:26:24,203 --> 00:26:26,028
and his companions
rarely had an opportunity
394
00:26:26,325 --> 00:26:29,651
of making merry at the expense
of his extreme parsimony.
395
00:26:32,519 --> 00:26:36,345
He had strong passions
and an ardent imagination,
396
00:26:37,464 --> 00:26:42,956
but his firmness of disposition preserved
him from the ordinary errors of young men.
397
00:26:44,781 --> 00:26:46,855
Thus, though a gamester at heart,
398
00:26:47,464 --> 00:26:49,228
he never touched a card,
399
00:26:51,038 --> 00:26:55,296
for he considered his position
did not allow him - as he said -
400
00:26:55,778 --> 00:26:59,619
"to risk the necessary in the hope
of winning the superfluous,"
401
00:27:00,585 --> 00:27:04,600
yet he would sit for nights
together at the card table
402
00:27:05,299 --> 00:27:10,244
and follow with feverish anxiety
the different turns of the game.
403
00:27:25,297 --> 00:27:29,593
The story of the three cards had produced
a powerful impression upon his imagination,
404
00:27:30,309 --> 00:27:32,744
and all night long he could
think of nothing else.
405
00:27:34,752 --> 00:27:37,199
If the old Countess would
but reveal her secret to me!
406
00:27:38,110 --> 00:27:40,413
If she would only tell me the names
of the three winning cards.
407
00:27:41,226 --> 00:27:42,805
Why should I not try my fortune?
408
00:27:43,426 --> 00:27:45,109
I must get introduced
to her and win her favour -
409
00:27:45,727 --> 00:27:47,267
become her lover...
410
00:27:47,605 --> 00:27:50,199
But all that will take time,
and she is 87 years old:
411
00:27:50,744 --> 00:27:52,552
she might be dead in a week,
in a couple of days even!...
412
00:27:53,161 --> 00:27:54,225
But the story itself:
413
00:27:54,954 --> 00:27:56,039
can it really be true?...
414
00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:57,955
No!
415
00:27:59,057 --> 00:28:02,379
Economy, temperance and industry:
those are my three winning cards;
416
00:28:02,614 --> 00:28:05,238
by means of them I shall be able
to double my capital - increase it sevenfold,
417
00:28:05,726 --> 00:28:08,781
and procure for myself
ease and independence.
418
00:28:12,754 --> 00:28:14,157
Musing in this manner,
419
00:28:14,861 --> 00:28:16,717
he walked on until he found himself in one
of the principal streets of St. Petersburg,
420
00:28:17,045 --> 00:28:19,778
in front of a house
of antiquated architecture.
421
00:28:21,210 --> 00:28:23,050
The street was blocked
422
00:28:24,955 --> 00:28:28,042
the carriages drew up
to the doorway.
423
00:28:29,618 --> 00:28:33,502
Now a little foot of a young beauty
showed from the carriage,
424
00:28:34,439 --> 00:28:36,811
now the boot of a cavalry officer,
now a silk stocking
425
00:28:37,528 --> 00:28:39,185
and the shoes of a diplomat.
426
00:28:40,384 --> 00:28:44,427
Fur coats and raincoats
flashed before the porter.
427
00:28:45,859 --> 00:28:48,354
Hermann stopped.
428
00:28:51,930 --> 00:28:55,344
- Who's house is this?
- The Countess �nna Fedotovna's.
429
00:28:56,546 --> 00:28:57,749
Hermann started.
430
00:28:58,577 --> 00:29:01,397
The strange story again presented
itself to his imagination.
431
00:29:02,759 --> 00:29:04,363
He began walking up
and down before the house,
432
00:29:04,990 --> 00:29:08,401
thinking of its owner
and her strange secret.
433
00:29:12,275 --> 00:29:16,112
Returning late to his modest lodging,
434
00:29:16,406 --> 00:29:17,342
he could not go to sleep
for a long time,
435
00:29:17,763 --> 00:29:20,792
and when at last he did doze off,
he could dream of nothing but cards,
436
00:29:21,459 --> 00:29:25,531
green tables, piles of banknotes
and heaps of ducats.
437
00:29:26,061 --> 00:29:29,259
He played one card after the other,
winning uninterruptedly,
438
00:29:29,525 --> 00:29:33,038
and then he gathered up the gold
439
00:29:33,476 --> 00:29:35,624
and filled his pockets
with the notes.
440
00:29:39,103 --> 00:29:40,538
When he woke up late
the next morning,
441
00:29:41,257 --> 00:29:44,112
be sighed over the loss
of his imaginary wealth,
442
00:29:45,394 --> 00:29:47,452
and then sallying out into the town,
443
00:29:49,279 --> 00:29:53,300
he found himself once more
in front of the Countess's residence.
444
00:29:54,632 --> 00:29:57,220
Some unknown power seemed
to have attracted him thither.
445
00:29:58,480 --> 00:29:59,639
He stopped
446
00:30:01,522 --> 00:30:03,364
and looked up at the windows.
447
00:30:05,281 --> 00:30:07,614
At one of these he saw a head
with luxuriant black hair,
448
00:30:08,198 --> 00:30:11,022
which was bent down probably over
some book or an embroidery frame.
449
00:30:12,318 --> 00:30:14,037
The head was raised.
450
00:30:15,066 --> 00:30:17,282
Hermann saw a fresh complexion
and a pair of dark eyes.
451
00:30:18,495 --> 00:30:21,589
That moment decided his fate.
452
00:30:26,166 --> 00:30:27,058
Chapter III
453
00:30:27,219 --> 00:30:30,974
My angel, you write me
four-page letters
454
00:30:31,527 --> 00:30:34,652
so fast that I am not able
to read them.
455
00:30:34,810 --> 00:30:35,509
A Correspondence
456
00:30:38,661 --> 00:30:41,104
Lizaveta Ivanovna took off
her hat and hood,
457
00:30:42,008 --> 00:30:45,943
the Countess sent for her
and told her to get the carriage.
458
00:30:47,904 --> 00:30:49,090
They took their seats.
459
00:30:49,671 --> 00:30:53,195
Just at the moment when two footmen were
assisting the old lady to enter the carriage,
460
00:30:54,302 --> 00:30:58,171
Lizaveta saw her Engineer standing
close beside the wheel;
461
00:30:59,031 --> 00:31:00,026
he grasped her hand;
462
00:31:00,916 --> 00:31:03,697
alarm caused her to lose her presence
of mind, and the young man disappeared -
463
00:31:05,128 --> 00:31:07,360
but not before he had left
a letter between her fingers.
464
00:31:08,888 --> 00:31:11,824
She concealed it in her glove,
465
00:31:13,277 --> 00:31:17,457
and during the whole of the drive
she neither saw nor heard anything.
466
00:31:17,937 --> 00:31:19,685
Who was that person
that met us just now?
467
00:31:30,593 --> 00:31:32,569
What is the name of this bridge?
468
00:31:41,589 --> 00:31:44,333
What is written on that signboard?
469
00:31:48,313 --> 00:31:50,183
What is the matter
with you, my dear
470
00:31:50,792 --> 00:31:53,334
Have you taken leave of
your senses, or what is it?
471
00:31:54,816 --> 00:31:57,582
Do you not hear me
or understand what I say?...
472
00:31:59,687 --> 00:32:01,774
Heaven be thanked,
I am still in my right mind
473
00:32:02,788 --> 00:32:04,722
and speak plainly enough!
474
00:32:05,768 --> 00:32:07,671
Lizaveta Ivanovna did not hear her.
475
00:32:08,965 --> 00:32:10,718
On returning home
she ran to her room,
476
00:32:11,230 --> 00:32:13,586
and drew the letter out
of her glove: it was not sealed.
477
00:32:13,974 --> 00:32:15,314
Lizaveta read it.
478
00:32:16,486 --> 00:32:20,046
The letter contained
a declaration of love;
479
00:32:21,088 --> 00:32:23,743
it was tender, respectful,
480
00:32:24,925 --> 00:32:28,877
and copied word for word
from a German novel.
481
00:32:30,451 --> 00:32:35,505
But Lizaveta did not know German,
and she was pleased.
482
00:32:36,676 --> 00:32:40,983
But the letter made her feel uneasy.
483
00:32:42,195 --> 00:32:45,894
She was now entering into secret
relationship with a young man.
484
00:32:46,801 --> 00:32:48,841
His boldness alarmed her.
485
00:32:49,418 --> 00:32:51,368
She reproached herself
for her imprudent behaviour,
486
00:32:51,821 --> 00:32:55,005
and knew not what to do.
Should she sit by the window,
487
00:32:55,444 --> 00:32:59,796
and by her indifference to the officer
cool his wish for further courting?
488
00:33:00,495 --> 00:33:01,731
Should she send his letter back,
489
00:33:02,383 --> 00:33:04,004
or should she answer him coldly?
490
00:33:05,696 --> 00:33:07,736
There was nobody to turn to,
491
00:33:08,518 --> 00:33:11,089
for she had neither
female friend nor adviser...
492
00:33:13,163 --> 00:33:17,146
She decided to respond.
493
00:33:18,500 --> 00:33:23,474
She sat down at her writing-table,
and began to think.
494
00:33:24,333 --> 00:33:27,407
She would begin her letter,
and then stop:
495
00:33:28,846 --> 00:33:31,510
her words were now too
condescending
496
00:33:32,196 --> 00:33:33,555
now too cruel.
497
00:33:35,175 --> 00:33:38,341
She has succeeded
in writing a few lines
498
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,338
with which she felt satisfied.
499
00:33:42,272 --> 00:33:43,319
I am convinced,
500
00:33:44,395 --> 00:33:46,955
that your intentions are honourable,
501
00:33:49,029 --> 00:33:49,908
and that you
502
00:33:50,993 --> 00:33:52,120
do not wish
503
00:33:54,957 --> 00:33:57,817
to offend me by
any imprudent behaviour,
504
00:33:59,490 --> 00:34:00,703
but our acquaintance
505
00:34:01,633 --> 00:34:06,334
must not begin in such a manner.
506
00:34:07,832 --> 00:34:10,780
I return you your letter,
and I hope
507
00:34:11,173 --> 00:34:13,791
that I shall never have
any cause to complain
508
00:34:14,724 --> 00:34:16,485
of this undeserved slight.
509
00:34:18,783 --> 00:34:21,077
The next day, as soon as
Hermann made his appearance,
510
00:34:21,549 --> 00:34:23,241
Lizaveta rose from her embroidery,
511
00:34:23,959 --> 00:34:26,485
went into the drawing-room,
opened the ventilator
512
00:34:26,971 --> 00:34:29,080
and threw the letter into the street,
513
00:34:29,641 --> 00:34:32,469
trusting that the young officer would
have the perception to pick it up.
514
00:34:35,709 --> 00:34:37,160
Hermann hastened forward,
picked it up
515
00:34:38,365 --> 00:34:41,241
and then repaired
to a confectioner's shop.
516
00:34:44,914 --> 00:34:48,282
Breaking the seal of the envelope, he found
inside it his own letter and Lizaveta's reply.
517
00:34:48,282 --> 00:34:50,607
He had expected this,
and he returned home,
518
00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:53,043
his mind deeply occupied
with his intrigue.
519
00:34:54,543 --> 00:34:55,666
Three days afterwards,
520
00:34:56,179 --> 00:34:58,423
a bright-eyed young girl
from a milliner's establishment
521
00:34:58,719 --> 00:35:00,873
brought Lizaveta a letter.
522
00:35:01,794 --> 00:35:03,884
Lizaveta opened it
with great uneasiness,
523
00:35:04,258 --> 00:35:05,791
fearing that it was
a demand for money,
524
00:35:06,599 --> 00:35:09,719
when suddenly she recognised
Hermann's hand-writing.
525
00:35:10,827 --> 00:35:13,106
You have made a mistake,
my dear, this letter is not for me.
526
00:35:13,700 --> 00:35:15,195
Oh, yes, it is for you.
Have the goodness to read it.
527
00:35:15,905 --> 00:35:18,065
Hermann requested an interview.
528
00:35:18,645 --> 00:35:20,218
She were alarmed
529
00:35:20,499 --> 00:35:23,794
at the audacious request, and
the manner in which it was made.
530
00:35:25,851 --> 00:35:27,630
It cannot be! This letter
is certainly not for me!
531
00:35:29,955 --> 00:35:32,217
If the letter was not for you,
why have you torn it up?
532
00:35:33,339 --> 00:35:35,382
I should have given it back
to the person who sent it.
533
00:35:35,841 --> 00:35:36,912
Be good enough,
my dear,
534
00:35:37,271 --> 00:35:38,894
not to bring me any more
letters for the future,
535
00:35:39,674 --> 00:35:43,091
and tell the person who sent you
that he ought to be ashamed...
536
00:35:48,112 --> 00:35:49,457
But Hermann was not the man
to be thus put off.
537
00:35:49,987 --> 00:35:52,189
Every day Lizaveta received
from him a letter,
538
00:35:52,495 --> 00:35:53,746
sent now in this way,
now in that.
539
00:35:54,492 --> 00:35:56,254
They were no longer
translated from the German.
540
00:35:57,753 --> 00:36:00,281
Hermann wrote them under
the inspiration of passion,
541
00:36:00,703 --> 00:36:02,873
and spoke in his own language,
542
00:36:04,027 --> 00:36:06,645
and they bore full testimony
to the inflexibility of his desire
543
00:36:07,104 --> 00:36:09,406
and the disordered condition
of his uncontrollable imagination.
544
00:36:10,909 --> 00:36:13,060
Lizaveta no longer thought
of sending them back to him:
545
00:36:13,933 --> 00:36:15,371
she became intoxicated
with them
546
00:36:15,990 --> 00:36:17,644
and began to reply to them,
547
00:36:18,193 --> 00:36:22,671
and little by little her answers became
longer and more affectionate.
548
00:36:23,604 --> 00:36:28,380
At last she threw out of the window
to him the following letter:
549
00:36:40,695 --> 00:36:44,232
This evening there is going to be a ball
at the Embassy. The Countess will be there.
550
00:36:45,987 --> 00:36:47,181
We shall remain until two o'clock.
551
00:36:47,478 --> 00:36:48,794
You have now an opportunity
of seeing me alone.
552
00:36:48,794 --> 00:36:50,415
As soon as the Countess is gone,
the servants will very probably go out,
553
00:36:50,972 --> 00:36:52,237
and there will be
nobody left but the Swiss,
554
00:36:52,515 --> 00:36:55,106
but he usually goes
to sleep in his lodge.
555
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:56,701
Come about half-past eleven.
556
00:36:58,824 --> 00:37:01,912
Walk straight upstairs.
557
00:37:02,255 --> 00:37:06,374
If you meet anybody in the ante-room,
ask if the Countess is at home.
558
00:37:07,243 --> 00:37:08,526
You will be told 'No,' in which case
there will be nothing left for you to do
559
00:37:08,977 --> 00:37:11,195
but to go away again. But it is most
probable that you will meet nobody.
560
00:37:12,458 --> 00:37:14,286
The maidservants will all
be together in one room.
561
00:37:14,816 --> 00:37:17,776
On leaving the ante-room,
turn to the left,
562
00:37:20,131 --> 00:37:21,737
...turn to the left...
563
00:37:23,358 --> 00:37:26,042
and walk straight on until you
reach the Countess's bedroom.
564
00:37:30,228 --> 00:37:32,314
In the bedroom, behind a screen,
you will find two doors:
565
00:37:33,982 --> 00:37:36,093
the one on the right leads to a cabinet,
which the Countess never enters;
566
00:37:38,976 --> 00:37:40,816
on the right...
the one on the left...
567
00:37:41,487 --> 00:37:44,392
...a little winding staircase;
568
00:37:46,346 --> 00:37:47,324
this leads to my ...
569
00:37:49,812 --> 00:37:50,408
On the right...
570
00:37:52,228 --> 00:37:52,968
On the left...
571
00:38:11,745 --> 00:38:14,631
Hermann trembled like a tiger,
572
00:38:15,708 --> 00:38:17,985
as he waited for the appointed
time to arrive.
573
00:38:32,198 --> 00:38:36,628
At ten o'clock in the evening he was
already in front of the Countess's house.
574
00:38:37,877 --> 00:38:39,077
The weather was terrible;
575
00:38:40,324 --> 00:38:41,111
the wind blew
with great violence;
576
00:38:42,046 --> 00:38:44,104
the sleety snow fell in large flakes;
577
00:38:45,053 --> 00:38:48,140
the lamps emitted a feeble light,
the streets were deserted;
578
00:38:49,405 --> 00:38:51,994
from time to time a sledge,
drawn by a sorry-looking hack,
579
00:38:52,292 --> 00:38:53,992
passed by, on the look-out
for a belated passenger.
580
00:38:54,575 --> 00:38:58,827
Hermann was enveloped in a thick
overcoat, and felt neither wind nor snow.
581
00:38:59,873 --> 00:39:01,979
At last the Countess's
carriage drew up.
582
00:39:02,639 --> 00:39:05,678
Hermann saw two footmen carry out
in their arms the bent form of the old lady,
583
00:39:06,149 --> 00:39:07,330
wrapped in sable fur,
584
00:39:07,737 --> 00:39:09,407
and immediately behind her,
clad in a warm mantle,
585
00:39:09,781 --> 00:39:13,397
and with her head ornamented with a wreath
of fresh flowers, followed Lizaveta.
586
00:39:14,802 --> 00:39:17,628
The door was closed.
587
00:39:20,047 --> 00:39:23,855
The carriage rolled away heavily
through the yielding snow.
588
00:39:25,661 --> 00:39:27,689
The porter shut the street-door;
589
00:39:29,468 --> 00:39:31,948
the windows became dark.
590
00:39:38,114 --> 00:39:40,611
Hermann began walking up and
down near the deserted house;
591
00:39:41,451 --> 00:39:45,257
at length he stopped under a lamp, and glanced
at his watch: it was 20 minutes past eleven.
592
00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:49,654
He remained standing under the lamp,
his eyes fixed upon the watch,
593
00:39:49,951 --> 00:39:51,839
impatiently waiting for
the remaining minutes to pass.
594
00:39:52,932 --> 00:39:54,804
At half-past eleven precisely,
595
00:39:55,583 --> 00:39:57,549
Hermann ascended
the steps of the house,
596
00:39:58,474 --> 00:40:01,106
and made his way into the
brightly-illuminated vestibule.
597
00:40:04,490 --> 00:40:06,150
The porter was not there.
598
00:40:26,903 --> 00:40:30,702
Hermann hastily ascended the staircase,
opened the door of the ante-room
599
00:40:31,450 --> 00:40:36,099
and saw a footman sitting asleep
in an antique chair by the side of a lamp.
600
00:40:37,238 --> 00:40:40,141
With a light firm step
Hermann passed by him.
601
00:40:41,810 --> 00:40:44,717
The drawing-room and
dining-room were in darkness,
602
00:40:46,474 --> 00:40:49,987
but a feeble reflection penetrated
thither from the lamp in the ante-room.
603
00:41:10,140 --> 00:41:12,418
Hermann reached
the Countess's bedroom.
604
00:41:13,869 --> 00:41:14,838
Before a shrine,
605
00:41:15,445 --> 00:41:19,017
which was full of old images,
a golden lamp was burning.
606
00:41:20,451 --> 00:41:23,906
Faded stuffed chairs and
divans with soft cushions
607
00:41:24,478 --> 00:41:29,082
stood in melancholy symmetry
around the room, the walls of which
608
00:41:29,578 --> 00:41:31,123
were hung with China silk.
609
00:41:32,605 --> 00:41:36,477
On one side of the room hung two portraits
painted in Paris by Madame Lebrun.
610
00:41:37,447 --> 00:41:40,379
One of these represented
a stout, red-faced man
611
00:41:40,799 --> 00:41:44,292
of about forty years of age in a bright-green
uniform and with a star upon his breast;
612
00:41:45,307 --> 00:41:48,346
the other - a beautiful young
woman, with an aquiline nose
613
00:41:48,939 --> 00:41:52,216
forehead curls and a rose
in her powdered hair.
614
00:41:53,884 --> 00:41:56,805
In the corners stood porcelain
shepherds and shepherdesses,
615
00:41:57,180 --> 00:41:59,207
dining-room clocks from the worksho
of the celebrated Lefroy,
616
00:41:59,486 --> 00:42:02,642
bandboxes, roulettes, fans and the various
playthings for the amusement of ladies
617
00:42:03,216 --> 00:42:05,152
that were in vogue
at the end of the last century,
618
00:42:05,619 --> 00:42:08,954
when Montgolfier's balloons and
Mesmer's magnetism were the rage.
619
00:42:11,264 --> 00:42:12,714
Hermann stepped behind the screen.
620
00:42:14,064 --> 00:42:16,180
At the back of it stood
a little iron bedstead;
621
00:42:17,231 --> 00:42:19,928
on the right was the door
which led to the cabinet;
622
00:42:20,921 --> 00:42:24,040
on the left - the other
which led to the corridor.
623
00:42:25,543 --> 00:42:28,693
He opened the latter, and saw
the little winding staircase
624
00:42:29,111 --> 00:42:31,172
which led to the room
of the poor companion...
625
00:42:33,948 --> 00:42:36,745
But he retraced his steps
626
00:42:39,580 --> 00:42:44,493
and entered the dark cabinet.
627
00:42:55,909 --> 00:42:58,947
The time passed slowly.
All was still.
628
00:43:00,338 --> 00:43:01,962
The clock in the drawing-room
struck twelve;
629
00:43:03,300 --> 00:43:06,829
the strokes echoed through
the room one after the other,
630
00:43:08,078 --> 00:43:09,435
and everything was quiet again.
631
00:43:11,338 --> 00:43:13,428
Hermann stood leaning
against the cold stove.
632
00:43:14,707 --> 00:43:16,051
He was calm;
633
00:43:17,140 --> 00:43:20,867
his heart beat regularly, like that
of a man resolved upon a dangerous
634
00:43:21,713 --> 00:43:22,774
but inevitable undertaking.
635
00:43:24,750 --> 00:43:27,563
One o'clock in the morning
struck; then two;
636
00:43:29,580 --> 00:43:31,926
and he heard the distant
noise of carriage-wheels.
637
00:43:33,084 --> 00:43:34,691
An involuntary agitation
took possession of him.
638
00:43:36,233 --> 00:43:40,038
The carriage drew near
and stopped.
639
00:43:50,694 --> 00:43:53,720
He heard the sound
of carriage-steps.
640
00:43:56,232 --> 00:43:57,347
All began to bustle.
641
00:43:58,776 --> 00:43:59,718
They started running
642
00:44:00,713 --> 00:44:01,728
voices resounded,
643
00:44:02,942 --> 00:44:04,939
and it was light.
644
00:44:10,931 --> 00:44:12,738
Three maids entered
the room running,
645
00:44:14,282 --> 00:44:20,648
and the Countess, half alive,
sank into the armchair.
646
00:44:22,742 --> 00:44:24,053
Hermann peeped through a chink.
647
00:44:26,030 --> 00:44:27,748
Lizaveta Ivanovna
passed close by him,
648
00:44:28,964 --> 00:44:32,053
and he heard her hurried steps as she
hastened up the little spiral staircase.
649
00:44:33,318 --> 00:44:36,298
For a moment his heart was assailed
by something like a pricking of conscience,
650
00:44:37,121 --> 00:44:38,464
but the emotion was only transitory,
651
00:44:39,213 --> 00:44:40,883
and his heart became
petrified as before.
652
00:45:16,299 --> 00:45:18,319
The Countess began to undress
before her looking-glass.
653
00:45:19,343 --> 00:45:21,356
Her rose-bedecked cap
was taken off,
654
00:45:22,026 --> 00:45:25,193
and then her powdered wig was removed
from off her white and closely-cut hair.
655
00:45:27,144 --> 00:45:29,216
Hairpins fell in showers around her.
656
00:45:29,782 --> 00:45:33,974
Her yellow satin dress, brocaded with silver,
fell down at her swollen feet.
657
00:45:35,556 --> 00:45:39,657
Hermann was a witness of the repugnant
mysteries of her toilette;
658
00:45:41,477 --> 00:45:45,020
at last the Countess was in her
night-cap and dressing-gown,
659
00:45:45,721 --> 00:45:48,047
and in this costume,
more suitable to her age,
660
00:45:48,711 --> 00:45:51,261
she appeared less
hideous and deformed.
661
00:45:53,102 --> 00:45:56,300
Like all old people, the Countess
suffered from insomnia.
662
00:45:57,250 --> 00:45:59,483
She undressed, sat down in an armchair
and dismissed her maids
663
00:46:00,791 --> 00:46:02,202
The candles were taken out,
664
00:46:03,335 --> 00:46:06,182
there was only one lamp
burning in the room.
665
00:46:07,659 --> 00:46:09,388
The Countess sat there
looking quite yellow,
666
00:46:10,341 --> 00:46:16,211
mumbling with her flaccid lips
and swaying to and fro.
667
00:46:18,405 --> 00:46:23,028
Her dull eyes expressed
complete vacancy of mind,
668
00:46:24,395 --> 00:46:25,862
and, looking at her,
one would have thought
669
00:46:26,084 --> 00:46:28,677
that the rocking of her body was
not a voluntary action of her own,
670
00:46:29,512 --> 00:46:31,451
but was produced by the action
of some concealed galvanic mechanism.
671
00:46:33,696 --> 00:46:35,113
Suddenly the death-like face
672
00:46:36,754 --> 00:46:38,311
assumed an inexplicable expression.
673
00:46:39,435 --> 00:46:43,106
The lips ceased to tremble,
the eyes became animated:
674
00:46:44,277 --> 00:46:49,910
before the Countess
stood an unknown man.
675
00:46:54,647 --> 00:46:55,442
Do not be alarmed,
676
00:46:56,362 --> 00:46:57,330
for Heaven's sake,
do not be alarmed!
677
00:46:59,907 --> 00:47:01,264
I have no intention
of doing you any harm,
678
00:47:02,964 --> 00:47:04,724
I have only come
to ask a favour of you.
679
00:47:12,384 --> 00:47:14,318
I have only come
to ask a favour of you.
680
00:47:15,070 --> 00:47:15,893
Do not be alarmed!
681
00:47:20,091 --> 00:47:21,993
You can insure
the happiness of my life,
682
00:47:23,148 --> 00:47:24,615
and it will cost you nothing.
683
00:47:26,615 --> 00:47:29,030
I know that you can name
three cards in order ...
684
00:47:35,410 --> 00:47:36,863
It was a joke,
685
00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:41,379
I assure you it was only a joke.
686
00:47:42,145 --> 00:47:43,160
There is no joking
about the matter.
687
00:47:45,013 --> 00:47:47,996
Remember Chaplitzky,
whom you helped to win.
688
00:47:50,115 --> 00:47:56,826
Can you not name me
these three winning cards?
689
00:47:58,601 --> 00:48:01,473
For whom are you preserving
your secret? For your grandsons?
690
00:48:02,656 --> 00:48:06,171
They are rich enough without it;
they do not know the worth of money.
691
00:48:07,417 --> 00:48:09,414
Your cards would be
of no use to a spendthrift.
692
00:48:09,990 --> 00:48:11,737
He who cannot preserve
his paternal inheritance,
693
00:48:12,065 --> 00:48:16,965
will die in want, even though
he had a demon at his service.
694
00:48:18,621 --> 00:48:19,350
I am not a man of that sort;
695
00:48:20,603 --> 00:48:21,550
I know the value of money.
696
00:48:23,391 --> 00:48:25,622
Your three cards will not
be thrown away upon me.
697
00:48:27,170 --> 00:48:27,811
Come!..
698
00:48:36,738 --> 00:48:39,084
If your heart has ever known
the feeling of love,
699
00:48:39,752 --> 00:48:41,219
if you remember its rapture,
700
00:48:42,618 --> 00:48:45,384
if you have ever smiled at the cry
of your new-born child,
701
00:48:46,729 --> 00:48:49,752
if any human feeling has ever
entered into your breast,
702
00:48:49,953 --> 00:48:50,902
I entreat you
703
00:48:52,236 --> 00:48:56,066
by the feelings of a wife, a lover,
a mother, by all that is most sacred in life,
704
00:48:56,830 --> 00:48:58,160
not to reject my prayer.
705
00:48:59,561 --> 00:49:00,613
Reveal to me your secret.
706
00:49:01,656 --> 00:49:02,690
Of what use is it to you?...
707
00:49:04,351 --> 00:49:06,195
May be it is connected
with some terrible sin
708
00:49:07,143 --> 00:49:10,054
with the loss of eternal salvation, with
some bargain with the devil... Reflect, -
709
00:49:11,418 --> 00:49:12,294
you are old;
710
00:49:13,647 --> 00:49:15,038
you have not long to live -
711
00:49:16,131 --> 00:49:22,314
I am ready to take your sins
upon my soul. Remember...
712
00:49:23,320 --> 00:49:24,084
that the happiness
713
00:49:27,737 --> 00:49:28,702
of a man
714
00:49:33,150 --> 00:49:35,149
is in your hands,
715
00:49:36,117 --> 00:49:40,808
that not only I, but my children, and
grandchildren will bless your memory
716
00:49:42,078 --> 00:49:46,658
and reverence you as a saint...
717
00:49:49,138 --> 00:49:50,715
You old hag!
718
00:49:52,073 --> 00:49:54,802
then I will make you answer!
719
00:50:01,668 --> 00:50:02,621
Come, an end to this
childish nonsense!
720
00:50:03,792 --> 00:50:04,991
I ask you for the last time:
721
00:50:05,210 --> 00:50:07,023
will you tell me the names
of your three cards,
722
00:50:20,158 --> 00:50:21,379
or will you not?
723
00:50:29,982 --> 00:50:31,433
The Countess made no reply.
724
00:50:33,230 --> 00:50:34,943
Hermann perceived
725
00:50:36,227 --> 00:50:37,961
that she was dead!
726
00:50:45,274 --> 00:50:46,298
Chapter IV
727
00:50:46,492 --> 00:50:48,217
7 ��� 18**.
May 7, 18**.
728
00:50:48,602 --> 00:50:51,931
A man without morals
729
00:50:52,633 --> 00:50:54,696
or religion. - A Correspondence.
730
00:50:56,223 --> 00:50:58,796
Lizaveta Ivanovna was in her room,
731
00:50:59,047 --> 00:51:02,666
still in her ball dress,
lost in thought.
732
00:51:04,338 --> 00:51:07,268
On returning home, she
dismissed the chambermaid
733
00:51:07,549 --> 00:51:09,296
who reluctantly came
over to help her,
734
00:51:09,616 --> 00:51:12,358
said that she would undress herself,
and with a trembling heart went to her room,
735
00:51:12,682 --> 00:51:16,238
hoping to find Hermann there,
yet wishing not to find him.
736
00:51:17,018 --> 00:51:19,810
At the first glance she convinced
herself that he was not there,
737
00:51:20,404 --> 00:51:24,631
and she thanked her fate for having
prevented him keeping the appointment.
738
00:51:25,317 --> 00:51:29,670
She sat down without undressing,
and began to recall to mind
739
00:51:30,232 --> 00:51:33,134
all the circumstances which in so
short a time had carried her so far.
740
00:51:34,042 --> 00:51:36,130
It was not three weeks
since the time
741
00:51:36,519 --> 00:51:39,670
when she first saw the young
officer from the window-
742
00:51:40,465 --> 00:51:42,151
and yet she was already
in correspondence with him,
743
00:51:42,732 --> 00:51:45,833
and he had succeeded in inducing
her to grant him a nocturnal interview!
744
00:51:46,878 --> 00:51:48,953
She knew his name only through
745
00:51:49,186 --> 00:51:51,184
his having written it at the bottom
of some of his letters;
746
00:51:51,838 --> 00:51:54,850
she had never spoken to him,
had never heard his voice,
747
00:51:55,290 --> 00:51:56,929
and had never
heard him spoken of
748
00:51:57,662 --> 00:51:59,701
until that evening.
749
00:52:00,266 --> 00:52:01,407
But, strange to say,
750
00:52:01,730 --> 00:52:03,134
that very evening at the ball,
751
00:52:03,383 --> 00:52:05,925
Tomsky, being piqued
with the young Princess Pauline,
752
00:52:05,925 --> 00:52:08,163
who, contrary to her usual
custom, did not flirt with him,
753
00:52:08,921 --> 00:52:10,874
wished to revenge himself
by assuming an air of indifference:
754
00:52:12,139 --> 00:52:16,020
he therefore engaged Lizaveta Ivanovna
and danced an endless mazurka with her.
755
00:52:18,459 --> 00:52:21,766
During the whole of the time he kept teasing
her about her partiality for Engineer officers;
756
00:52:22,681 --> 00:52:26,363
he assured her that he knew
far more than she imagined,
757
00:52:27,081 --> 00:52:30,497
and some of his jests
were so happily aimed,
758
00:52:30,706 --> 00:52:32,718
that Lizaveta thought
several times
759
00:52:33,128 --> 00:52:35,948
that her secret
was known to him.
760
00:52:37,409 --> 00:52:38,751
From whom have
you learnt all this?
761
00:52:39,795 --> 00:52:43,387
From a friend of a person very well
known to you - a very distinguished man.
762
00:52:43,679 --> 00:52:46,185
- And who is this distinguished man?
- His name is Hermann.
763
00:52:47,539 --> 00:52:50,173
This Hermann, is a man
of romantic personality.
764
00:52:50,841 --> 00:52:53,445
He has the profile of a Napoleon,
and the soul of a Mephistopheles.
765
00:52:54,214 --> 00:52:58,908
I believe that he has at least three
crimes upon his conscience...
766
00:52:59,827 --> 00:53:01,698
How pale you have become!..
- I have a headache...
767
00:53:02,775 --> 00:53:05,208
But what did this Hermann
- or whatever his name is - tell you
768
00:53:11,947 --> 00:53:13,884
Hermann is very much
dissatisfied with his friend:
769
00:53:15,011 --> 00:53:17,619
he says that in his place
he would act very differently...
770
00:53:18,781 --> 00:53:21,063
I even think that Hermann
himself has designs upon you;
771
00:53:22,135 --> 00:53:24,209
at least, he listens
very attentively to all
772
00:53:24,461 --> 00:53:26,196
that his friend has
to say about you.
773
00:53:26,378 --> 00:53:27,709
And where has he seen me?
774
00:53:27,940 --> 00:53:29,766
In church, perhaps; or on the parade
- God alone knows where.
775
00:53:30,782 --> 00:53:32,104
It may have been in your room,
776
00:53:33,328 --> 00:53:34,617
while you were asleep,
777
00:53:35,539 --> 00:53:36,770
for there is nothing that he...
778
00:53:40,621 --> 00:53:44,673
Three ladies approaching him with the question:
"oubliou regret?" interrupted the conversation,
779
00:53:45,280 --> 00:53:48,311
which had become so tantalisingly
interesting to Lizaveta.
780
00:53:49,343 --> 00:53:51,741
The lady chosen by Tomsky
was the Princess Pauline herself.
781
00:53:52,378 --> 00:53:54,597
She managed to speak to him
by making another round,
782
00:53:54,953 --> 00:53:56,870
by turning round
in front of her chair.
783
00:53:57,624 --> 00:53:59,091
On returning to his place,
784
00:53:59,091 --> 00:54:01,832
Tomsky thought no more
either of Hermann or Lizaveta.
785
00:54:03,471 --> 00:54:05,857
She longed to renew
the interrupted conversation,
786
00:54:07,030 --> 00:54:10,257
but the mazurka came to an end,
and shortly afterwards
787
00:54:11,770 --> 00:54:13,551
the old Countess
took her departure.
788
00:54:16,481 --> 00:54:19,166
Tomsky's words were nothing more
than the customary small talk of the dance,
789
00:54:20,022 --> 00:54:23,236
but they sank deep into
the soul of the young dreamer.
790
00:54:23,938 --> 00:54:27,298
The portrait, sketched by Tomsky,
was very much like the image
791
00:54:27,699 --> 00:54:29,009
she made up in her mind,
792
00:54:29,571 --> 00:54:33,272
and thanks to the latest romances,
it was a trivial face
793
00:54:33,956 --> 00:54:36,886
frightened her and
fascinated her imagination.
794
00:54:38,496 --> 00:54:40,397
She was now sitting
with her bare arms crossed
795
00:54:40,802 --> 00:54:43,709
and with her head, still adorned with flowers,
sunk upon her uncovered bosom.
796
00:54:44,468 --> 00:54:48,775
Suddenly the door opened
and Hermann entered.
797
00:54:49,648 --> 00:54:51,417
She shuddered.
798
00:54:57,495 --> 00:54:58,481
Where were you?
799
00:55:00,320 --> 00:55:02,082
In the old Countess's bedroom.
800
00:55:08,963 --> 00:55:11,837
I have just left her.
The Countess is dead.
801
00:55:13,377 --> 00:55:15,577
My God!
What do you say?
802
00:55:17,605 --> 00:55:19,382
And I am afraid, that I am
the cause of her death.
803
00:55:30,118 --> 00:55:32,178
Lizaveta looked at him,
804
00:55:33,018 --> 00:55:35,639
and Tomsky's words
found an echo in her soul:
805
00:55:35,989 --> 00:55:39,228
"This man has at least three
crimes upon his conscience!"
806
00:55:43,284 --> 00:55:47,355
Hermann sat down by the window near her,
and related all that had happened.
807
00:55:51,224 --> 00:55:53,674
Lizaveta listened
to him in terror.
808
00:55:55,982 --> 00:55:59,325
So all those passionate letters,
those ardent desires,
809
00:55:59,827 --> 00:56:03,907
this bold obstinate pursuit -
all this was not love!
810
00:56:05,046 --> 00:56:08,542
Money - that was what
his soul yearned for!
811
00:56:08,899 --> 00:56:11,943
She could not satisfy his desire
and make him happy.
812
00:56:12,783 --> 00:56:16,221
I had been nothing but
the blind tool of a robber,
813
00:56:16,904 --> 00:56:19,913
of the murderer of my
aged benefactress!..
814
00:56:20,320 --> 00:56:23,163
She wept bitter tears
of agonised repentance.
815
00:56:24,625 --> 00:56:26,313
Hermann gazed at her in silence:
816
00:56:27,763 --> 00:56:29,557
his heart, too, was
a prey to violent emotion,
817
00:56:31,162 --> 00:56:32,913
but neither the tears
of the poor girl,
818
00:56:33,876 --> 00:56:37,636
nor the wonderful charm of her beauty could
produce any impression upon his hardened soul.
819
00:56:38,980 --> 00:56:41,489
He felt no pricking of conscience
at the thought of the dead old woman.
820
00:56:43,052 --> 00:56:44,506
One thing only grieved him:
821
00:56:45,594 --> 00:56:47,812
the irreparable
loss of the secret
822
00:56:48,697 --> 00:56:51,864
from which he had expected
to obtain great wealth.
823
00:56:52,924 --> 00:56:54,079
You are a monster!
824
00:56:58,215 --> 00:57:00,819
I did not wish for her death,
my pistol was not loaded.
825
00:57:09,944 --> 00:57:10,975
Both remained silent.
826
00:57:11,943 --> 00:57:13,098
The day began to dawn.
827
00:57:14,035 --> 00:57:16,406
Lizaveta extinguished her candle:
828
00:57:17,671 --> 00:57:19,465
a pale light illumined her room.
829
00:57:21,214 --> 00:57:23,676
She wiped her tear-stained eyes
and raised them towards Hermann:
830
00:57:25,498 --> 00:57:29,149
he was sitting near the window, with his arms
crossed and with a fierce frown upon his forehead.
831
00:57:30,585 --> 00:57:31,786
In this attitude he bore
832
00:57:33,003 --> 00:57:35,342
a striking resemblance
to the portrait of Napoleon.
833
00:57:36,265 --> 00:57:38,979
This resemblance
struck Lizaveta even.
834
00:57:40,773 --> 00:57:42,223
How shall I get you
out of the house?
835
00:57:43,067 --> 00:57:45,436
I thought of conducting you
down the secret staircase,
836
00:57:46,299 --> 00:57:48,510
but in that case it would be necessary to go
through the Countess's bedroom, and I am afraid.
837
00:57:49,664 --> 00:57:52,278
Tell me how to find
this secret staircase -
838
00:58:01,100 --> 00:58:02,005
I will go alone.
839
00:58:03,736 --> 00:58:06,013
Hermann pressed
her cold, limp hand,
840
00:58:06,626 --> 00:58:09,056
kissed her bowed head,
and left the room.
841
00:58:10,417 --> 00:58:16,952
He descended the winding staircase, and
once more entered the Countess's bedroom.
842
00:58:18,529 --> 00:58:21,132
The dead old lady
sat as if petrified;
843
00:58:22,162 --> 00:58:25,125
her face expressed
profound tranquillity.
844
00:58:25,968 --> 00:58:27,714
Hermann stopped before her,
845
00:58:28,107 --> 00:58:31,536
and gazed long and earnestly at her, as if he
wished to convince himself of the terrible reality;
846
00:58:32,512 --> 00:58:34,798
at last he entered the cabinet,
847
00:58:45,363 --> 00:58:47,309
felt behind the tapestry
for the door,
848
00:58:49,897 --> 00:58:54,846
and then began to descend the dark
staircase, filled with strange emotions.
849
00:58:58,243 --> 00:59:00,833
Down this very staircase, perhaps
coming from the very same room,
850
00:59:02,027 --> 00:59:05,139
and at this very same hour sixty
years ago, there may have glided,
851
00:59:05,981 --> 00:59:08,825
in an embroidered coat, with his
hair dressed a l'oiseau royal
852
00:59:09,933 --> 00:59:13,844
and pressing to his heart his
three-cornered hat, some young gallant,
853
00:59:14,797 --> 00:59:16,831
who has long been
mouldering in the grave,
854
00:59:17,697 --> 00:59:19,787
but the heart of his aged mistress
855
00:59:21,552 --> 00:59:23,268
has only to-day ceased to beat...
856
00:59:24,612 --> 00:59:29,319
At the bottom of the staircase Hermann
found a door, which he opened with a key,
857
00:59:30,194 --> 00:59:34,976
and then traversed a corridor which
conducted him into the street.
858
00:59:40,841 --> 00:59:42,442
Chapter V
859
00:59:42,638 --> 00:59:44,667
That night the dead Baroness von W.
appeared to me
860
00:59:44,854 --> 00:59:47,280
She was all in white
and said:
861
00:59:47,315 --> 00:59:48,800
'How do you do, Mr. Councillor?'
- Swedenborg.
862
01:00:18,103 --> 01:00:20,986
Three days after the fatal night,
at nine o'clock in the morning,
863
01:00:21,667 --> 01:00:22,875
Hermann repaired to the Convent,
864
01:00:23,057 --> 01:00:25,097
where the last honours were to be paid
to the mortal remains of the old Countess.
865
01:00:27,279 --> 01:00:28,538
Although feeling no remorse,
866
01:00:29,307 --> 01:00:32,240
he could not altogether stifle
the voice of conscience,
867
01:00:32,533 --> 01:00:34,358
which said to him: "You are
the murderer of the old woman!"
868
01:00:35,700 --> 01:00:40,160
In spite of his entertaining very little religious
belief, he was exceedingly superstitious;
869
01:00:40,567 --> 01:00:44,878
and believing that the dead Countess
might exercise an evil influence on his life,
870
01:00:45,979 --> 01:00:50,644
he resolved to be present at her
obsequies in order to implore her pardon.
871
01:00:53,566 --> 01:00:55,314
The church was full.
872
01:00:56,028 --> 01:00:58,319
It was with difficulty that Hermann made
his way through the crowd of people.
873
01:00:59,694 --> 01:01:03,161
The coffin was placed upon a rich
catafalque beneath a velvet baldachin.
874
01:01:04,378 --> 01:01:07,011
The deceased Countess lay within it,
with her hands crossed upon her breast,
875
01:01:07,262 --> 01:01:10,067
with a lace cap upon her head
and dressed in a white satin robe.
876
01:01:11,456 --> 01:01:13,063
Around the catafalque stood
the members of her household:
877
01:01:13,562 --> 01:01:18,071
the servants in black caftans, with armorial ribbons
upon their shoulders, and candles in their hands;
878
01:01:18,462 --> 01:01:22,768
the relatives - children, grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren - in deep mourning.
879
01:01:25,232 --> 01:01:28,901
Nobody wept; tears would
have been une affectation.
880
01:01:29,880 --> 01:01:33,036
The Countess was so old, that her
death could have surprised nobody,
881
01:01:33,641 --> 01:01:37,623
and her relatives had long looked
upon her as being out of the world.
882
01:01:40,705 --> 01:01:43,424
A famous preacher pronounced
the funeral sermon.
883
01:01:44,281 --> 01:01:48,791
In simple and touching words he
described the peaceful passing away
884
01:01:49,927 --> 01:01:52,319
of the righteous, who had
passed long years
885
01:01:52,754 --> 01:01:57,587
in calm preparation
for a Christian end.
886
01:01:58,979 --> 01:02:02,087
The angel of death
found her,
887
01:02:02,977 --> 01:02:05,922
engaged in pious meditation
888
01:02:07,059 --> 01:02:09,837
and waiting for
the midnight bridegroom.
889
01:02:23,405 --> 01:02:27,098
The service concluded
amidst profound silence.
890
01:02:29,551 --> 01:02:31,736
The relatives went forward first
to take farewell of the corpse.
891
01:02:32,901 --> 01:02:37,099
Then followed the numerous guests, who
had come to render the last homage to her
892
01:02:37,628 --> 01:02:41,435
who for so many years had been
a participator in their frivolous amusements.
893
01:02:42,528 --> 01:02:43,971
After these followed the members
of the Countess's household.
894
01:02:44,882 --> 01:02:48,362
The last of these was an old woman
of the same age as the deceased.
895
01:02:49,379 --> 01:02:51,263
Two young women led her
forward by the hand.
896
01:02:51,969 --> 01:02:54,196
She had not strength enough
to bow down to the ground -
897
01:02:55,212 --> 01:02:57,800
she merely shed a few tears
898
01:02:58,539 --> 01:03:01,392
and kissed the cold
hand of her mistress.
899
01:03:04,543 --> 01:03:08,285
Hermann now resolved
to approach the coffin.
900
01:03:10,206 --> 01:03:11,395
He knelt down upon
the cold stones
901
01:03:12,672 --> 01:03:17,253
and remained in that
position for some minutes;
902
01:03:19,243 --> 01:03:22,739
at last he arose, as pale as
the deceased Countess herself;
903
01:03:23,525 --> 01:03:25,274
he ascended the steps
of the catafalque
904
01:03:26,662 --> 01:03:28,502
and bent over the corpse...
905
01:03:31,440 --> 01:03:32,654
At that moment
906
01:03:34,714 --> 01:03:36,212
it seemed to him
907
01:03:37,114 --> 01:03:40,703
that the dead woman darted
a mocking look at him
908
01:03:41,031 --> 01:03:42,656
and winked with one eye.
909
01:03:43,597 --> 01:03:46,838
Hermann started back,
took a false step
910
01:03:47,176 --> 01:03:50,876
and fell to the ground.
911
01:03:55,989 --> 01:03:57,238
Several persons raised him up.
912
01:03:58,394 --> 01:04:05,901
At the same moment Lizaveta Ivanovna
was borne fainting into the porch of the church.
913
01:04:14,377 --> 01:04:15,426
This episode
914
01:04:16,558 --> 01:04:19,692
disturbed for some minutes the solemnity
of the gloomy ceremony.
915
01:04:20,580 --> 01:04:22,476
Among the congregation
arose a deep murmur,
916
01:04:23,267 --> 01:04:26,182
and a tall thin chamberlain,
a near relative of the deceased,
917
01:04:26,683 --> 01:04:29,691
whispered in the ear of an Englishman
who was standing near him,
918
01:04:30,081 --> 01:04:32,099
that the young officer was
a natural son of the Countess,
919
01:04:33,077 --> 01:04:37,198
to which the Englishman
coldly replied: "Oh!"
920
01:04:48,427 --> 01:04:52,251
During the whole of that day,
Hermann was strangely excited.
921
01:04:54,668 --> 01:05:00,083
Repairing to an out-of-the-way restaurant
to dine, he drank a great deal of wine,
922
01:05:00,814 --> 01:05:04,809
contrary to his usual custom, in the hope
of deadening his inward agitation.
923
01:05:06,540 --> 01:05:09,551
But the wine only served to excite
his imagination still more.
924
01:05:11,178 --> 01:05:14,434
On returning home, he threw himself
upon his bed without undressing,
925
01:05:15,278 --> 01:05:16,451
and fell into a deep sleep.
926
01:05:18,303 --> 01:05:19,722
When he woke up
it was already night,
927
01:05:21,687 --> 01:05:23,345
and the moon was
shining into the room.
928
01:05:24,345 --> 01:05:27,562
He looked at his watch:
it was a quarter to three.
929
01:05:30,038 --> 01:05:30,971
Sleep had left him;
930
01:05:32,893 --> 01:05:33,732
he sat down upon his bed
931
01:05:35,293 --> 01:05:39,241
and thought of the funeral
of the old Countess.
932
01:05:57,591 --> 01:05:58,525
At that moment
933
01:05:59,632 --> 01:06:02,158
somebody in the street
looked in at his window,
934
01:06:02,877 --> 01:06:05,655
and immediately passed on again.
935
01:06:15,942 --> 01:06:18,556
Hermann paid no attention
to this incident.
936
01:06:35,095 --> 01:06:40,274
A few moments afterwards he heard
the door of his ante-room open.
937
01:06:41,366 --> 01:06:43,321
Hermann thought
that it was his orderly,
938
01:06:43,816 --> 01:06:46,609
drunk as usual, returning from
some nocturnal expedition,
939
01:06:49,357 --> 01:06:52,564
but presently he heard footsteps
that were unknown to him:
940
01:06:54,250 --> 01:06:55,140
somebody was walking
941
01:06:56,620 --> 01:06:58,171
softly over the floor in slippers.
942
01:07:00,302 --> 01:07:01,347
The door opened,
943
01:07:02,975 --> 01:07:04,733
and a woman dressed
in white, entered the room.
944
01:07:06,464 --> 01:07:08,667
Hermann mistook her
for his old nurse,
945
01:07:09,371 --> 01:07:12,251
and wondered what could bring
her there at that hour of the night.
946
01:07:14,378 --> 01:07:15,595
But the white woman
947
01:07:17,509 --> 01:07:18,434
glided rapidly
across the room
948
01:07:20,646 --> 01:07:22,657
and stood before him -
949
01:07:24,858 --> 01:07:28,463
and Hermann
recognised the Countess!
950
01:07:34,110 --> 01:07:37,874
I have come to you
against my wish,
951
01:07:39,047 --> 01:07:42,912
but I have been ordered
to grant your request.
952
01:07:45,656 --> 01:07:50,804
Three, seven, ace,
953
01:07:51,976 --> 01:07:54,717
will win for you
if played in succession,
954
01:07:56,059 --> 01:07:57,172
but only on these conditions:
955
01:07:58,414 --> 01:08:01,565
that you do not play more
956
01:08:02,210 --> 01:08:06,048
than one card in twenty-four hours,
957
01:08:06,432 --> 01:08:12,208
and that you never play again
during the rest of your life.
958
01:08:18,813 --> 01:08:22,081
I forgive you my death,
959
01:08:23,111 --> 01:08:26,730
on condition that you marry
960
01:08:27,653 --> 01:08:32,010
my companion,
Lizaveta Ivanovna...
961
01:08:45,549 --> 01:08:46,590
With these words
962
01:08:47,607 --> 01:08:48,742
she turned round very quietly,
963
01:08:49,949 --> 01:08:52,239
walked with a shuffling
gait towards the door
964
01:08:53,142 --> 01:08:54,343
and disappeared.
965
01:08:55,889 --> 01:08:58,030
Hermann heard the street-door
open and shut,
966
01:08:58,780 --> 01:09:02,018
and again he saw some one look
in at him through the window.
967
01:09:03,660 --> 01:09:05,424
For a long time Hermann
could not recover himself.
968
01:09:07,060 --> 01:09:08,482
He then rose up and
entered the next room.
969
01:09:09,480 --> 01:09:10,821
His orderly was lying
asleep upon the floor,
970
01:09:11,363 --> 01:09:12,940
and he had much
difficulty in waking him.
971
01:09:13,266 --> 01:09:14,686
The orderly was drunk as usual,
972
01:09:14,971 --> 01:09:16,641
and no information could
be obtained from him.
973
01:09:18,814 --> 01:09:22,478
The street-door was locked.
974
01:09:26,344 --> 01:09:28,948
Hermann returned to his room,
975
01:09:30,367 --> 01:09:32,227
lit his candle,
976
01:09:33,469 --> 01:09:37,697
and wrote down all
the details of his vision.
977
01:10:13,530 --> 01:10:14,100
Chapter VI
978
01:10:14,290 --> 01:10:17,224
"Attendez!"
"How dare you say 'attendez' to me?"
979
01:10:18,001 --> 01:10:20,700
"Your excellency,
I said 'attendez, sir'"
980
01:10:22,008 --> 01:10:23,682
Two fixed ideas
981
01:10:24,227 --> 01:10:27,018
can no more exist
together in the moral world
982
01:10:27,960 --> 01:10:30,265
than two bodies can occupy
one and the same place
983
01:10:30,888 --> 01:10:32,450
in the physical world.
984
01:10:33,977 --> 01:10:35,833
"Three, seven, ace,"
985
01:10:36,697 --> 01:10:40,202
soon drove out of Hermann's mind
the thought of the dead Countess.
986
01:10:41,424 --> 01:10:44,695
"Three, seven, ace," were perpetually
running through his head
987
01:10:45,021 --> 01:10:46,524
and continually being
repeated by his lips.
988
01:10:47,205 --> 01:10:49,047
If he saw a young girl,
he would say:
989
01:10:49,905 --> 01:10:50,922
How slender she is!
990
01:10:52,105 --> 01:10:53,655
quite like the three of hearts.
991
01:10:54,242 --> 01:10:55,478
If anybody asked:
"What is the time?"
992
01:10:55,833 --> 01:10:56,472
he would reply:
993
01:10:57,206 --> 01:10:58,318
Five minutes to seven.
994
01:10:58,875 --> 01:11:01,387
Every stout man that he saw
reminded him of the ace.
995
01:11:01,903 --> 01:11:05,228
"Three, seven, ace"
haunted him in his sleep,
996
01:11:05,228 --> 01:11:06,879
and assumed all possible shapes.
997
01:11:07,238 --> 01:11:10,156
The threes bloomed before him
in the forms of magnificent flowers,
998
01:11:10,529 --> 01:11:13,262
the sevens were represented
by Gothic portals,
999
01:11:13,602 --> 01:11:15,911
and the aces became transformed
into gigantic spiders.
1000
01:11:16,274 --> 01:11:18,161
One thought alone
occupied his whole mind -
1001
01:11:18,460 --> 01:11:21,511
to make a profitable use of the secret
which he had purchased so dearly.
1002
01:11:21,968 --> 01:11:24,507
He thought of applying for
a furlough so as to travel abroad.
1003
01:11:24,819 --> 01:11:26,979
He wanted to go to Paris
and tempt fortune in some
1004
01:11:27,305 --> 01:11:29,641
of the public gambling-houses
that abounded there.
1005
01:11:30,079 --> 01:11:32,605
Chance spared him
all this trouble.
1006
01:11:33,899 --> 01:11:37,167
There was in Moscow
a society of rich gamesters,
1007
01:11:37,519 --> 01:11:39,625
presided over by
the celebrated Chekalinsky,
1008
01:11:39,858 --> 01:11:41,465
who had passed all his
life at the card-table
1009
01:11:42,058 --> 01:11:43,930
and had amassed millions,
1010
01:11:44,166 --> 01:11:47,303
accepting bills of exchange for his winnings
and paying his losses in ready money.
1011
01:11:48,378 --> 01:11:51,280
His long experience secured for him
the confidence of his companions,
1012
01:11:52,014 --> 01:11:55,710
and his open house, his famous cook,
and his agreeable and fascinating manners
1013
01:11:56,208 --> 01:11:58,052
gained for him the respect
of the public.
1014
01:11:59,629 --> 01:12:01,981
He came to St. Petersburg.
1015
01:12:04,666 --> 01:12:07,550
The young men of the capital flocked
to his rooms, forgetting balls for cards,
1016
01:12:08,095 --> 01:12:12,295
and preferring the emotions of faro
to the seductions of flirting.
1017
01:12:14,380 --> 01:12:17,593
Narumov conducted Hermann
to Chekalinsky's residence.
1018
01:12:23,307 --> 01:12:27,134
They passed through a suite of magnificent
rooms, filled with attentive domestics.
1019
01:12:30,795 --> 01:12:34,161
Generals and Privy Counsellors
were playing at whist;
1020
01:12:36,707 --> 01:12:39,450
young men were lolling carelessly
upon the velvet-covered sofas,
1021
01:12:39,751 --> 01:12:41,512
eating ices and smoking pipes.
1022
01:12:43,277 --> 01:12:45,900
In the drawing-room,
at the head of a long table,
1023
01:12:46,252 --> 01:12:48,670
around which were assembled
about a score of players,
1024
01:12:49,032 --> 01:12:51,108
sat the master of the house
keeping the bank.
1025
01:12:52,902 --> 01:12:56,597
He was a man of about sixty years of age,
of a very dignified appearance;
1026
01:12:57,891 --> 01:13:00,326
his head was covered
with silvery-white hair;
1027
01:13:01,294 --> 01:13:04,335
his full, florid countenance
expressed good-nature,
1028
01:13:06,565 --> 01:13:11,400
and his eyes twinkled
with a perpetual smile.
1029
01:13:32,180 --> 01:13:34,522
Narumov introduced Hermann to him.
1030
01:13:35,914 --> 01:13:37,815
Chekalinsky shook him by
the hand in a friendly manner,
1031
01:13:38,251 --> 01:13:40,330
requested him not to stand on
ceremony, and then went on dealing.
1032
01:13:41,384 --> 01:13:42,703
The game lasted long.
1033
01:13:43,514 --> 01:13:45,268
There were over
thirty cards on the table.
1034
01:13:46,221 --> 01:13:48,654
Chekalinsky paused
after each throw,
1035
01:13:48,938 --> 01:13:51,353
in order to let the players
to arrange the cards
1036
01:13:52,195 --> 01:13:55,398
and wrote down the losses,
listening to their requests,
1037
01:13:55,864 --> 01:13:59,998
and politely put straight the corners
of cards that some player had bent.
1038
01:14:00,903 --> 01:14:03,697
The game was over now.
1039
01:14:05,569 --> 01:14:12,476
Chekalinsky shuffled the cards
and prepared to deal again.
1040
01:14:20,105 --> 01:14:21,089
Let me stake.
1041
01:14:23,149 --> 01:14:23,978
Yes.
1042
01:14:28,252 --> 01:14:30,933
Happy absolution!
1043
01:14:32,445 --> 01:14:33,437
Good luck!
1044
01:14:57,629 --> 01:14:58,331
Stake!
1045
01:15:01,467 --> 01:15:02,422
How much?
1046
01:15:03,524 --> 01:15:05,819
excuse me, I cannot
see quite clearly.
1047
01:15:07,521 --> 01:15:08,504
47,000 rubles.
1048
01:15:09,125 --> 01:15:12,078
At these words every head in
the room turned suddenly round,
1049
01:15:12,434 --> 01:15:14,275
and all eyes were
fixed upon Hermann.
1050
01:15:15,082 --> 01:15:18,016
"He has taken leave of
his senses!" thought Narumov.
1051
01:15:18,736 --> 01:15:23,725
Allow me to inform you,
that you are playing very high;
1052
01:15:24,431 --> 01:15:30,264
nobody here has ever staked
more than 275 rubles at once.
1053
01:15:32,017 --> 01:15:32,914
Very well,
1054
01:15:35,413 --> 01:15:37,161
but do you accept
my card or not?
1055
01:15:38,389 --> 01:15:40,317
I only wish to say,
1056
01:15:41,275 --> 01:15:43,726
that although I trust my friends,
1057
01:15:44,585 --> 01:15:47,942
I can only play
against ready money.
1058
01:15:49,014 --> 01:15:50,937
As for me, I am quite sure
1059
01:15:52,159 --> 01:15:53,776
that your word is enough,
1060
01:15:54,851 --> 01:16:00,292
but as a formality, I ask you
to stake the money.
1061
01:16:55,800 --> 01:16:56,689
I have won!
1062
01:17:07,659 --> 01:17:08,873
Do you wish me
to settle with you?
1063
01:17:12,273 --> 01:17:13,541
If you please.
1064
01:17:16,829 --> 01:17:19,719
Chekalinsky drew from his
pocket a number of banknotes
1065
01:17:20,579 --> 01:17:21,993
and paid at once.
1066
01:17:24,614 --> 01:17:28,314
Hermann took up his
money and left the table.
1067
01:17:29,247 --> 01:17:30,407
Narumov could not recover
from his astonishment.
1068
01:17:32,257 --> 01:17:36,023
Hermann drank a glass
of lemonade and returned home.
1069
01:17:37,858 --> 01:17:42,151
The next evening he appeared
at Chekalinsky's again.
1070
01:17:43,007 --> 01:17:44,103
The host was dealing.
1071
01:17:44,694 --> 01:17:48,045
Hermann walked up to the table;
the punters made room for him.
1072
01:17:48,611 --> 01:17:51,716
Chekalinsky greeted him
with a gracious bow.
1073
01:17:52,600 --> 01:17:55,631
Hermann waited for the next
deal and staked.
1074
01:17:56,194 --> 01:17:59,154
47,000 rubles all in all
and his previous winning.
1075
01:17:59,971 --> 01:18:01,621
Chekalinsky began to deal.
1076
01:18:18,911 --> 01:18:21,171
A knave turned up on the right,
1077
01:18:23,662 --> 01:18:25,708
a seven on the left.
1078
01:18:27,187 --> 01:18:28,719
Hermann showed his...
1079
01:18:33,008 --> 01:18:34,193
seven.
1080
01:18:35,409 --> 01:18:36,844
There was a general exclamation.
1081
01:18:38,046 --> 01:18:40,622
Chekalinsky was
evidently ill at ease,
1082
01:18:41,732 --> 01:18:45,387
but he counted out 94.000 rubles
and handed them over to Hermann,
1083
01:18:46,719 --> 01:18:48,545
who pocketed them
in the coolest manner possible
1084
01:18:49,559 --> 01:18:51,576
and immediately left the house.
1085
01:18:54,599 --> 01:19:00,076
The next evening Hermann
appeared again at the table.
1086
01:19:21,574 --> 01:19:23,618
Every one was expecting him.
1087
01:19:27,126 --> 01:19:29,533
The generals and Privy
Counsellors left their whist
1088
01:19:29,918 --> 01:19:31,681
in order to watch
such extraordinary play.
1089
01:19:32,696 --> 01:19:34,523
The young officers
quitted their sofas,
1090
01:19:35,380 --> 01:19:39,678
and even the servants crowded into
the room. All pressed round Hermann.
1091
01:19:40,825 --> 01:19:43,267
The other players
left off punting,
1092
01:19:43,976 --> 01:19:46,897
impatient to see
how it would end.
1093
01:19:48,157 --> 01:19:53,133
Hermann stood at the table and
prepared to play alone against the pale,
1094
01:19:53,742 --> 01:19:56,721
but still smiling Chekalinsky.
1095
01:19:58,267 --> 01:20:01,057
Each opened a pack of cards.
1096
01:20:02,201 --> 01:20:04,023
Chekalinsky shuffled.
1097
01:20:04,958 --> 01:20:10,327
Hermann took a card and
covered it with a pile of bank-notes.
1098
01:20:11,764 --> 01:20:13,481
It was like a duel.
1099
01:20:14,870 --> 01:20:17,240
Deep silence reigned around.
1100
01:20:18,688 --> 01:20:21,344
Chekalinsky began to deal;
1101
01:20:22,711 --> 01:20:25,083
his hands trembled.
1102
01:21:10,259 --> 01:21:12,180
On the right a queen turned up,
1103
01:21:13,567 --> 01:21:15,384
and on the left an ace.
1104
01:21:17,738 --> 01:21:18,906
Ace has won!
1105
01:21:28,942 --> 01:21:31,820
Your queen has lost.
1106
01:21:40,665 --> 01:21:41,757
Instead of an ace,
1107
01:21:42,428 --> 01:21:45,287
there lay before him
the queen of spades!
1108
01:21:46,769 --> 01:21:48,109
He could not believe his eyes,
1109
01:21:48,670 --> 01:21:51,822
nor could he understand how
he had made such a mistake.
1110
01:21:53,884 --> 01:21:55,178
At that moment it seemed to him
1111
01:21:55,831 --> 01:21:57,467
that the queen of spades
smiled ironically
1112
01:21:58,717 --> 01:21:59,963
and winked her eye at him.
1113
01:22:01,778 --> 01:22:04,706
He was struck by her
remarkable resemblance...
1114
01:22:10,433 --> 01:22:11,757
The old Countess!
1115
01:22:44,383 --> 01:22:48,279
Chekalinsky gathered up
his winnings.
1116
01:22:50,283 --> 01:22:52,569
Hermann remained
perfectly motionless.
1117
01:23:19,416 --> 01:23:20,772
When at last he left the table,
1118
01:23:22,053 --> 01:23:23,288
there was a general
commotion in the room.
1119
01:23:24,798 --> 01:23:27,394
"Splendidly punted!"
said the players.
1120
01:23:29,651 --> 01:23:31,669
Chekalinsky shuffled
the cards afresh,
1121
01:23:35,658 --> 01:23:39,579
and the game went on as usual.
1122
01:23:49,354 --> 01:23:52,646
EPILOGUE
1123
01:23:55,408 --> 01:23:57,719
Hermann went out of his mind,
1124
01:23:59,105 --> 01:24:02,169
and is now confined in room Number 17
of the Obukhov Hospital.
1125
01:24:02,849 --> 01:24:04,476
He never answers any questions,
1126
01:24:04,960 --> 01:24:06,438
but he constantly mutters
with unusual rapidity:
1127
01:24:06,658 --> 01:24:11,102
"Three, seven, ace!"
"Three, seven, queen!"
1128
01:24:15,378 --> 01:24:20,280
Lizaveta Ivanovna has married
a very amiable young man,
1129
01:24:21,044 --> 01:24:23,692
a son of the former
steward of the old Countess.
1130
01:24:24,503 --> 01:24:27,644
He is in the service of the State somewhere,
and is in receipt of a good income.
1131
01:24:28,716 --> 01:24:31,748
Lizaveta is also supporting
a poor relative.
1132
01:24:34,724 --> 01:24:35,797
Tomsky
1133
01:24:37,077 --> 01:24:38,684
has been promoted
to the rank of captain,
1134
01:24:39,394 --> 01:24:42,194
and has become the husband
of the Princess Pauline.
1135
01:25:09,141 --> 01:25:11,448
Cast:
1136
01:25:12,257 --> 01:25:14,709
Engineer Hermann
Viktor PROSKURIN
1137
01:25:15,147 --> 01:25:17,397
Lizaveta Ivanovna
Irina DYMCHENKO
1138
01:25:18,122 --> 01:25:20,448
Countess Anna Fedotovna
Yelena GLAGOLEVA
1139
01:25:20,906 --> 01:25:23,988
Tomsky
Vitaly SOLOMIN
1140
01:25:24,866 --> 01:25:26,599
Chekalinsky
Innokenty SMOKTUNOVSKY
1141
01:25:27,125 --> 01:25:28,700
Narumov
Konstantin GRIGORYEV
1142
01:25:29,171 --> 01:25:31,154
Surin
Alexander ZAKHAROV
1143
01:25:31,701 --> 01:25:36,378
A. PINTOVSKAYA,
V. BOGDANOV, Ye. GRADOV
1144
01:25:37,517 --> 01:25:40,744
Music by
Dmitry BORTYANSKY
1145
01:25:41,387 --> 01:25:44,690
Directed by
Igor MASLENNIKOV
1146
01:25:45,957 --> 01:25:49,733
Director of Photography
Yury VEKSLER
1147
01:25:50,135 --> 01:25:53,599
Production Designer
Isaak KAPLAN
1148
01:25:53,972 --> 01:25:56,048
Costume Designer
Nelli LEV
1149
01:25:56,328 --> 01:25:58,606
Sound Engineer
Asya ZVEREVA
1150
01:25:58,971 --> 01:26:03,705
Translation by Natalie Duddington
and Alec Vagapov
1151
01:26:03,884 --> 01:26:08,960
Subtitles by Boris Bulgakov
1152
01:26:33,269 --> 01:26:35,220
The End96800
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