Dark Avenues / Темные аллеи. Книга для чтения на английском языке
Charmingly embarrassed too, so that even her currants of eyes seemed to disappear somewhere for an instant, was Darya Tadiyevna, nice-looking, with bluish down on her upper lip and along her cheeks, wearing a black silk bonnet after a bout of typhus, half-lying in an armchair.
“Well, it’s no secret for anyone, and perfectly understandable,” she said, “after all, there’s Eastern blood in me too…”
And Grisha began yelling voluptuously: “Ah, hooked, you’re hooked![120]” while Zoyka ran out into the next room and, cross-eyed, fell backwards on the run against the end of a couch.
In the winter Levitsky had, indeed, been secretly in love with Darya Tadiyevna, and before her had experienced certain feelings for Zoyka too. She was only fourteen, but she was already very developed physically, especially at the back, although her bare, blue-grey knees under a short Scottish skirt were still childishly delicate and rounded. A year before she had been removed from grammar school, and she had not been taught at home either – Danilevsky had found the beginnings of some brain disease in her – and she lived in carefree idleness, never getting bored. She was so affectionate with everyone that she even made them smack their lips. She was steep-browed, she had a naively joyous look in her unctuous blue eyes, as though she was always surprised at something, and always moist lips. For all the plumpness of her body, there was a graceful coquetry of movement about it. A red ribbon tied in her hair with its tints of walnut made her particularly seductive. She used to sit down freely on Levitsky’s knees – as though innocently, childishly – and probably sensed what he was secretly experiencing, holding her plumpness, softness and weight and trying to keep his eyes off her bare knees under the little tartan skirt. Sometimes he could not contain himself, and he would kiss her on the cheek as if in jest, and she would close her eyes with a languorous and mocking smile. She had once whispered to him in strict confidence what she alone in all the world knew about her mother: her mother was in love with young Dr Titov! Her mother was forty, but after all, she was as slim as a girl, and terribly young-looking, and the two of them, both her mother and the doctor, were so good-looking and tall! Later Levitsky had become inattentive to her – Darya Tadiyevna had begun appearing in the house. Zoyka seemed to become even merrier, more carefree, but never took her eyes off either her or Levitsky; she would often fling herself with a cry to kiss her, but so hated her that when Darya fell ill with typhus, she awaited daily the joyous news from the hospital of her death. And then she awaited her departure – and the summer, when Levitsky, freed from classes, would begin visiting them at the dacha along the Kazan road where the Danilevskys were living in the summer for the third year now: in a certain way she was surreptitiously hunting him down.
And so the summer arrived, and he began coming every week for two or three days. But then soon Valeria Ostrogradskaya came to stay, her father’s niece from Kharkov, whom neither Zoyka nor Grishka had ever seen before. Levitsky was sent to Moscow early in the morning to meet her at the Kursk Station, and he arrived from their station not on a bicycle, but sitting with her in the station cabman’s chaise, tired, with sunken eyes, joyously excited. It was evident that he had fallen in love with her while still at the Kursk Station, and she was already treating him imperiously as he pulled her things out of the chaise. However, running up onto the porch to meet Zoyka’s mother, she immediately forgot about him, and then did not notice him all day long. She seemed incomprehensible to Zoyka – sorting out her things in her room and afterwards sitting on the balcony at lunch, she would at times talk a very great deal, then unexpectedly fall silent, thinking her own thoughts. But she was a genuine Little Russian beauty! And Zoyka pestered her with unflagging persistence:
“And have you brought morocco ankle boots with you, and a woolen shawl to wear around your waist? Will you put them on? Will you let people call you Valyechka?”
But even without the Little Russian costume she was very good-looking: strong, well-formed, with thick, dark hair, velvety eyebrows which almost met, stern eyes the colour of black blood, a hot, dark flush on her tanned face, a bright gleam of teeth and full, cherry-red lips, above which she too had a barely visible little moustache, only not down, like Darya Tadiyevna had, but pretty little black hairs, just like the ones between her eyebrows. Her hands were small but also strong and evenly tanned, as if lightly smoked. And what shoulders! And on them, how transparent were the pink silk ribbons holding the camisole beneath her fine white blouse! Her skirt was quite short, perfectly simple, but it fitted her amazingly well. Zoyka was so enraptured that she was not even jealous over Levitsky, who stopped going away to Moscow and did not leave Valeria’s side, happy that she had let him close to her, had also started calling him Georges, and was forever ordering him to do things. Thereafter the days became perfectly summery and hot, guests came more and more frequently from Moscow, and Zoyka noticed that Levitsky had been dismissed, and was sitting beside her mother more and more, helping her to prepare raspberries, and that Valeria had fallen in love with Dr Titov, with whom her mother was secretly in love. In general, something had happened to Valeria – when there were no guests, she stopped changing her smart blouses, as she had done before; she would sometimes go around from morning till evening in Zoyka’s mother’s peignoir, and she had a fastidious air. It was terribly intriguing: had she kissed Levitsky before falling in love with Dr Titov or not? Grishka swore he had seen her once before dinner walking with Levitsky down the avenue of fir trees after bathing, wrapped up in a towel like a turban, and how Levitsky, stumbling, had been dragging her wet sheet along, and saying something very, very rapidly, and how she had paused, and he had suddenly caught her by the shoulder and kissed her on the lips:
“I pressed up behind a fir tree and they didn’t see me,” said Grishka fervently with his eyes popping out, “but I saw everything. She was terribly pretty, only all red, it was still terribly hot, and, of course, she’d spent too long bathing, I mean, she always sits in the water and swims for two hours at a time – I spied on that too – naked she’s simply a naiad[121], and he was talking and talking, really and truly like a Turk…”
Grishka swore it, but he liked inventing all sorts of silly things, and Zoyka both did and did not believe it.
On Saturdays and Sundays, the trains that came to their station from Moscow were crammed full of people, weekend guests of the dacha-dwellers, even in the morning. Sometimes there was that delightful rain through sunshine, when the green carriages were washed down by it and shone like new, the white clouds of smoke from the steam engine seemed especially soft, and the green tops of the pines, standing elegant and thick behind the train, drew circles unusually high in the bright sky. The new arrivals vied with each other to grab the cab men’s chaises on the rutted hot sand behind the station, and drove with the joy of the dacha down the sandy roads in the cuttings of the forest under the ribbons of sky above them. The complete happiness of the dacha set in when in the forest, which endlessly hid the dry, slightly undulating land all around. Dacha-dwellers taking their Muscovite friends for a walk said that bears were the only thing lacking here, they declaimed, “Both of resin and wild strawb’rries smells the shady wood,”[122] and hallooed one another, enjoyed their summer well-being, their idleness and freedom of dress – kosovorotkas with embroidered hems worn outside of trousers[123], the long braids of coloured belts, peaked canvas caps: the odd Muscovite acquaintance, some professor or journal editor, bearded and wearing glasses, was not even immediately recognizable in such a kosovorotka and such a cap.
Amidst all this dacha happiness Levitsky was doubly unhappy. Feeling himself from morning till evening pitiful, deceived, superfluous, he suffered all the more for understanding very well how vulgar his unhappiness was. Day and night he had one and the same thought: why, why had she so quickly and pitilessly let him close to her, made him not quite her friend, not quite her slave, and then her lover, who had had to be content with the rare and always unexpected happiness of kisses alone, why had she sometimes been intimate with him, sometimes formal, and how had she had the cruelty so simply and so easily to cease even noticing him all of a sudden on the very first day of her acquaintance with Titov? He was burning up with shame over his brazen loitering on the estate too. Tomorrow he should disappear, flee in secret to Moscow, hide from everyone with this ignominious unhappiness of deceived dacha love, so evident even for the servants in the house! But at this thought he was so pierced by the recollection of the velvetiness of her cherry-red lips that he lost the power of his arms and legs. If he was sitting on the balcony alone and she by chance was passing, she would with excessive naturalness say something particularly insignificant to him as she went – “Now where ever can my aunt be? You haven’t seen her?” – and he would hasten to answer her in the same tone, while ready to break into sobs[124]
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Примечания
1
tarantass: A large, springless carriage. (прим. перев.)
2
peaked cap – фуражка
3
to bear resemblance – иметь сходство
4
Nicholas I’s… Alexander II: Russian Emperors of the nineteenth century: Nicholas I (b.1796) ruled 1825–55 and was succeeded by his son Alexander II (b.1818), who ruled until his assassination in 1881. (прим. перев.)
5
to come to a halt – остановиться
6
dress uniform – мундир
7
to make a living – зарабатывать на жизнь
8
Thou shalt remember… away: “Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away.” Job 11:16. (прим. перев.) «Тогда забудешь горе: как о воде протекшей будешь вспоминать о нем» (Книга Иова).
9
at a trot – рысцой
10
to lend money on interest – давать деньги в рост
11
All round… dark limes stood: A slightly inaccurate quotation from the poem ‘An Ordinary Tale’ (1842) by Nikolai Platonovich Ogaryov (1813–77): “all round” should be “nearby”. (прим. перев.) «Кругом шиповник алый цвел, стояли темных лип аллеи… » (в повести И. А. Бунина) «Вблизи шиповник алый цвел, стояла темных лип аллея» (оригинальный текст Н. П. Огарева)
12
to put up at (some place) – остановиться где-либо
13
to commit to memory – запоминать
14
cab men’s droshkies – пролетки извозчиков (пролетка – легкий открытый двухместный экипаж)
15
The second bell rang – Ударил второй звонок (для извещения пассажиров и паровозной прислуги о наступлении времени отправления поездов использовались станционные наружные колокола, которые размещались на стенах пассажирских зданий и платформах)
16
Narzan: Mineral water from the Caucasus. (прим. перев.)
17
pressed dung – кизяк (высушенный или переработанный навоз, используемый в качестве топлива)
18
to grow accustomed – привыкнуть
19
coffee with chartreuse – кофе с шартрезом (Шартрез – название французского ликера)
20
red corners: The name given to the corner of a room where the icons hang. (прим. перев.)
21
felt boots – валенки
22
Hear my prayer… my fathers were: Psalms 39:12 (slightly inaccurate: the phrase “on the earth” has been added). (прим. перев.)
23
Say unto God… thy works: Psalms 66:3. (прим. перев.)
24
He that dwelleth… trample under foot: Psalms 91:1, 13. (прим. перев.) Живущий под кровом всевышнего под сенью всемогущего покоится… На аспида и василиска наступишь, попрешь льва и дракона…
25
For every beast… on a thousand hills: Psalms 50:10 (slightly inaccurate: the word “his” replacing “mine”). (прим. перев.)
26
Tiger-Euphrates: The Russian word for the river Tigris is the same as the word for “tiger”. (прим. перев.) Тигр и Евфрат – названия двух основных рек Месопотамии и Ближнего Востока.
27
(to be) at smb’s beck and call – (быть) всецело в чьем-либо распоряжении; на побегушках
28
Howls the cold wind… the highway: A slightly inaccurate quotation from a poem by Alexei Fyodorovich Merzlyakov (1778–1830), “Black of brow and black of eye” (1803), set to music by D.N. Kashin (1769–1841). (прим. перев.) Воет сыр-бор за горою,/ Метет в белом поле, (Метелица в поле (у А.Ф. Мерзлякова))/ Стала (Встала) вьюга-непогода,/ Запала дорога…
29
in the time of the great Tsarina: Catherine the Great (1729–96) ruled Russia after her husband, Peter III, was deposed and killed in 1762. (прим. перев.)
30
to fall for smb – почувствовать влечение к кому-либо
31
Not for nothing – Недаром
32
Love’s fires rage… all round the globe: The closing lines of the poem ‘If young women, mistresses’ (published 1781) by Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov (1717–77). (прим. перев.) Жар любви во всяком царстве,/ Любится земной весь круг…
33
to pay heed – обращать внимание
34
not to bat an eyelid – глазом не моргнуть
35
Adam’s apple – кадык
36
to take communion – причащаться
37
racing droshky – беговые дрожки (легкий одноконный четырехколесный экипаж)
38
dashboard – щиток (укрепляется в передней части экипажа, предназначен для защиты пассажиров от пыли и грязи)
39
Lafitte – Лафит, сорт французского красного вина
40
blacked boots – сапоги, смазанные гуталином
41
kosovorotka and poddyovka: A Russian peasant-style shirt fastened at the side and a light, tight-fitting, long-waisted coat respectively. (прим. перев.)
42
As if they’d snuffed it! – Как подохли!
43
plank bed – нары (кровать в виде дощатого настила на некотором возвышении от пола)
44
someune’s = someone’s
45
ecclesiastical vestment – церковное облачение
46
Epiphany – (церк.) Богоявление (одно из названий христианского праздника Крещения Господня)
47
I was then no longer in the first flush of youth – Я был тогда уже не первой молодости
48
the open transoms of the double glazing – отворенные фортки (форточки) двойных рам
49
overshoes – ботики (высокие, до щиколотки, дамские галоши)
50
In any event – Во всяком случае
51
Shor’s concert: David Solomonovich Shor (1867–1942), pianist and Professor at the Moscow Conservatoire. (прим. перев.)
52
patent-leather shoes – лакированные туфли
53
boots – коридорный (служащий гостиницы, дежурный по этажу)
54
to see (smb to some place) – провожать
55
string bag – сетка, авоська (хозяйственная сумка)
56
Madeira – мадера, крепленое вино
57
in Baty’s time: Baty Khan (1205–55) was the grandson of Genghis Khan and, like him, leader of the Golden Horde. (прим. перев.)
58
paddle steamer – колесный пароход
59
fire-observation tower – пожарная каланча
60
to make up one’s mind – решиться
61
with close-cropped hair – стриженый под гребенку
62
by stealth – тайком
63
refreshments row… herdwear row – Обжорный ряд (часть базара (рынка), где торговали готовой вареной и печеной пищей для простонародья), Скобяной ряд (ряд, где продавали легкие железные изделия)
64
Requiem aeternam… luceat eis: From the Requiem Mass: “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them” (Latin). (прим. перев.) Дай им вечный покой, Господи, и да светит им вечный свет.
65
Alexei Mikhailovich: Born in 1629, the second Romanov Tsar ruled Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. (прим. перев.)
66
elms, limes and birches – вязы, липы и березы
67
mezzanine – мезонин (надстройка над средней частью жилого дома)
68
apart from that – кроме того
69
the Stroganov School of Painting: The School was founded in 1825 by Baron Sergei Grigoryevich Stroganov (1794–1882), and was known after 1860 as the Stroganov School for Technical Drawing, specializing in teaching the applied and decorative arts. (прим. перев.)
70
fruit dumpling… kvas soup… yoghurt… curd cheese – вареник, окрошка, (зд.) простокваша, творог
71
At long last – Наконец-то
72
grass snake – уж
73
Not for nothing is a snake in the grass named after the grass snake – (игра слов) у И. А. Бунина: Недаром слово ужас происходит от ужа.
74
with his head in a spin – с помутившейся головой
75
The Cornfield: A popular weekly illustrated journal published by A.F. Marx between 1870 and 1918. (прим. перев.)
76
morocco slippers – сафьяновые туфли (домашние туфли из тонкой и мягкой козьей или овечьей кожи, выкрашенной в яркий цвет)
77
out of the blue – ни с того ни с сего
78
Amata… nulla: From Poem 8 by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c.84–c.54 bc): “She who was loved by me as none will ever be loved” (Latin). (прим. перев.)
79
provincial revenue department – казенная палата (губернское учреждение Министерства финансов Российской империи)
80
without kith or kin – безродный
81
Along the Roadway: A well-known Russian folk song. (прим. перев.) Русская народная песня «По улице мостовой»
82
like a peg top – кубарем (peg top – волчок)
83
to give the sack – увольнять с работы; прогонять
84
Antigone – Антигона, героиня древнегреческой мифологии. Ее образ получил широкое распространение благодаря трагедиям Софокла (496-406 до н.э.). Антигона олицетворяет собой верность родственному долгу, идеал любви к родителям и благородное самоотвержение.
85
a new book by Averchenko: Arkady Timofeyevich Averchenko (1881–1925), a Russian humorist, author of short stories, plays and pamphlets. (прим. перев.)
86
tussore day coat – чесучовый балахон (из плотной шелковой ткани, обычно желтовато-песочного цвета)
87
calling card – визитная карточка
88
gingham dress – холстинковое платье (выполненное из легкой полотняной или бумажной ткани особого переплетения)
89
my Antigone… like Oedipus: In Greek myth, Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus, King of Thebes, who blinded himself after unwittingly killing his own father; the faithful daughter accompanied him into exile. (прим. перев.)
90
my uncle, the most honest fellow: The opening line of the novel in verse Eugene Onegin (1823–31) by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799–1837), where the eponymous hero is thinking of the dull life awaiting him as he travels to his sick uncle’s rural estate. (прим. перев.) «Мой дядя самых честных правил»
91
it stands to reason – разумеется
92
to pay court – ухаживать
93
Alexander: This could be Alexander II or his son, Alexander III (1845–94), who ruled Russia after his father’s assassination in 1881. (прим. перев.)
94
it goes without saying – разумеется
95
at long last – наконец-то
96
the Russo-Japanese War: The Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. (прим. перев.)
97
the white and red wines of Prince Golitsyn: Prince Lev Sergeyevich Golitsyn (1845–1915) owned a fine winery in the Crimea. (прим. перев.)
98
to be taken ill – заболеть
99
Maupassant… Octave Mirbeau: Guy de Maupassant (1850–93), French novelist and short story writer; Octave Mirbeau (1850–1917), radical French journalist, novelist and dramatist. (прим. перев.)
100
emerald – смарагд (устар.), изумруд
101
draught horse – упряжная лошадь