Ian Larry biography for children. Fiction Archive

Yan Leopoldovich Larry born February 15, 1900. There is still uncertainty regarding his birthplace. According to some encyclopedias and reference books, he was born in Riga, but in his autobiography the writer indicates the Moscow region, where his father worked at that time.

Life never pitied him - neither in childhood, nor later, when he achieved literary fame.

Orphaned at the age of ten, Jan wandered for a long time. He ran away from the orphanage where they tried to place him. He worked as a boy in a tavern, as a watchmaker's apprentice. Then he lived in the family of the teacher Dobrokhotov and even passed exams for a gymnasium course as an external student. And again - wandering around the cities and towns of Russia. Immediately after the revolution, Larry comes to Petrograd for the first time and tries to enter the university, but to no avail.

A few years later, he will still receive a higher education at the Faculty of Biology of Kharkov University. In the meantime, Ian Larry joins the Red Army, participates in the Civil War, until typhus, suffered twice, forces the future writer to leave military service.

Fate brought him to Kharkov, where he got a job at the newspaper “Young Leninist”. Since 1923, Larry has been active as a journalist, and already in 1926, his first books, “The Stolen Country” and “Sad and Funny Stories about Little People,” addressed to children, were published in Kharkov publishing houses. In the same year, the young writer moved to Leningrad, where he worked for the Rabselkor magazine and the Leningradskaya Pravda newspaper.

Since 1928, Ian Larry has been free. A promising children's prose writer, gravitating towards the fairy-tale-fantastic form, he publishes a lot. One after another, the books “Five Years” (1929), “Window to the Future” (1929), “How It Was” (1930), “Notes of a Cavalry Soldier” (1931) were published. However, the publishers' favor had to be paid too high a price. Much later, in autobiographical notes, Larry will eloquently describe the position of the children's writer in Soviet literature of the 30s: “The comprachicos of children's souls - teachers, “Marxist bigots” and other varieties of stranglers of all living things famously chanted around the children's book, when fantasy and fairy tales were burned out with a hot iron... My manuscripts were edited in such a way that I myself did not recognize my own works, because, apart from editors of the book, everyone who had free time took an active part in correcting the “opuses”, from the editor of the publishing house to the accounting workers... Everything that the editors “improved” looked so pathetic that now I am ashamed to be considered the author of those books "

After the publication of the utopian novel “The Land of the Happy” (1931), the writer’s name was on the “black list” for several years. This book, written in the genre of social fiction, became a kind of prologue to “The Heavenly Guest.” In “The Land of the Happy,” the author presented not so much a “Marxist” as a romantic, idealistic view of the communist future - he presented it by rejecting totalitarianism and modeling the possibility of a global catastrophe associated with the depletion of energy reserves. Thus, the bright image of tomorrow was “clouded” by the supposed problems generated by human activity. But there was also more obvious sedition in the story - in the guise of the suspicious, insidious stubborn Molybdenum. It’s not difficult to guess who the writer was hinting at. Only in the early 90s was the veil of oblivion lifted from the “Land of the Happy”.

The persecution of the story turned out to be the “last straw” for Larry, who decided to leave literature. Having settled at the Research Institute of Fisheries and even completing his graduate studies there, Yan Leopoldovich still continued to write from time to time for Leningrad newspapers. It is unknown how his further literary biography would have developed if fate had not brought him together with Samuel Marshak. And it happened like this. Samuel Yakovlevich suggested that the famous geographer and biologist Academician Lev Berg, under whom Ian Larry served, write a popular science book for children dedicated to the science of insects - entomology. Discussing the details of the future book, they came to the conclusion that the knowledge should be put into the form of a fascinating science fiction story. It was then that the academician remembered his subordinate, who would be capable of such a task.

Ian Larry worked quickly and enthusiastically on The Extraordinary Adventures of Karik and Valya, inspired by the support of the master of children's literature. Apparently, the prototype of the book was the pre-revolutionary poetic fairy tale by Vasily Smirnov “The Extraordinary Adventures of Two Dwarfs Kirik and Alik” (1910). But it wasn’t so easy to get the story into Detizdat. In the funny story about how the eccentric biologist professor Ivan Germogenovich Enotov invented a drug that makes it possible to shrink objects, and then, in the company of the restless Karik and Valya, made an educational and dangerous journey into the world of plants and insects, the “comprachicos of children's souls” saw an outrage against the power of Soviet man. Here is a typical fragment of one of the “internal” reviews: “It is wrong to reduce a person to a small insect. So, wittingly or unwittingly, we show man not as the ruler of nature, but as a helpless creature... When talking to little schoolchildren about nature, we must instill in them the idea of possibly influencing nature in the direction we need.”

Stepping on the same rake over and over again is a tiring and nerve-wracking task. The indignant Yan Leopoldovich flatly refused to redo the text in accordance with the “general line.” It would be better not to publish the story at all, he decided. This would probably have happened if not for the timely intervention of Marshak. Influential and gifted with the gift of persuasion, Samuil Yakovlevich decided the fate of the work literally within a week. And in the February issue of the magazine “Koster” for 1937, the first chapters of the long-suffering story appeared. In the author's version! In the same year, “Extraordinary Adventures” was published as a separate book - in Detizdat, of course. In 1940, a second edition, revised by the author, followed with wonderful illustrations by G. Fetingof. Since then, the book has been republished several times, and in 1987 its two-part television version appeared with Vasily Livanov in the title role.

And here is the paradox of Soviet literary life: no matter how mercilessly they criticized Larry’s story before publication, they praised it just as enthusiastically when it was published. The book was enthusiastically greeted not only by readers, but also by official critics. Reviewers noted the scientific literacy and erudition of the writer. As usual, little was said about artistic merits. Science fiction in those years was most often viewed as an appendage of popular science literature.

The secret of the longevity of the story composed by Ian Larry lies not only in the fascination of the plot, not only in its isolation from the ideological guidelines of the time (although this is also important). The main thing is the high degree of literary talent of the author. Larry very harmoniously combined the stylistic spaces of literature and science, correctly calculating the proportions in favor of the first component. The story does not contain multi-page scientific lectures, teachings, explanations, common for science fiction of the 20-50s. The language is easy and elegant, the educational material is unobtrusively and without rough seams “soldered” into a dynamic adventure plot, rich in humor and even irony.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that “The Extraordinary Adventures of Karik and Valya” became the best Soviet science fiction book of the second half of the 30s (along with Belyaev’s “Leap into Nothing” and “Ariel”). It is rightfully included in the golden fund of Russian children's literature.

In December 1940, an unusual letter came to Stalin:

“Dear Joseph Vissarionovich!

Every great man is great in his own way. After one, great deeds remain, after another, funny historical anecdotes. One is known for having thousands of mistresses, another - extraordinary Bucephali, the third - wonderful jesters. In a word, there is no such great thing that would not rise in memory, not surrounded by some historical companions: people, animals, things.

Not a single historical figure has yet had his own writer. The kind of writer who would write only for one great man. However, in the history of literature you cannot find such writers who would have only one reader...

I take up the pen to fill this gap.

I will write only for you, without demanding for myself any orders, no fees, no honors, no glory.

It is possible that my literary abilities will not meet with your approval, but for this, I hope you will not judge me, just as people are not judged for having red hair or chipped teeth. I will try to replace the lack of talent with diligence and a conscientious attitude towards the obligations assumed.

In order not to tire you and not cause you traumatic damage with an abundance of boring pages, I decided to send my first story in short chapters, firmly remembering that boredom, like poison, in small doses not only does not threaten health, but, as a rule, even strengthens people .

You will never know my real name. But I would like you to know that there is one eccentric in Leningrad who spends his leisure hours in a unique way - creating a literary work for a single person, and this eccentric, without coming up with a single good pseudonym, decided to sign himself Kulidzhary...”

Attached to the letter were the first chapters of the fantastic story “The Heavenly Guest” (the author managed to send seven chapters in total). Its plot is outwardly simple: an alien from Mars visits Earth, where, as it turns out, “the Soviet state has existed for 117 years.”

The narrator, acting as a guide, introduces the alien to life in the USSR. The entire subsequent narrative is a series of dialogues between a Martian and representatives of various social strata - a writer, scientist, engineer, collective farmer, worker. But what a lot has been said in these few chapters!

Here, for example, is what the Martian says after reading a file of Soviet newspapers:

“Your life on Earth is rather boring. I read and read, but I still couldn’t understand anything. What do you live for? What problems concern you? Judging by your newspapers, all you do is give bright, meaningful speeches at meetings and celebrate various historical dates and anniversaries. Is your present really so disgusting that you don’t write anything about it? And why don't any of you look to the future? Is it really so dark that you are afraid to look into it?

Further more. The envoy of Mars learns about the appalling poverty of the country, the cause of which is “the hypertrophic centralization of our entire apparatus, tying the initiative on the ground hand and foot,” about the mediocrity and meaninglessness of most laws, about how “enemies of the people” are invented, about the tragic situation of the peasantry, about the Bolsheviks’ hatred of the intelligentsia and that at the head of most educational institutions and scientific institutions there are people “who have no idea about science.”

With piercing directness, the mysterious author reports the collapse of culture: “The Bolsheviks abolished literature and art, replacing both with memoirs and the so-called “reflection.” It seems that nothing more unprincipled can be found throughout the entire existence of art and literature. You will not find a single fresh thought, a single new word, either in theaters or in literature.”

The story also spoke about the sham of freedom of the press, which is “implemented through preliminary censorship,” and about people’s fear of telling the truth.

Four months after receiving the first letter, the almighty NKVD still managed to “figure out” the sender. It turned out to be Yan Leopoldovich Larry. He was not an ardent anti-Soviet. The writer sincerely believed that “dear Joseph Vissarionovich” was in the dark about the outrages happening in the country.

On April 11 (according to other sources - April 13), 1941, Larry was arrested. The indictment stated: “The chapters of this story sent by Larry to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks were written by him from an anti-Soviet position, where he distorted Soviet reality in the USSR and cited a number of anti-Soviet slanderous fabrications about the situation of workers in the Soviet Union. In addition, in this story, Larry also tried to discredit the Komsomol organization, Soviet literature, the press and other ongoing activities of the Soviet government.” On July 5 of the same year, the judicial panel for criminal cases of the Leningrad City Court sentenced Ian Larry to imprisonment for a period of 10 years, followed by loss of rights for 5 years (under Article 58-10 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR).

15 years in the Gulag did not break Ian Larry, and after rehabilitation in 1956, he returned to literary work, collaborating with children's magazines. Five years after his release, two wonderful books came to young readers at once - “Notes of a Schoolgirl” and “The Amazing Adventures of Cook and Kukka.” And the last of the writer’s lifetime publications was the fairy tale “Brave Tilly: Notes of a Puppy, Written by the Tail,” published in “Murzilka.”

Yan Leopoldovich Larry(15.II.1900, Riga - 18.III. 1977, Leningrad), prose writer, children's writer, also known as a writer. other genres.
Genus. in Riga (now Latvia), at the age of 9 he was orphaned - he wandered, worked in a tavern, and as an apprentice in a watch shop; was drafted into the tsarist army, and until the end of the Civil War he fought in the ranks of the Red Army. After demobilization he worked in the editor's office. gas. Kharkov, Novgorod, Leningrad, (now St. Petersburg), engaged in self-education, graduated from Biology. Faculty of Leningrad State University, graduate school of the All-Union Research Institute of Fisheries, worked as director of a fish factory. He began publishing in the 1920s. Member SP.

In 1941 he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years (followed by disqualification for 5 years); released only in 1956
Arrested on April 13, 1941 by the NKGB Directorate for the Leningrad Region.

From December 17, 1940 to the present, he sent to the indicated address 7 chapters of his still unfinished counter-revolutionary story, in which he criticizes the activities of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Soviet government from a counter-revolutionary Trotskyist position.”

“...The chapters of this story sent by Larry to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks were written by him from an anti-Soviet position, where he distorted Soviet reality in the USSR and cited a number of anti-Soviet slanderous fabrications about the situation of workers in the Soviet Union.

In addition, in this story, Larry also tried to discredit the Komsomol organization, Soviet literature, the press and other ongoing activities of the Soviet government.”

Charged under Art. 58-10 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda).

On July 5, 1941, the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Leningrad City Court sentenced Larry Ya. L. to imprisonment for 10 years, followed by loss of rights for a period of 5 years.

By a resolution of the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR dated August 21, 1956, the verdict of the Leningrad City Court of July 5, 1941 against Larry Ya. L. was canceled and the case was dismissed due to the lack of corpus delicti in his actions.

Larry Ya.L. was rehabilitated in this case.

First SF production. L. went to the beginning. 1930s After the uninteresting story “Window to the Future” (1930), the writer published his most significant book - the “journalistic” story “The Land of the Happy” (1931), in which the author’s ideas about communism in the near future were expressed (see Optimism and Pessimism, Politics , Socialism, Utopia); rejecting totalitarianism and lies, warning about the impending global catastrophe (reduction of energy reserves) and the need for systematic space exploration, L., on the one hand, polemicized with the recently published. abroad with the novel “We” by E. Zamyatin, and on the other hand, he even risked hinting at Stalin, depicting him in the image of a suspicious, insidious and stubborn character named Molybdenum. As a result, the story was successfully suppressed for decades.

After a certain break, L. (with the help of S.Ya. Marshak) published a children's SF story, “The Extraordinary Adventures of Karik and Valya” (1937; 1937), which is not outdated to this day (see Biology, Children); filmed on television in 1987; as well as the story “The Mystery of Plain Water” (1939).

Another SF novel - "Heavenly Guest", in which the absurdity of owls. societies are exposed through the perception of cosmic. alien (see Aliens, Satirical SF, Socialism), L. began to write for the “only reader” - J.V. Stalin, to whom he sent chapter after chapter to the Kremlin; until April 1941, when the author was finally found and arrested, 7 chapters were written.

From NF L. post-war. period, the fairy tale “The Adventures of Cook and Kukki” (1961) stands out.

The fate of a talented man about whom very little information has been preserved is tragic and dramatic. This is Ian Larry, a writer and biologist, for whom life has placed more than one trap and hole in his path. The writer was a bright and joyful dreamer, full of extraordinary knowledge, which he shared with children in the most exciting way.

Ian Larry. Biography

Jan Leopoldovich Larry was born in 1900, presumably in Riga. There is no exact information about the place of his birth. It is possible that this was near Moscow, where his father worked at that time, about whom we also know nothing. The boy became an orphan early. Ian Larry escaped from the orphanage where they wanted to place him. From the age of ten, the child did not know where to put himself and wandered. He tried to work in a tavern, then apprenticed with a watchmaker. He miraculously ended up in the family of teacher Dobrokhotov. Apparently, these were more or less calm years, and the intelligent teenager independently studied the gymnasium course and passed all the exams.

And then the First World War broke out. He was drafted into the army. But after the revolution, Ian Larry joins the Red Army. He was seriously ill with typhus twice and left the service.

In peacetime

After this, he wanders around the country again. The young man works for newspapers in Kharkov and Novgorod. In 1923, in Kharkov, he wrote for the newspaper “Young Leninist”. In 1926, his first children's books were published in Kharkov. Finally he gets to Leningrad. His articles appear in the magazine "Rabselkor" and in the newspaper "Leningradskaya Pravda". Since 1928 he has had no permanent income. Ian Larry writes books for children. Their stories are fabulous and fantastic. They are printed, edited beyond recognition (“Window to the Future”, “How It Was”, “Notes of a Red Army Soldier”). In 1931, the utopian story “The Land of the Happy” was published. In it, the writer gave free rein to his imagination, which in some ways was even prophetic. In a fairy-tale world there is no place for wars and lies, but people are exploring space and even facing an energy crisis. The book was so harshly criticized that the writer left literature.

Ian Larry enters the Faculty of Biology at Leningrad University, and then completes graduate school and works as the director of a fish factory.

Return to literature

During these years, he does not forget that he is, after all, a journalist, and periodically publishes in newspapers. And then he finally got lucky. Fate was pleased to introduce him to Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak. At that time, he was looking for a person who could write a book on biology in an entertaining form. It was here that Larry’s scientific supervisor, academician L. Berg, suggested that his subordinate write a fascinating children’s book.

Ian Larry: “The Extraordinary Adventures of Karik and Valya”

Yan Leonidovich set to work with great enthusiasm and passion. He wrote quickly, maintaining contact with Samuil Yakovlevich. Brother and sister end up in the laboratory of Professor Ivan Germogenovich Enotov. There they drink a solution unknown to them, similar in taste to lemonade, and become tiny. Their clothes fall off, and they, completely naked, are carried away into unknown distances by a dragonfly.

The professor guesses that a dragonfly can carry children to a pond, its habitat. He goes to him. Sticks a landmark flag into the ground to which you need to return. Then he drinks the rest of the solution and becomes as small as the children. Ordinary grass becomes a jungle, in which various monsters live: ants, wasps, beetles, bumblebees.

With the professor, the guys experience many adventures on the water, in dungeons, and in the air. They are always trying to find the flag under which lies a box of magnifying powder. After long and often dangerous adventures, they succeed and return home safely. The book was published in 1937, but only with the help of Marshak, since the editors refused to accept it. But then there were laudatory reviews. In 1940, it was re-released with today's classic illustrations by Georgy Fitingof.

Ian Larry managed to create a fascinating plot and skillful distribution of scientific knowledge among the adventures. "The Adventures of Karik and Valya" - just a wonderful book for children, although today it, of course, has become “younger”. A child of about seven years old will read it with pleasure; he will identify himself with his brother and sister experiencing encounters with monsters, and will be quite pleased, but a teenager who is not interested in biology will find it a bit boring.

Correspondence with Stalin

In December 1940, Joseph Vissarionovich received a letter in which he promised that the work of the anonymous author was intended only for the leader. And he does not need any awards, and he will send the first story only in short chapters, so as not to tire his high reader. And indeed, seven chapters of the story “Heavenly Guest” were sent. It said that a Martian had arrived on Earth. He meets, gets acquainted and talks with intellectuals, workers, collective farmers. He reads the newspapers and concludes that there are quite a lot of holidays and idle talk on Earth, and the real day is ignored, that the laws are meaningless, and there is appalling poverty in the country. Culture, in his opinion, is falling apart. Nothing new is being created in theaters and literature, just like in science. And the press is under the yoke of stupid censorship. Pretty soon the author was found. Ian Larry was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for anti-Soviet statements.

Here is a photograph of the writer before being sent to the Gulag. But he, out of naivety, assumed that Stalin did not know what was going on in the country, and wanted to open his eyes to the true state of affairs.

Return

Stalin died in 1953, but only three years later, having completely served his time in the camps, did Jan Larry return to literature. He began writing for children again, publishing in magazines. If in 1926 Ian Larry’s stories “Yurka”, “Radio Engineer”, “First Arrest”, “Delegation”, “Political Controller-Misha” appeared, now the stories are published.

In 1961, the story “Notes of a Schoolgirl” was published, and a little later, “The Amazing Journey of Cook and Cookie.” They were no longer reprinted and it is impossible to find them in libraries.

"Notes of a Schoolgirl"

They were written on behalf of Galya Sologubova, who is in fifth grade. She wanted to write an entertaining story about her classmates. This turned out to be not as easy as it first seemed to Galya. She couldn't do the book well, and failing in arithmetic didn't matter at all. But she ended up with diary notes. In them, Galya talked about all the incidents in the class. She herself and her friends took part in them: the dreamer Pyzhik, Vera Pavlikova, who trusts everyone and is easy to prank, Vovka Volnukhin, full of mystery. In the three years during which Galya kept her notes, all sorts of stories happened! In the longest story, Galya described how the whole class struggled with their classmate Margot’s faith in God and terrible devils. Another Galin story was about lovers of practical jokes, secrets and mysteries. Their joke made the whole class fight for a trip to Moscow on the TU-104 plane.

"The Amazing Journey of Cook and Cookie"

An artist was invited to make the book sparkle with bright colors. This is how this story begins. He promised to draw the dazzling beauty Cookie and place her on the first page. “But why is Cook bad?” - the author was indignant. True, he is no more than a palm tall, and his nose is potato-shaped, but he has excellent boots, a red forelock, and brave eyes sparkle under his wide black eyebrows. He is brave and strikes fear into cowards. The artist thought and drew them together, Cook and Cookie. But in fact, these were dolls that lived in the window of a doll store. At night, the books told Cook their stories of incredible journeys. And Cookie simply dreamed of princess dresses and shoes, because she was a beauty, and she wanted to become even more beautiful. And all their dreams came true by the end of the story.

The last book

In 1970, Ian Larry’s story “Brave Tilly” was published in the magazine “Murzilka” - notes from a puppy, written with humor, which was not destroyed by the writer’s imprisonment.

This was his last work.

Ian Larry died in 1977 in Leningrad. Unfortunately, even his centenary passed unnoticed. There was not a single publication in 2000, and this is very sad, because it was very good.

Occupation:

Biography

IN 1940 Larry started writing satirical the novel “Heavenly Guest”, which described the world order of the inhabitants of the Earth from the point of view of aliens, and send the written chapters Stalin- the “sole reader” of this novel, as he believed; in April, after seven chapters were sent, he was arrested. On July 5, 1941, the judicial panel for criminal cases of the Leningrad City Court sentenced Larry Ya. L. to imprisonment for a period of ten years, followed by loss of rights for a period of five years.

Rehabilitated in 1956. After the camp, Larry wrote two children's stories: “The Adventures of Cook and Cuckie” () and “Notes of a Schoolgirl.” One of the last publications of the writer during his lifetime was placed in “ Murzilka» fairy tale “Brave Tilly: Notes from a Puppy, Written by His Tail.”

Bibliography

"Window to the future" ()
The land of the happy: A journalistic story. - L.: Leningrad. region publishing house, 1931. - 192 p. - 50,000 copies.
« The extraordinary adventures of Karik and Valya » ()
"The Mystery of Plain Water" ()
"Heavenly Guest" (-)
"The Adventures of Cook and Kukki" ()
“Notes of a Schoolgirl” ()

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing Larry, Ian Leopoldovich

When Anna Mikhailovna returned again from Bezukhoy, the countess already had money, all in brand new pieces of paper, under a scarf on the table, and Anna Mikhailovna noticed that the countess was disturbed by something.
- Well, what, my friend? – asked the Countess.
- Oh, what a terrible situation he is in! It is impossible to recognize him, he is so bad, so bad; I stayed for a minute and didn’t say two words...
“Annette, for God’s sake, don’t refuse me,” the countess suddenly said, blushing, which was so strange considering her middle-aged, thin and important face, taking money out from under her scarf.
Anna Mikhailovna instantly understood what was happening, and already bent down to deftly hug the countess at the right moment.
- Here's to Boris from me, to sew a uniform...
Anna Mikhailovna was already hugging her and crying. The Countess cried too. They cried that they were friends; and that they are good; and that they, friends of youth, are busy with such a low subject - money; and that their youth had passed... But the tears of both were pleasant...

Countess Rostova with her daughters and already a large number of guests was sitting in the living room. The Count led the male guests into his office, offering them his hunting collection of Turkish pipes. Occasionally he would go out and ask: has she arrived? They were waiting for Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova, nicknamed in society le terrible dragon, [a terrible dragon,] a lady famous not for wealth, not for honors, but for her directness of mind and frank simplicity of manner. Marya Dmitrievna was known by the royal family, all of Moscow and all of St. Petersburg knew her, and both cities, surprised by her, secretly laughed at her rudeness and told jokes about her; nevertheless, everyone without exception respected and feared her.
In the office, full of smoke, there was a conversation about the war, which was declared by the manifesto, about recruitment. No one had read the manifesto yet, but everyone knew about its appearance. The Count was sitting on an ottoman between two neighbors who were smoking and talking. The count himself did not smoke or speak, but tilting his head, now to one side, now to the other, looked with visible pleasure at those smoking and listened to the conversation of his two neighbors, whom he pitted against each other.
One of the speakers was a civilian, with a wrinkled, bilious and shaved thin face, a man already approaching old age, although dressed like the most fashionable young man; he sat with his feet on the ottoman with the air of a domestic man and, throwing amber far into his mouth from the side, impulsively inhaled the smoke and squinted. It was the old bachelor Shinshin, the countess's cousin, an evil tongue, as they said about him in Moscow drawing rooms. He seemed to condescend to his interlocutor. Another, fresh, pink, guards officer, impeccably washed, buttoned up and combed, held amber in the middle of his mouth and lightly pulled out smoke with his pink lips, releasing it in ringlets from his beautiful mouth. This was Lieutenant Berg, an officer of the Semenovsky regiment, with whom Boris rode together in the regiment and with whom Natasha teased Vera, the senior countess, calling Berg her fiancé. The Count sat between them and listened attentively. The most enjoyable activity for the Count, with the exception of the game of Boston, which he loved very much, was the position of listening, especially when he managed to pit two talkative interlocutors against each other.
“Well, of course, father, mon tres honorable [most venerable] Alfons Karlych,” said Shinshin, laughing and combining (which was the peculiarity of his speech) the most popular Russian expressions with refined French phrases. - Vous comptez vous faire des rentes sur l "etat, [You expect to have income from the treasury,] do you want to receive income from the company?
- No, Pyotr Nikolaich, I just want to show that cavalry has much less benefits against infantry. Now figure out, Pyotr Nikolaich, my situation...
Berg always spoke very precisely, calmly and courteously. His conversation always concerned himself alone; he always remained calmly silent while they were talking about something that had nothing directly to do with him. And he could remain silent in this way for several hours without experiencing or causing the slightest confusion in others. But as soon as the conversation concerned him personally, he began to speak at length and with visible pleasure.
- Consider my position, Pyotr Nikolaich: if I were in the cavalry, I would receive no more than two hundred rubles a third, even with the rank of lieutenant; and now I get two hundred and thirty,” he said with a joyful, pleasant smile, looking at Shinshin and the count, as if it was obvious to him that his success would always be the main goal of the desires of all other people.
“Besides, Pyotr Nikolaich, having joined the guard, I am visible,” Berg continued, “and vacancies in the guards infantry are much more frequent.” Then, figure out for yourself how I could make a living out of two hundred and thirty rubles. “And I’m putting it aside and sending it to my father,” he continued, starting the ring.