I had come on the Capparabella express, which, with that reckless gusto peculiar to trains in mountainous country, had done its thundering best to collect throughout the night as many tunnels as possible.
The name of the express is absent in the story¡¯s Russian original and appears only in the English version. Spring in Fialta was written in 1938 (according to N. I. Artemenko-Tolstoy, the story appeared in Sovremennye Zapiski, No. 61, in 1936), when the new European war was inevitable. The express¡¯ name (added, so to speak, post factum) seems to hint at the Latin saying si vis pacem, para bellum (if you want peace, prepare for war). On the other hand, Bella (It., ¡°beautiful¡±) is a common epithet of Venice. Venezia la Bella (1857) is a long poem by Apollon Grigoriev. In Alexander Blok¡¯s cycle Ital¡¯yanskie stikhi (Italian Verses, 1909) three poems are dedicated to Venice (see my post of Dec. 25, ¡°Balkan Novella in VN's poem Fame & Spring in Fialta¡±) and seven poems, to Florence. In the first of these Blok calls Florence Iuda (Judas) and Bella (that lost her beauty):
§µ§Þ§â§Ú, §¶§Ý§à§â§Ö§ß§è§Ú§ñ, §ª§å§Õ§Ñ,
§ª§ã§é§Ö§Ù§ß§Ú §Ó §ã§å§Þ§â§Ñ§Ü §Ó§Ö§Ü§à§Ó§à§Û!
§Á §Ó §é§Ñ§ã §Ý§ð§Ò§Ó§Ú §ä§Ö§Ò§ñ §Ù§Ñ§Ò§å§Õ§å,
§£ §é§Ñ§ã §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§Ú §Ò§å§Õ§å §ß§Ö §ã §ä§à§Ò§à§Û!
§°, Bella, §ã§Þ§Ö§Û§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ§Õ §ã§à§Ò§à§ð,
§µ§Ø §ß§Ö §á§â§Ö§Ü§â§Ñ§ã§ß§Ñ §Ò§à§Ý§î§ê§Ö §ä§í!
§¤§ß§Ú§Ý§à§Û §Þ§à§â§ë§Ú§ß§à§Û §Ô§â§à§Ò§à§Ó§à§ð
§ª§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ö§ß§í §ä§Ó§à§Ú §é§Ö§â§ä§í!
§·§â§Ú§á§ñ§ä §ä§Ó§à§Ú §Ñ§Ó§ä§à§Þ§à§Ò§Ú§Ý§Ú,
§´§Ó§à§Ú §å§â§à§Õ§Ý§Ú§Ó§í §Õ§à§Þ§Ñ,
§£§ã§Ö§Ö§Ó§â§à§á§Ö§Û§ã§Ü§à§Û §Ø§×§Ý§ä§à§Û §á§í§Ý§Ú
§´§í §á§â§Ö§Õ§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ §ã§Ñ§Þ§Ñ!
§©§Ó§Ö§ß§ñ§ä §Ó §á§í§Ý§Ú §Ó§Ö§Ý§à§ã§Ú§á§Ö§Õ§í
§´§Ñ§Þ, §Ô§Õ§Ö §ã§Ó§ñ§ä§à§Û §Þ§à§ß§Ñ§ç §ã§à§Ø§Ø§×§ß,
§¤§Õ§Ö §§Ö§à§ß§Ñ§â§Õ§à §ã§å§Þ§â§Ñ§Ü §Ó§Ö§Õ§Ñ§Ý,
§¢§Ö§Ñ§ä§à §ã§ß§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §ã§Ú§ß§Ú§Û §ã§à§ß!
§´§í §á§í§ê§ß§í§ç §®§Ö§Õ§Ú§é§Ö§Û §ä§â§Ö§Ó§à§Ø§Ú§ê§î,
§´§í §ä§à§á§é§Ö§ê§î §Ý§Ú§Ý§Ú§Ú §ã§Ó§à§Ú,
§¯§à §Ó§à§ã§Ü§â§Ö§ã§Ú§ä§î §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ê§î
§£ §á§í§Ý§Ú §ä§à§â§Ô§à§Ó§à§Û §ä§à§Ý§é§Ö§Ú!
§¤§ß§å§ã§Ñ§Ó§à§Û §Þ§Ö§ã§ã§í §ã§ä§à§ß §á§â§à§ä§ñ§Ø§ß§í§Û
§ª §ä§â§å§á§ß§í§Û §Ù§Ñ§á§Ñ§ç §â§à§Ù §Ó §è§Ö§â§Ü§Ó§Ñ§ç -
§£§Ö§ã§î §Ô§â§å§Ù §ä§à§ã§Ü§Ú §Þ§ß§à§Ô§à§ï§ä§Ñ§Ø§ß§í§Û -
§³§Ô§Ú§ß§î §Ó §à§é§Ú§ã§ä§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§í§ç §Ó§Ö§Ü§Ñ§ç!
In his poem Blok mentions Leonardo, Beato (Fra Angelico, a Florentine artist ¡°who was dreaming a blue dream¡±) and ¡°the saint monk¡± (Savonarola) who was burned in Florence. Leonardo da Vinci is the author of ¡°The Last Supper,¡± the painting the narrator of Spring in Fialta recalls as he sees Nina¡¯s husband in the company of his friends:
§¬§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Þ§í §Ó§à§ê§Ý§Ú §Ó §Ü§Ñ§æ§Ö, §ä§Ñ§Þ §Ú§Ô§â§Ñ§Ý §Õ§Ñ§Þ§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §à§â§Ü§Ö§ã§ä§â; §ñ §Þ§Ú§Þ§à§ç§à§Õ§à§Þ §Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ä§Ú§Ý, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ó §à§Õ§ß§à§Û §Ú§Ù §Ô§â§Ñ§ß§×§ß§í§ç §Ü§à§Ý§à§ß§ß, §à§Ò§Ý§Ú§è§à§Ó§Ñ§ß§ß§í§ç §Ù§Ö§â§Ü§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §à§ä§â§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §ã§ä§â§Ñ§å§ã§à§Ó§Ñ§ñ §Ý§ñ§Ø§Ü§Ñ §Ñ§â§æ§í, §Ñ §Ù§Ñ§ä§Ö§Þ §ä§à§ä§é§Ñ§ã §å§Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý §ã§à§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§ß§à§Û §ã§ä§à§Ý, §Ù§Ñ §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§Þ, §á§à§ã§â§Ö§Õ§Ú §Õ§à§Ý§Ô§à§Û §ã§ä§à§â§à§ß§í §Ú §ã§á§Ú§ß§à§Û §Ü §á§Ý§ð§ê§å, §á§â§Ö§Õ§ã§Ö§Õ§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ã§ä§Ó§à§Ó§Ñ§Ý §¶§Ö§â§Õ§Ú§ß§Ñ§ß§Õ, §Ú §ß§Ñ §Þ§Ô§ß§à§Ó§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §ï§ä§Ñ §á§à§Ù§Ñ §Ö§Ô§à, §á§à§Ý§à§Ø§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §â§Ñ§ã§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§í§ç §â§å§Ü §Ú §à§Ò§â§Ñ§ë§Ö§ß§ß§í§Ö §Ü §ß§Ö§Þ§å §Ý§Ú§è§Ñ §ã§à§ä§â§Ñ§á§Ö§Ù§ß§Ú§Ü§à§Ó §ß§Ñ§á§à§Þ§ß§Ú§Ý§Ú §Þ§ß§Ö §ã §Ü§à§ê§Þ§Ñ§â§ß§à§Û §Ü§Ñ§â§Ú§Ü§Ñ§ä§å§â§ß§à§ã§ä§î§ð... §é§ä§à §Ú§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§à §ß§Ñ§á§à§Þ§ß§Ú§Ý§Ú, §ñ §ã§Ñ§Þ §ä§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §ß§Ö §á§à§ß§ñ§Ý, §Ñ §á§à§ä§à§Þ, §á§à§ß§ñ§Ó, §å§Õ§Ú§Ó§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §Ü§à§ë§å§ß§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú §ã§à§á§à§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ, §ß§Ö §Ò§à§Ý§Ö§Ö §Ü§à§ë§å§ß§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ô§à, §Ó§á§â§à§é§Ö§Þ, §é§Ö§Þ §ã§Ñ§Þ§à§Ö §Ú§ã§Ü§å§ã§ã§ä§Ó§à §Ö§Ô§à.
An orchestra of women was playing when we entered the caf¨¦; first I noted the ostrich thigh of a harp reflected in one of the mirror-faced pillars, and then I saw the composite table (small ones drawn together to form a long one) at which, with his back to the plush wall, Ferdinand was presiding; and for a moment his whole attitude, the position of his parted hands, and the faces of his table companions all turned toward him reminded me in a grotesque, nightmarish way of something I did not quite grasp, but when I did so in retrospect, the suggested comparison struck me as hardly less sacrilegious than the nature of his art itself.
Nina¡¯s husband is fashionable author. In his poem Za grobom (¡°After the Hearse,¡± 1909) Blok calls the deceased writer literator modnyi, slov koshchunstvennykh tvotets (a fashionable man of letters, creator of sacrilegious words):
§¢§à§Ø§î§ñ §®§Ñ§ä§Ö§â§î §µ§ä§à§Ý§Ú §Þ§à§Ú §á§Ö§é§Ñ§Ý§Ú
§±§Ö§â§Ö§Õ §Ô§â§à§Ò§à§Þ §ê§Ý§Ñ, §ã§Ó§Ö§ä§Ý§Ñ, §ä§Ú§ç§Ñ.
§¡ §Ù§Ñ §Ô§â§à§Ò§à§Þ ¡ª §Ó §ä§â§Ñ§å§â§ß§à§Û §Ó§å§Ñ§Ý§Ú
§º§Ý§Ñ §ß§Ö§Ó§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ, §á§â§à§Ó§à§Ø§Ñ§ñ §Ø§Ö§ß§Ú§ç§Ñ...
§¢§í§Ý §à§ß §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§â§Ñ§ä§à§â §Þ§à§Õ§ß§í§Û,
§´§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ã§Ý§à§Ó §Ü§à§ë§å§ß§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§í§ç §ä§Ó§à§â§Ö§è...
§¯§à §Þ§Ö§â§ä§Ó§Ö§è ¡ª §â§à§Õ§ß§à§Û §Õ§å§ê§Ö §ß§Ñ§â§à§Õ§ß§à§Û:
§£§ã§ñ§Ü§Ú§Û §ã§Ó§ñ§ä§à §é§ä§Ú§ä §à§ß§Ñ §Ü§à§ß§Ö§è.
§ª §ß§Ñ§Ó§ã§ä§â§Ö§é§å §Ü§Ý§Ñ§ß§ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î, §Ü§â§Ö§ã§ä§Ú§Ý§Ú
§®§ß§à§Ô§à§Õ§å§Þ§ß§í§Û, §Þ§ß§à§Ô§à§ä§â§å§Õ§ß§í§Û §Ý§à§Ò.
§¡ §Õ§â§å§Ù§î§ñ §Ú §Ò§Ý§Ú§Ù§Ü§Ú§Ö §á§í§Ý§Ú§Ý§Ú
§¯§Ñ §Ú§Ü§à§ß§å, §ß§Ñ §ß§Ö§Ö, §ß§Ñ §Ô§â§à§Ò...
§ª §ã §Ü§Ñ§Ü§à§ð §Ò§Ö§ã§Ü§à§ß§Ö§é§ß§à§Û §Ô§â§å§ã§ä§î§ð
(He §à §ß§×§Þ ¡ª §¢§à§Ô §Ó§Ö§ã§ä§î §à §Ü§à§Þ?)
§±§â§Ú§ß§ñ§Ý§Ñ §à§ß§Ñ §ã§Ý§à§Ó§Ñ §ã§à§é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§Ú§Û
§ª §Ó§Ö§ß§à§Ü §ã§Ý§å§é§Ñ§Û§ß§í§Û §Ù§Ñ §Ó§Ö§ß§Ü§à§Þ...
§¿§ä§Ú§ç §æ§â§Ñ§Ù §Ú§Ù§Ò§Ú§ä§í§ç §á§à§Ó§ä§à§â§Ö§ß§î§ñ,
§¯§Ú§Ü§à§Þ§å §ß§Ö §ß§å§Ø§ß§í§Ö §ã§Ý§à§Ó§Ñ ¡ª
§£§à§Ù§Ó§Ö§Ý§Ñ §à§ß§Ñ §Ó §Ó§Ö§ß§Ö§è §ä§Ó§à§â§Ö§ß§î§ñ,
§£ §ä§Ñ§Û§ß§å§ð §å§Ý§í§Ò§Ü§å §¢§à§Ø§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ñ...
§³§Ý§à§Ó§ß§à §Ù§Õ§Ö§ã§î, §Ô§Õ§Ö §á§Ö§Ý§Ú §Ú §Ü§Ñ§Õ§Ú§Ý§Ú,
§¤§Õ§Ö §Ú §Ô§â§å§ã§ä§î §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ä §Ò§í§ä§î §ä§Ú§ç§Ñ,
§µ§Ò§â§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§ã§î §à§ß§Ñ §æ§Ñ§ä§à§Û §à§ä §á§í§Ý§Ú
§ª §Ø§Õ§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §ª§ß§à§Ô§à §¨§Ö§ß§Ú§ç§Ñ...
The poem¡¯s last line, i zhdala Inogo Zhenikha (and waited for the Another Fianc¨¦), brings to mind zhenikh polunoshchnyi (the midnight bridegroom) mentioned by the priest in nadgrobnoe slovo (graveside oration) in Pushkin¡¯s story Pikovaya dama (¡°The Queen of Spades,¡± 1833):
§¯§Ú§Ü§ä§à §ß§Ö §á§Ý§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§Ý; §ã§Ý§×§Ù§í §Ò§í§Ý§Ú §Ò§í ¡ª une affectation. §¤§â§Ñ§æ§Ú§ß§ñ §ä§Ñ§Ü §Ò§í§Ý§Ñ §ã§ä§Ñ§â§Ñ, §é§ä§à §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§î §Ö§× §ß§Ú§Ü§à§Ô§à §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ô§Ý§Ñ §á§à§â§Ñ§Ù§Ú§ä§î §Ú §é§ä§à §Ö§× §â§à§Õ§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§Ú§Ü§Ú §Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§à §ã§Þ§à§ä§â§Ö§Ý§Ú §ß§Ñ §ß§Ö§×, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ß§Ñ §à§ä§Ø§Ú§Ó§ê§å§ð. §®§à§Ý§à§Õ§à§Û §Ñ§â§ç§Ú§Ö§â§Ö§Û §á§â§à§Ú§Ù§ß§Ö§ã §ß§Ñ§Õ§Ô§â§à§Ò§ß§à§Ö §ã§Ý§à§Ó§à. §£ §á§â§à§ã§ä§í§ç §Ú §ä§â§à§Ô§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§í§ç §Ó§í§â§Ñ§Ø§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ§ç §á§â§Ö§Õ§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§Ú§Ý §à§ß §Þ§Ú§â§ß§à§Ö §å§ã§á§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §á§â§Ñ§Ó§Ö§Õ§ß§Ú§è§í, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Û §Õ§à§Ý§Ô§Ú§Ö §Ô§à§Õ§í §Ò§í§Ý§Ú §ä§Ú§ç§Ú§Þ, §å§Þ§Ú§Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§í§Þ §á§â§Ú§Ô§à§ä§à§Ó§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö§Þ §Ü §ç§â§Ú§ã§ä§Ú§Ñ§ß§ã§Ü§à§Û §Ü§à§ß§é§Ú§ß§Ö. «§¡§ß§Ô§Ö§Ý §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§Ú §à§Ò§â§Ö§Ý §Ö§×, ¡ª §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý §à§â§Ñ§ä§à§â, ¡ª §Ò§à§Õ§â§ã§ä§Ó§å§ð§ë§å§ð §Ó §á§à§Þ§í§ê§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ§ç §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô§Ú§ç §Ú §Ó §à§Ø§Ú§Õ§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ú §Ø§Ö§ß§Ú§ç§Ñ §á§à§Ý§å§ß§à§ë§ß§à§Ô§à».
Nobody wept; tears would have been une affectation. The Countess was so old, that her death could have surprised nobody, and her relatives had long looked upon her as being out of the world. A famous preacher pronounced the funeral sermon. In simple and touching words he described the peaceful passing away of the righteous, who had passed long years in calm preparation for a Christian end. "The angel of death found her," said the orator, "engaged in pious meditation and waiting for the midnight bridegroom." (chapter V)
At the end of Pushkin¡¯s story Chekalinski tells Hermann: dama vasha ubita (¡°your queen has lost;¡± literally: ¡°your lady is dead¡±). VN novel Korol¡¯, dama, valet (¡°King, Queen, Knave,¡± 1928) ends in the Queen¡¯s sudden death. The combination of the names Franz (the Knave in KQK) and Ferdinand (as the narrator of Spring in Fialta calls Nina¡¯s husband) hints at Franz Ferdinand (the archduke of Austria who was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo). In Spring in Fialta Nina (a beauty who has Pushkinian feet) seems to be the Queen of Spades.
Cappa is Italian for ¡°cape¡± (a sleeveless garment). In his famous poem O doblestyakh, o podvigakh, o slave¡ (¡°About Valor, about Feats, about Glory¡¡± 1908) Blok mentions his love¡¯s siniy plashch (blue cloak) in which she left home and of which the poet is dreaming:
§° §Õ§à§Ò§Ý§Ö§ã§ä§ñ§ç, §à §á§à§Õ§Ó§Ú§Ô§Ñ§ç, §à §ã§Ý§Ñ§Ó§Ö
§Á §Ù§Ñ§Ò§í§Ó§Ñ§Ý §ß§Ñ §Ô§à§â§Ö§ã§ä§ß§à§Û §Ù§Ö§Þ§Ý§Ö,
§¬§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §ä§Ó§à§× §Ý§Ú§è§à §Ó §á§â§à§ã§ä§à§Û §à§á§â§Ñ§Ó§Ö
§±§Ö§â§Ö§Õ §Þ§ß§à§Û §ã§Ú§ñ§Ý§à §ß§Ñ §ã§ä§à§Ý§Ö.
§¯§à §é§Ñ§ã §ß§Ñ§ã§ä§Ñ§Ý, §Ú §ä§í §å§ê§Ý§Ñ §Ú§Ù §Õ§à§Þ§å.
§Á §Ò§â§à§ã§Ú§Ý §Ó §ß§à§é§î §Ù§Ñ§Ó§Ö§ä§ß§à§Ö §Ü§à§Ý§î§è§à.
§´§í §à§ä§Õ§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §ã§Ó§à§ð §ã§å§Õ§î§Ò§å §Õ§â§å§Ô§à§Þ§å,
§ª §ñ §Ù§Ñ§Ò§í§Ý §á§â§Ö§Ü§â§Ñ§ã§ß§à§Ö §Ý§Ú§è§à.
§§Ö§ä§Ö§Ý§Ú §Õ§ß§Ú, §Ü§â§å§ä§ñ§ã§î §á§â§à§Ü§Ý§ñ§ä§í§Þ §â§à§Ö§Þ...
§£§Ú§ß§à §Ú §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ã§ä§î §ä§Ö§â§Ù§Ñ§Ý§Ú §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§î §Þ§à§ð...
§ª §Ó§ã§á§à§Þ§ß§Ú§Ý §ñ §ä§Ö§Ò§ñ §á§â§Ö§Õ §Ñ§ß§Ñ§Ý§à§Ö§Þ,
§ª §Ù§Ó§Ñ§Ý §ä§Ö§Ò§ñ, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Þ§à§Ý§à§Õ§à§ã§ä§î §ã§Ó§à§ð...
§Á §Ù§Ó§Ñ§Ý §ä§Ö§Ò§ñ, §ß§à §ä§í §ß§Ö §à§Ô§Ý§ñ§ß§å§Ý§Ñ§ã§î,
§Á §ã§Ý§×§Ù§í §Ý§Ú§Ý, §ß§à §ä§í §ß§Ö §ã§ß§Ú§Ù§à§ê§Ý§Ñ.
§´§í §Ó §ã§Ú§ß§Ú§Û §á§Ý§Ñ§ë §á§Ö§é§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§à §Ù§Ñ§Ó§Ö§â§ß§å§Ý§Ñ§ã§î,
§£ §ã§í§â§å§ð §ß§à§é§î §ä§í §Ú§Ù §Õ§à§Þ§å §å§ê§Ý§Ñ.
§¯§Ö §Ù§ß§Ñ§ð, §Ô§Õ§Ö §á§â§Ú§ð§ä §ä§Ó§à§Ö§Û §Ô§à§â§Õ§í§ß§Ö
§´§í, §Þ§Ú§Ý§Ñ§ñ, §ä§í, §ß§Ö§Ø§ß§Ñ§ñ, §ß§Ñ§ê§Ý§Ñ...
§Á §Ü§â§Ö§á§Ü§à §ã§á§Ý§ð, §Þ§ß§Ö §ã§ß§Ú§ä§ã§ñ §á§Ý§Ñ§ë §ä§Ó§à§Û §ã§Ú§ß§Ú§Û,
§£ §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Þ §ä§í §Ó §ã§í§â§å§ð §ß§à§é§î §å§ê§Ý§Ñ...
§µ§Ø §ß§Ö §Þ§Ö§é§ä§Ñ§ä§î §à §ß§Ö§Ø§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú, §à §ã§Ý§Ñ§Ó§Ö,
§£§ã§× §Þ§Ú§ß§à§Ó§Ñ§Ý§à§ã§î, §Þ§à§Ý§à§Õ§à§ã§ä§î §á§â§à§ê§Ý§Ñ!
§´§Ó§à§× §Ý§Ú§è§à §Ó §Ö§Ô§à §á§â§à§ã§ä§à§Û §à§á§â§Ñ§Ó§Ö
§³§Ó§à§Ö§Û §â§å§Ü§à§Û §å§Ò§â§Ñ§Ý §ñ §ã§à §ã§ä§à§Ý§Ñ.
In his novel Podvig (¡°Glory,¡± 1932) VN mentions Savan-na-rylo (¡°Shroud-on-Mug,¡± a play on Savonarola), the nickname of one of the chiefs in Zoorland (the northern totalitarian country invented by Martin and Sonya). In his poem Slava (¡°Fame,¡± 1942) VN compares his unpleasant visitor to the Influence on the Balkan Novella of the Symbolist School:
§¬§Ñ§Ü §á§â§à§ã§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î §Ú§Ù §ß§Ñ§Ô§Ý§í§ç, §Ô§â§à§Ù§Ñ §à§Ò§ë§Ö§Ø§Ú§ä§Ú§Û,
§Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ù§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§ë§Ú§Û §Õ§â§å§Ô §Õ§Ö§ä§ã§ä§Ó§Ñ, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ã§ä§Ñ§â§ê§Ú§Û §ê§á§Ú§à§ß
(§ê§Ö§á§Ö§Ý§ñ§Ó§í§Þ §ä§Ñ§Ü§Ú§Þ §ê§Ö§á§à§ä§Ü§à§Þ: §Ñ §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ú§ä§Ö,
§é§ä§à §Ó§í §Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§Ý§Ú §ä§Ñ§Þ-§ä§à?), §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ã§à§ß,
§Ü§Ñ§Ü §á§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§é, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ê§á§Ú§à§ß, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Õ§â§å§Ô §Õ§Ö§ä§ã§ä§Ó§Ñ §Ù§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§ë§Ú§Û,
§Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ó §Ò§Ñ§Ý§Ü§Ñ§ß§ã§Ü§à§Û §ß§à§Ó§Ö§Ý§Ý§Ö §Ó§Ý§Ú§ñ§ß§î§Ö, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ú§ç,
§ã§Ú§Þ§Ó§à§Ý§Ú§ã§ä§à§Ó -- §ß§à §ç§å§Ø§Ö.
Like the blustering beggar, the pest of the poorhouse,
like an evil old schoolmate, like the head spy
(in that thick slurred murmur: ¡°Say, what were you doing
in such and such place?¡±), like a dream,
like a spy, like a hangman, like an evil old schoolmate,
like the Influence on the Balkan Novella of - er -
the Symbolist School, only worse.
Blok was a major Symbolist poet. The Balkan Novella mentioned by VN in Slava is, no doubt, his own story Vesna v Fial¡¯te (Spring in Fialta).
Btw., Tolstoy is also the author of War and Peace (1869) and Smert¡¯ Ivana Ilyicha (¡°The Death of Ivan Ilyich,¡± 1886).
Alexey Sklyarenko