Our house will be sold next week; and I do not know what to do with myself. I went to the herr burgomeister. He received me well, but to my appeals replied that he could do nothing for me. I do not know where to find employment. If you need a maidservant, write to me; you know that I can help you with the housework and the handwork, and besides that I will look after the children and Fritz, if he falls ill. I have learned how to care for the sick. Please write if you have need of me. And do not be embarrassed. I am sure that this will not change our relations in the least and that you will remain for me the same kind and indulgent friend.
Old Schoning’s little house was full of people. They crowded around the table, which was presided over by the auctioneer. He shouted: “Flannelette waistcoat with brass buttons…* * * thalers. Going once, going twice…—No higher bidder?—Flannelette waistcoat * * * thalers—sold.” The waistcoat went to the hands of its new owner.
The buyers inspected with disparagement and curiosity the objects put up for auction. Frau Rothberg examined the dirty underwear, which had not been washed after Schoning’s death; she fingered it, shook it out, repeating, “Trash, rags, tatters,” and raised her bids by pennies. The tavern owner Hirtz bought two silver spoons, a half-dozen napkins, and two china cups. The bed on which Schoning had died was bought by Karolina Schmidt, a heavily rouged girl with a modest and humble air.
Maria, pale as a ghost, stood there, silently watching the plundering of her poor chattels. She held * * * thalers in her hand, prepared to buy something, and did not have the courage to outbid the other buyers. People were leaving, carrying off their acquisitions. Two little portraits in fly-specked and once-gilt frames remained unsold. One portrayed Schoning as a young man in a red kaftan. The other Christina, his wife, with a little dog in her arms. Both portraits were painted boldly and brightly. Hirtz wanted to buy them as well, to hang in the corner room of his tavern, because its walls were too bare. The portraits had been appraised at * * * thalers. Hirtz took out his purse. At that moment Maria overcame her timidity and in a trembling voice raised the price. Hirtz cast a scornful glance at her and began to bargain. The price gradually went up to * * * thalers. Maria finally bid * * * thalers. Hirtz gave up, and the portraits remained with her. She handed over the money, put what was left in her pocket, took the portraits, and left the house without waiting for the end of the auction.
When Maria stepped outside with a portrait in each hand, she stopped in perplexity: where was she to go?…
A young man in gold-rimmed spectacles came up to her and very politely offered to carry the portraits wherever she liked…
“I’m very grateful to you…I really don’t know.” And Maria wondered where she could take the portraits, when she herself had no place to go.
The young man waited a few seconds, then went on his way, and Maria decided to take the portraits to Dr. Költz.
Notes
THE MOOR OF PETER THE GREAT (1827–1828)
1 Yazykov: The poet Nikolai Mikhailovich Yazykov (1803–1846) was an acquaintance of Pushkin’s. The epigraph is from his historical tale in verse Ala, published in 1826. “Peter” is the tsar and later emperor Peter I, known as Peter the Great (1672–1725), who carried out major political, social, and ecclesiastical reforms in Russia, mainly following European examples.
2. Dmitriev: Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev (1760–1837), poet and statesman, was minister of justice under the emperor Alexander I (reigned 1801–1825).
3. the military school in Paris: Pushkin’s error: the École militaire de Paris was founded only in 1750, thirty years after Ibrahim’s service. Ibrahim attended the school of artillery in La Fère in Picardy.
4. the Spanish war: The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) pitted England, the Dutch Republic, and Austria against the France of Louis XIV and ended with the Treaty of Utrecht. Conflict broke out anew in 1718, when England and France joined in war against Spain, leading to the defeat of Spain in 1720.
5. The duc d’Orléans: Philippe d’Orléans (1674–1723) was the nephew of Louis XIV and regent of the kingdom of France during the minority of Louis XV.
6. Law: John Law (1671–1729), Scottish economist, moved to France, where the duc d’Orléans, during his regency, made him general controller of finance. His monetary theories, put into practice, caused enormous speculation quickly followed by panic and total collapse. Law fled Paris in 1728.
7. the duc de Richelieu…Alcibiades: Armand de Vignerot du Plessis (1696–1788), marshal of France, grand-nephew of Cardinal Richelieu, was a notorious womanizer. Alcibiades (ca. 450–404 BC), of the distinguished Athenian family of the Alcmaeonids, was an orator, politician, and general during the Peloponnesian Wars, in which he changed allegiances several times.
8. Arouet…Chaulieu…Montesquieu…Fontenelle: François-Marie Arouet (1694–1778) wrote under the pen name of Voltaire; Guillaume Amfrye de Chaulieu (1639–1720) was a poet and wit, prominent in French high society; Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron Montesquieu (1689–1755), lawyer, writer, and philosopher, was one of the major figures of the French Enlightenment, as was Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657–1757), a member of the French Academy, who wrote on a wide variety of subjects.
9. on leaving the convent: i.e., on leaving school; aristocratic girls were sent to convents to be educated, as there were no secular girls’ schools in Russia before the mid-nineteenth century.
10. Derzhavin: Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin (1743–1816) was one of the greatest poets of the generation preceding Pushkin’s. The epigraph is from his ode “On the Death of Prince Meshchersky” (1779).
11. Poltava: The battle of Poltava, fought on July 8, 1709, was a major victory of the forces of Peter the Great over the invading army of Charles XII of Sweden, during the Great Northern War (1700–1721).
12. Menshikov…Dolgoruky…Bruce…Raguzinsky: Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov (1673–1729) was a close associate and friend of Peter the Great; of humble origin, he rose to great eminence but died in disgrace and exile. Prince Yakov Fyodorovich Dolgoruky (1639–1720), of old Russian nobility, was also close to Peter; his ancestor, Yury Dolgoruky, was considered the founder of Moscow in the twelfth century. Count Yakov Vilimovich Bruce (1669–1735), born James Daniel Bruce, of the Scottish clan Bruce, commanded the artillery at Poltava. A learned man and an author, he was rumored among the people to be an alchemist and magician. Young Raguzinsky is probably the son of Count Sava Lukich Vladislavich-Raguzinsky (1669–1738), a Serbian count and merchant who served Peter on important diplomatic missions.
13. Küchelbecker: The poet Vilhelm Karlovich Küchelbecker (1797–1846) was a schoolmate and friend of Pushkin. The lines are from his anti-tyrannical tragedy The Argives (1822–1825).
14. Preobrazhensky regiment…Sheremetev…Golovin: The Preobrazhensky regiment, founded by Peter the Great, became and remained one of the elite regiments of the Russian army; it was formally disbanded in 1917. Count Boris Petrovich Sheremetev (1652–1719) was made field marshal during the Great Northern War and was the first Russian to receive the new title of count in 1706. Ivan Mikhailovich Golovin (1672–1737) was admiral of the Russian fleet.