Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin - The Shot

The Shot Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Published: 1830 Categorie(s): Fiction, Short Stories Source: Wikisource 1 About Pushkin: Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (June 6 [O.S. May 26] 1799 – February 10 [O.S. January 29] 1837) was a Russian Romantic author who is con- sidered to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russi- an literature. Pushkin pioneered the use of vernacular speech in his poems and plays, creating a style of storytelling—mixing drama, ro- mance, and satire—associated with Russian literature ever since and greatly influencing later Russian writers. Born in Moscow, Pushkin pub- lished his first poem at the age of fourteen, and was widely recognized by the literary establishment by the time of his graduation from the Im- perial Lyceum in Tsarskoe Selo. Pushkin gradually became committed to social reform and emerged as a spokesman for literary radicals; in the early 1820s he clashed with the government, which sent him into exile in southern Russia. While under the strict surveillance of government cen- sors and unable to travel or publish at will, he wrote his most famous play, the drama Boris Godunov, but could not publish it until years later. His novel in verse, Eugene Onegin, was published serially from 1823–1831. Pushkin and his wife Natalya Goncharova, whom he married in 1831, later became regulars of court society. In 1837, while falling into greater and greater debt amidst rumors that his wife had started con- ducting a scandalous affair, Pushkin challenged her alleged lover, Ge- orges d'Anthès, to a duel. Pushkin was mortally wounded and died two days later. Because of his liberal political views and influence on genera- tions of Russian rebels, Pushkin was portrayed by Bolsheviks as an op- ponent to bourgeois literature and culture and a predecessor of Soviet lit- erature and poetry. They renamed Tsarskoe Selo after him. Source: Wikipedia Also available on Feedbooks for Pushkin: • The Queen of Spades (1834) • The Daughter of the Commandant (1836) Note: This book is brought to you by Feedbooks http://www.feedbooks.com Strictly for personal use, do not use this file for commercial purposes. 2 "We fired at each other." — Baratynsky "I vowed to kill him, according to the code of dueling, and I still have my shot to fire." — 'An Evening on Bivouac' 3 Chapter 1 WE were stationed in the little town of N——. The life of an officer in the army is well known. In the morning, drill and the riding-school; dinner with the Colonel or at a Jewish restaurant; in the evening, punch and cards. In N—— there was not one open house, not a single marriageable girl. We used to meet in each other's rooms, where, except our uniforms, we never saw anything. One civilian only was admitted into our society. He was about thirty- five years of age, and therefore we looked upon him as an old fellow. His experience gave him great advantage over us, and his habitual tacit- urnity, stern disposition and caustic tongue produced a deep impression upon our young minds. Some mystery surrounded his existence; he had the appearance of a Russian, although his name was a foreign one. He had formerly served in the Hussars, and with distinction. Nobody knew the cause that had induced him to retire from the service and settle in a wretched little village, where he lived poorly and, at the same time, ex- travagantly. He always went on foot, and constantly wore a shabby black overcoat, but the officers of our regiment were ever welcome at his table. His dinners, it is true, never consisted of more than two or three dishes, prepared by a retired soldier, but the champagne flowed like wa- ter. Nobody knew what his circumstances were, or what his income was, and nobody dared to question him about them. He had a collection of books, consisting chiefly of works on military matters and a few novels. He willingly lent them to us to read, and never asked for them back; on the other hand, he never returned to the owner the books that were lent to him. His principal amusement was shooting with a pistol. The walls of his room were riddled with bullets, and were as full of holes as a honey- comb. A rich collection of pistols was the only luxury in the humble cot- tage where he lived. The skill which he had acquired with his favourite weapon was simply incredible; and if he had offered to shoot a pear off somebody's forage-cap, not a man in our regiment would have hesitated to place the object upon his head. 4 Our conversation often turned upon duels. Silvio — so I will call him — never joined in it. When asked if he had ever fought, he drily replied he had; but he entered into no particulars, and it was evident that such questions were not to his liking. We came to the conclusion that he had upon his conscience the memory of some unhappy victim of his terrible skill. Moreover, it never entered into the head of any of us to suspect him of anything like cowardice. There are persons whose mere look is suffi- cient to repel such a suspicion. But an unexpected incident occurred which astounded us all. One day, about ten of our officers dined with Silvio. They drank as usual, that is to say, a great deal. After dinner we asked our host to hold the bank for a game at faro. For a long time he refused, for he hardly ever played, but at last he ordered cards to be brought, placed half a hundred ducats upon the table, and sat down to deal. We took our places round him, and the play began. It was Silvio's custom to preserve a complete si- lence when playing. He never disputed, and never entered into explana- tions. If the punter made a mistake in calculating, he immediately paid him the difference or noted down the surplus. We were acquainted with this habit of his, and we always allowed him to have his own way; but among us on this occasion was an officer who had only recently been transferred to our regiment. During the course of the game, this officer absently scored one point too many. Silvio took the chalk and noted down the correct account according to his usual custom. The officer, thinking that he had made a mistake, began to enter into explanations. Silvio continued dealing in silence. The officer, losing patience, took the brush and rubbed out what he considered was wrong. Silvio took the chalk and corrected the score again. The officer, heated with wine, play, and the laughter of his comrades, considered himself grossly insulted, and in his rage he seized a brass candlestick from the table, and hurled it at Silvio, who barely succeeded in avoiding the missile. We were filled with consternation. Silvio rose, white with rage, and with gleaming eyes, said: "My dear sir, have the goodness to withdraw, and thank God that this has happened in my house." None of us entertained the slightest doubt as to what the result would be, and we already looked upon our new comrade as a dead man. The officer withdrew, saying that he was ready to answer for his offence in whatever way the banker liked. The play went on for a few minutes longer, but feeling that our host was no longer interested in the game, we withdrew one after the other, and repaired to our respective quarters, 5 after having exchanged a few words upon the probability of there soon being a vacancy in the regiment. The next day, at the riding-school, we were already asking each other if the poor lieutenant was still alive, when he himself appeared among us. We put the same question to him, and he replied that he had not yet heard from Silvio. This astonished us. We went to Silvio's house and found him in the courtyard shooting bullet after bullet into an ace pasted upon the gate. He received us as usual, but did not utter a word about the event of the previous evening. Three days passed, and the lieutenant was still alive. We asked each other in astonishment: "Can it be possible that Silvio is not going to fight?" Silvio did not fight. He was satisfied with a very lame explanation, and became reconciled to his assailant. This lowered him very much in the opinion of all our young fellows. Want of courage is the last thing to be pardoned by young men, who usually look upon bravery as the chief of all human virtues, and the ex- cuse for every possible fault. But, by degrees, everything became forgot- ten, and Silvio regained his former influence. I alone could not approach him on the old footing. Being endowed by nature with a romantic imagination, I had become attached more than all the others to the man whose life was an enigma, and who seemed to me the hero of some mysterious drama. He was fond of me; at least, with me alone did he drop his customary sarcastic tone, and converse on different subjects in a simple and unusually agreeable manner. But after this un- lucky evening, the thought that his honour had been tarnished, and that the stain had been allowed to remain upon it in accordance with his own wish, was ever present in my mind, and prevented me treating him as before. I was ashamed to look at him. Silvio was too intelligent and ex- perienced not to observe this and guess the cause of it. This seemed to vex him; at least I observed once or twice a desire on his part to enter in- to an explanation with me, but I avoided such opportunities, and Silvio gave up the attempt. From that time forward I saw him only in the pres- ence of my comrades, and our confidential conversations came to an end. The inhabitants of the capital, with minds occupied by so many mat- ters of business and pleasure, have no idea of the many sensations so fa- miliar to the inhabitants of villages and small towns, as, for instance, the awaiting the arrival of the post. On Tuesdays and Fridays our regimental bureau used to be filled with officers: some expecting money, some let- ters, and others newspapers. The packets were usually opened on the spot, items of news were communicated from one to another, and the 6 bureau used to present a very animated picture. Silvio used to have his letters addressed to our regiment, and he was generally there to receive them. One day he received a letter, the seal of which he broke with a look of impatience. As he read the contents, his eyes sparkled. The officers, each occupied with his own letters, did not observe anything. "Gentlemen," said Silvio, "circumstances demand my immediate de- parture; I leave to-night. I hope that you will not refuse to dine with me for the last time. I shall expect you, too," he added, turning towards me. "I shall expect you without fail." With these words he hastily departed, and we, after agreeing to meet at Silvio's dispersed to our various quarters. I arrived at Silvio's house at the appointed time, and found nearly the whole regiment there. All his things were already packed; nothing re- mained but the bare, bullet-riddled walls. We sat down to table. Our host was in an excellent humour, and his gaiety was quickly communicated to the rest. Corks popped every moment, glasses foamed incessantly, and, with the utmost warmth, we wished our departing friend a pleasant journey and every happiness. When we rose from the table it was already late in the evening. After having wished everybody good-bye, Silvio took me by the hand and detained me just at the moment when I was preparing to depart. "I want to speak to you," he said in a low voice. I stopped behind. The guests had departed, and we two were left alone. Sitting down op- posite each other, we silently lit our pipes. Silvio seemed greatly troubled; not a trace remained of his former convulsive gaiety. The in- tense pallor of his face, his sparkling eyes, and the thick smoke issuing from his mouth, gave him a truly diabolical appearance. Several minutes elapsed, and then Silvio broke the silence. "Perhaps we shall never see each other again," said he; "before we part, I should like to have an explanation with you. You may have observed that I care very little for the opinion of other people, but I like you, and I feel that it would be painful to me to leave you with a wrong impression upon your mind." He paused, and began to knock the ashes out of his pipe. I sat gazing silently at the ground. "You thought it strange," he continued, "that I did not demand satisfac- tion from that drunken idiot R——. You will admit, however, that hav- ing the choice of weapons, his life was in my hands, while my own was 7 in no great danger. I could ascribe my forbearance to generosity alone, but I will not tell a lie. If I could have chastised R—— without the least risk to my own life, I should never have pardoned him." I looked at Silvio with astonishment. Such a confession completely astounded me. Silvio continued: "Exactly so: I have no right to expose myself to death. Six years ago I received a slap in the face, and my enemy still lives." My curiosity was greatly excited. "Did you not fight with him?" I asked. "Circumstances probably separ- ated you." "I did fight with him," replied Silvio: "and here is a souvenir of our duel." Silvio rose and took from a cardboard box a red cap with a gold tassel and embroidery (what the French call a bonnet de police); he put in on —— a bullet had passed through it about an inch above the forehead. "You know," continued Silvio, "that I served in one of the Hussar regi- ments. My character is well-known to you: I am accustomed to taking the lead. From my youth this has been my passion. In our time dissolute- ness was the fashion, and I was the most outrageous man in the army. We used to boast of our drunkenness: I beat in a drinking bout the fam- ous Bourtsoff, of whom Denis Davidoff has sung. Duels in our regiment were constantly taking place, and in all of them I was either second or principal. My comrades adored me, while the regimental commanders, who were constantly being changed, looked upon me as a necessary evil. "I was calmly enjoying my reputation, when a young man belonging to a wealthy and distinguished family — I will not mention his name — joined our regiment. Never in my life have I met with such a fortunate fellow! Imagine to yourself youth, wit, beauty, unbounded gaiety, the most reckless bravery, a famous name, untold wealth — imagine all these, and you can form some idea of the effect that he would be sure to produce among us. My supremacy was shaken. Dazzled by my reputa- tion, he began to seek my friendship, but I received him coldly, and without the least regret he held aloof from me. I took a hatred to him. His success in the regiment and in the society of ladies brought me to the verge of despair. I began to seek a quarrel with him; to my epigrams he replied with epigrams which always seemed to me more spontaneous and more cutting than mine, and which were decidedly more amusing, for he joked while I fumed. At last, at a ball given by a Polish landed pro- prietor, seeing him the object of the attention of all the ladies, and espe- cially of the mistress of the house, with whom I was upon very good 8 terms, I whispered some grossly insulting remark in his ear. He flamed up and gave me a slap in the face. We grasped our swords; the ladies fainted; we were separated; and that same night we set out to fight. "The dawn was just breaking. I was standing at the appointed place with my three seconds. With inexplicable impatience I awaited my op- ponent. The spring sun rose, and it was already growing hot. I saw him coming in the distance. He was walking on foot, accompanied by one second. We advanced to meet him. He approached, holding his cap filled with black cherries. The seconds measured twelve paces for us. I had to fire first, but my agitation was so great, that I could not depend upon the steadiness of my hand; and in order to give myself time to become calm, I ceded to him the first shot. My adversary would not agree to this. It was decided that we should cast lots. The first number fell to him, the constant favourite of fortune. He took aim, and his bullet went through my cap. It was now my turn. His life at last was in my hands; I looked at him eagerly, endeavouring to detect if only the faintest shadow of uneas- iness. But he stood in front of my pistol, picking out the ripest cherries from his cap and spitting out the stones, which flew almost as far as my feet. His indifference annoyed me beyond measure. 'What is the use,' thought I, 'of depriving him of life, when he attaches no value whatever to it?' A malicious thought flashed through my mind. I lowered my pistol. "'You don't seem to be ready for death just at present,' I said to him: 'you wish to have your breakfast; I do not wish to hinder you.' "'You are not hindering me in the least,' replied he. 'Have the goodness to fire, or just as you please — the shot remains yours; I shall always be ready at your service.' "I turned to the seconds, informing them that I had no intention of fir- ing that day, and with that the duel came to an end. "I resigned my commission and retired to this little place. Since then, not a day has passed that I have not thought of revenge. And now my hour has arrived." Silvio took from his pocket the letter that he had received that morn- ing, and gave it to me to read. Someone (it seemed to be his business agent) wrote to him from Moscow, that a certain person was going to be married to a young and beautiful girl. "You can guess," said Silvio, "who the certain person is. I am going to Moscow. We shall see if he will look death in the face with as much in- difference now, when he is on the eve of being married, as he did once with his cherries!" 9 With these words, Silvio rose, threw his cap upon the floor, and began pacing up and down the room like a tiger in his cage. I had listened to him in silence; strange conflicting feelings agitated me. The servant entered and announced that the horses were ready. Silvio grasped my hand tightly, and we embraced each other. He seated him- self in his telega, in which lay two trunks, one containing his pistols, the other his effects. We said good-bye once more, and the horses galloped off. 10 Chapter 2 SEVERAL years passed, and family circumstances compelled me to settle in the poor little village of M——. Occupied with agricultural pursuits, I ceased not to sigh in secret for my former noisy and careless life. The most difficult thing of all was having to accustom myself to passing the spring and winter evenings in perfect solitude. Until the hour for dinner I managed to pass away the time somehow or other, talking with the bailiff, riding about to inspect the work, or going round to look at the new buildings; but as soon as it began to get dark, I positively did not know what to do with myself. The few books that I had found in the cupboards and store-rooms, I already knew by heart. All the stories that my housekeeper Kirilovna could remember, I had heard over and over again. The songs of the peasant women made me feel depressed. I tried drinking spirits, but it made my head ache; and moreover, I confess I was afraid of becoming a drunkard from mere chagrin, that is to say, the saddest kind of drunkard, of which I had seen many examples of in our district. I had no near neighbours, except two or three topers, whose conversa- tion consisted for the most part of hiccups and sighs. Solitude was preferable to their society. At last I decided to go to bed as early as pos- sible, and to dine as late as possible; in this way I shortened the evening and lengthened out the day, and I found that the plan answered very well. Four versts from my house was a rich estate belonging to the Countess B——; but nobody lived there except the steward. The Countess had only visited her estate once, in the first year of her married life, and then she had remained there no longer than a month. But in the second spring of my hermitical life, a report was circulated that the Countess, with her husband, was coming to spend the summer on her estate. The report turne