In VN¡¯s story Lik (1939) neslykhannye metamorfozy mysli (unheard-of metamorphoses of the mind) are mentioned:
§³§Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ö§Þ: §§Ú§Ü §Þ§à§Ô §Ò§í §ß§Ñ§Õ§Ö§ñ§ä§î§ã§ñ, §é§ä§à §Ó §à§Õ§Ú§ß §ã§Þ§å§ä§ß§à §á§â§Ö§Ü§â§Ñ§ã§ß§í§Û §Ó§Ö§é§Ö§â §à§ß §á§à§ã§â§Ö§Õ§Ú §á§â§Ú§Ó§í§é§ß§à§Û §Ú§Ô§â§í §á§à§á§Ñ§Õ§Ö§ä §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ò§í §ß§Ñ §ä§à§á§Ü§à§Ö §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§à, §é§ä§à-§ä§à §á§à§Õ§Õ§Ñ§ã§ä§ã§ñ, §Ú §à§ß §ß§Ñ§Ó§ã§Ö§Ô§Õ§Ñ §á§à§ä§à§ß§Ö§ä §Ó §à§Ø§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ð§ë§Ö§Û §ã§ä§Ú§ç§Ú§Ú, §ß§Ú §ß§Ñ §é§ä§à §ß§Ö §á§à§ç§à§Ø§Ö§Û, §ã§Ñ§Þ§à§ã§ä§à§ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à§Û, §ã§à§Ó§ã§Ö§Þ §á§à-§ß§à§Ó§à§Þ§å §á§â§à§Õ§à§Ý§Ø§Ñ§ð§ë§Ö§Û §ß§Ú§ë§Ö§ß§ã§Ü§Ú§Ö §Ù§Ñ§Õ§Ñ§ß§Ú§ñ §Õ§â§Ñ§Þ§í,-- §Ó§Ö§ã§î §Ò§Ö§Ù §Ó§à§Ù§Ó§â§Ñ§ä§Ñ §å§Û§Õ§Ö§ä §ä§å§Õ§Ñ, §Ø§Ö§ß§Ú§ä§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ §¡§ß§Ø§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ü§Ö, §Ò§å§Õ§Ö§ä §Ö§Ù§Õ§Ú§ä§î §Ó§Ö§â§ç§à§Þ §á§à §ã§å§ç§à§Þ§å §Ó§Ö§â§Ö§ã§Ü§å, §á§à§Ý§å§é§Ú§ä §Ó§ã§Ö §ä§à §Þ§Ñ§ä§Ö§â§Ú§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§à§Ö §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô§à, §ß§Ñ §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Ö §ß§Ñ§Þ§Ö§Ü§Ñ§Ý§à§ã§î §Ó §á§î§Ö§ã§Ö, §Ù§Ñ§Ø§Ú§Ó§Ö§ä §Ó §ä§à§Þ §Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ü§Ö,-- §ß§à §Ü§â§à§Þ§Ö §Ó§ã§Ö§Ô§à §à§é§å§ä§Ú§ä§ã§ñ §Ó §ß§Ö§Ó§Ö§â§à§ñ§ä§ß§à §ß§Ö§Ø§ß§à§Þ §Þ§Ú§â§Ö, §ã§Ú§Ù§à§Þ, §Ý§Ö§Ô§Ü§à§Þ, §Ô§Õ§Ö §Ó§à§Ù§Þ§à§Ø§ß§í §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§à§é§ß§í§Ö §á§â§Ú§Ü§Ý§ð§é§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ §é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó, §ß§Ö§ã§Ý§í§ç§Ñ§ß§ß§í§Ö §Þ§Ö§ä§Ñ§Þ§à§â§æ§à§Ù§í §Þ§í§ã§Ý§Ú.
For instance, Lik might hope, one vague and lovely night, in the midst of the usual performance, to tread, as it were, on a quicksandy spot; something would give, and he would sink forever in a newborn element, unlike anything known ¨C independently developing the play¡¯s threadbare themes in ways altogether new. He would pass irrevocably into this element, marry Ang¨¨lique, go riding over the crisp heather, receive all the material wealth hinted at in the play, go to live in that castle, and, moreover, find himself in a world of ineffable tenderness¨Ca bluish, delicate world where fabulous adventures of the senses occur, and unheard-of metamorphoses of the mind.
In VN¡¯s novel Dar (¡°The Gift,¡± 1937) the list of books brought out by Busch¡¯s publisher (who accepts for publication Fyodor's book on Chernyshevski) includes Hermann Lande¡¯s Metamorfozy mysli (Metamorphoses of Thought):
§³§á§Ú§ã§à§Ü §Ú§Þ §å§Ø§Ö §Ú§Ù§Õ§Ñ§ß§ß§í§ç §Ü§ß§Ú§Ô §Ò§í§Ý §Þ§Ñ§Ý, §ß§à §é§â§Ö§Ù§Ó§í§é§Ñ§Û§ß§à §â§Ñ§Ù§ß§à§à§Ò§â§Ñ§Ù§Ö§ß: §á§Ö§â§Ö§Ó§à§Õ§í §Ü§Ñ§Ü§Ú§ç-§ä§à §ß§Ö§Þ§Ö§è§Ü§Ú§ç §á§ã§Ú§ç§à-§Ñ§ß§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ä§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§Ú§ç §â§à§Þ§Ñ§ß§à§Ó, §ã§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§ß§ß§í§Ö §Õ§ñ§Õ§Ö§Û §¢§å§ê§Ñ, "§°§ä§â§Ñ§Ó§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§Ú§è§Ñ" §¡§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§Ú§Õ§í §³§Ó§Ö§ä§à§Ù§Ñ§â§à§Ó§à§Û, §ã§Ò§à§â§ß§Ú§Ü §Ñ§ß§Ö§Ü§Õ§à§ä§à§Ó, §Ñ§ß§à§ß§Ú§Þ§ß§Ñ§ñ §á§à§ï§Þ§Ñ "§¡§Ù", -- §ß§à §ã§â§Ö§Õ§Ú §ï§ä§à§Ô§à §ç§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ñ §Ò§í§Ý§Ú §Õ§Ó§Ö-§ä§â§Ú §ß§Ñ§ã§ä§à§ñ§ë§Ú§Ö §Ü§ß§Ú§Ô§Ú, §Ü§Ñ§Ü, §ß§Ñ§á§â§Ú§Þ§Ö§â, §á§â§Ö§Ü§â§Ñ§ã§ß§Ñ§ñ "§§Ö§ã§ä§ß§Ú§è§Ñ §Ó §°§Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ç" §¤§Ö§â§Þ§Ñ§ß§Ñ §§ñ§ß§Õ§Ö §Ú §Ö§Ô§à §Ø§Ö "§®§Ö§ä§Ñ§Þ§à§â§æ§à§Ù§í §®§í§ã§Ý§Ú".
His list of published books was small, but remarkably eclectic: translations of some German psychoanalytic novels done by an uncle of Busch¡¯s; The Poisoner by Adelaida Svetozarov; a collection of funny stories; an anonymous poem entitled ¡°I¡±; but among this trash there were two or three genuine books, such as, for example, the wonderful Stairway to the Clouds by Hermann Lande and also his Metamorphoses of Thought. (Chapter Three)
Lestnitsa v oblakakh (Stairway to the Clouds) brings to mind Gogol¡¯s last words quoted by Merezhkovski in Gogol¡¯ i chyort (¡°Gogol and the Devil,¡± 1906): Lestnitsu! Poskorey davay lestnitsu! (¡°Ladder, give the ladder quick!¡±). VN¡¯s story Lik ends in the hero¡¯s words spoken in French: ¡°Those are mine.¡± According to Lik, the new white shoes on Koldunov¡¯s feet belong to him. The name Koldunov comes from koldun (sorcerer). Koldun is a character in Gogol¡¯s story Strashnaya mest¡¯ (¡°A Terrible Vengeance,¡± 1832). In Masterstvo Gogolya ("Gogol's Craftsmanship," 1934) Andrey Bely asks: ¡°What is koldun?¡± and answers: ¡°No one knows what.¡± In his essay Lug zelyonyi (¡°The Green Meadow,¡± 1907) Bely mentions lik krasavitsy (the beauty¡¯s face), Katerina (a character in A Terrible Vengeance whose name brings to mind Katya, Koldunov¡¯s second wife) and staryi koldun (the old sorcerer):
§§Ú§Ü §¬§â§Ñ§ã§Ñ§Ó§Ú§è§í §Ù§Ñ§ß§Ñ§Ó§Ö§ê§Ö§ß §ä§å§Þ§Ñ§ß§ß§í§Þ §ã§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§ß§à§Þ §Þ§Ö§ç§Ñ§ß§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Û §Ü§å§Ý§î§ä§å§â§í, -- §ã§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§ß§à§Þ, §ã§á§Ý§Ö§ä§×§ß§ß§í§Þ §Ú§Ù §é§×§â§ß§í§ç §Õ§í§Þ§à§Ó §Ú §Ø§Ö§Ý§Ö§Ù§ß§à§Û §á§â§à§Ó§à§Ý§à§Ü§Ú §ä§Ö§Ý§Ö§Ô§â§Ñ§æ§Ñ. §³§á§Ú§ä, §ã§á§Ú§ä §¿§Ó§â§Ú§Õ§Ú§Ü§Ñ, §á§à§Ó§Ú§ä§Ñ§ñ §Ñ§Õ§à§Þ §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§Ú, -- §ä§ë§Ö§ä§ß§à §°§â§æ§Ö§Û §ã§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä §Ó§à §Ñ§Õ, §é§ä§à§Ò§í §â§Ñ§Ù§Ò§å§Õ§Ú§ä§î §Ö§×. §³§à§ß§ß§à §à§ß§Ñ §Ý§Ö§á§Ö§é§Ö§ä:
§´§í §Ó§Ö§Õ§×§ê§î -- §Þ§ß§Ö §Ò§í§ä§î §á§à§Ü§à§â§ß§à§Û.
§Á §Õ§à§Ý§Ø§ß§Ñ §Ú§Õ§ä§Ú -- §Õ§à§Ý§Ø§ß§Ñ.
§¯§à §ß§Ñ §Ó§Ù§à§â§Ñ§ç §à§Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ü §é§×§â§ß§í§Û,
§¹§×§â§ß§à§Û §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§Ú §á§Ö§Ý§Ö§ß§Ñ.
¡§£ §Ü§à§Ý§à§ã§ã§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§í§ç §à§Ò§â§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§ç §¬§Ñ§ä§Ö§â§Ú§ß§í §Ú §ã§ä§Ñ§â§à§Ô§à §Ü§à§Ý§Õ§å§ß§Ñ §¤§à§Ô§à§Ý§î §Ò§Ö§ã§ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§ß§à §Ó§í§â§Ñ§Ù§Ú§Ý §ä§à§Þ§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §ã§á§ñ§ë§Ö§Û §â§à§Õ§Ú§ß§í -- §¬§â§Ñ§ã§Ñ§Ó§Ú§è§í, §ã§ä§à§ñ§ë§Ö§Û §ß§Ñ §â§Ñ§ã§á§å§ä§î§Ö §Þ§Ö§Ø§Õ§å §Þ§Ö§ç§Ñ§ß§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Û §Þ§Ö§â§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§ã§ä§î§ð §Ú §á§Ö§â§Ó§à§Ò§í§ä§ß§à§Û §Ô§â§å§Ò§à§ã§ä§î§ð.
Bely quotes Bryusov¡¯s poem Orfey i Evridika (¡°Orpheus and Eurydice,¡± 1904) in which oblak chyornyi (a black cloud) and lik (face) are mentioned:
§°§â§æ§Ö§Û
§´§í §ß§Ö §á§à§Þ§ß§Ú§ê§î! §ä§í §Ù§Ñ§Ò§í§Ý§Ñ!
§¡§ç, §ñ §á§à§Þ§ß§ð §Ü§Ñ§Ø§Õ§í§Û §Þ§Ú§Ô!
§¯§Ö§ä, §ß§Ö §ã§Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ä §Ú §Þ§à§Ô§Ú§Ý§Ñ
§©§Ñ§ä§Ö§Þ§ß§Ú§ä§î §Ó§à §Þ§ß§Ö §ä§Ó§à§Û §Ý§Ú§Ü!
§¿§Ó§â§Ú§Õ§Ú§Ü§Ñ
§±§à§Þ§ß§ð §ã§é§Ñ§ã§ä§î§Ö, §Õ§â§å§Ô §Þ§à§Û §Ò§Ö§Õ§ß§í§Û,
§ª §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ä§Ú§ç§Ú§Û §ã§à§ß...
§¯§à §Ó§à §ä§î§Þ§Ö, §Ó§à §ä§î§Þ§Ö §Ò§Ö§ã§ã§Ý§Ö§Õ§ß§à§Û
§¢§Ý§Ö§Õ§ß§í§Û §Ý§Ú§Ü §ä§Ó§à§Û §Ù§Ñ§ä§Ö§Þ§ß§×§ß...
According to Koldunov, Lik khodit gogolem (goes swaggering around):
§£§à§ä §ä§í, §ß§Ñ§á§â§Ú§Þ§Ö§â, §é§Ö§Þ §ä§í §Ý§å§é§ê§Ö §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ? §¡ §ç§à§Õ§Ú§ê§î §Ô§à§Ô§à§Ý§Ö§Þ, §Ó §à§ä§Ö§Ý§ñ§ç §Ø§Ú§Ó§Ö§ê§î, §Ñ§Ü§ä§â§Ú§ã, §Õ§à§Ý§Ø§ß§à §Ò§í§ä§î, §Ó§Ù§Ñ§ã§à§ã...
Take you, for instance ¨C what makes you better than me? You go swaggering around, living in hotels, smooching with actresses¡
As I pointed out before, Lik¡¯s new shoes that he forgets at Koldunov¡¯s can be compared to Akakiy Akakievich¡¯s new overcoat in Gogol¡¯s story Shinel¡¯ (¡°The Carrick,¡± 1842). Akakiy Akakievich¡¯s surname, Bashmachkin, comes from bashmak (shoe).
In ¡°The Gift¡± Koncheev¡¯s review of Fyodor¡¯s book Zhizn¡¯ Chernyshevskogo (¡°The Life of Chernyshevski¡±) appears in the literary annual Bashnya (The Tower). In VN¡¯s story Oblako, ozero, bashnya (translated into English as Cloud, Castle, Lake, 1937) Vasiliy Ivanovich rereads Tyutchev:
§²§Ñ§Ù§Þ§Ö§ã§ä§Ú§Ý§Ú§ã§î §Ó §á§å§ã§ä§à§Þ §Ó§Ñ§Ô§à§ß§é§Ú§Ü§Ö §ã§å§Ô§å§Ò§à-§ä§â§Ö§ä§î§Ö§Ô§à §Ü§Ý§Ñ§ã§ã§Ñ, §Ú §£§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ý§Ú§Û §ª§Ó§Ñ§ß§à§Ó§Ú§é, §ã§Ö§Ó §Ó §ã§ä§à§â§à§ß§Ü§Ö §Ú §á§à§Ý§à§Ø§Ú§Ó §Ó §â§à§ä §Þ§ñ§ä§Ü§å, §ä§à§ä§é§Ñ§ã §â§Ñ§ã§Ü§â§í§Ý §ä§à§Þ§Ú§Ü §´§ð§ä§é§Ö§Ó§Ñ, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Ô§à §Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§à §ã§à§Ò§Ú§â§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §á§Ö§â§Ö§é§Ö§ã§ä§î ("§®§í §ã§Ý§Ú§Ù§î. §²§Ö§é§×§ß§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ö§ã§ä§î §Ý§à§Ø§î", -- §Ú §Õ§Ú§Ó§ß§à§Ö §à §â§å§Þ§ñ§ß§à§Þ §Ó§à§ã§Ü§Ý§Ú§è§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ú); §ß§à §Ö§Ô§à §á§à§á§â§à§ã§Ú§Ý§Ú §à§ä§Ý§à§Ø§Ú§ä§î §Ü§ß§Ú§Ø§Ü§å §Ú §á§â§Ú§ã§à§Ö§Õ§Ú§ß§Ú§ä§î§ã§ñ §Ü§à §Ó§ã§Ö§Û §Ô§â§å§á§á§Ö.
Everyone found a place in an empty car, unmistakably third-class, and Vasiliy Ivanovich, having sat down by himself and put a peppermint into his mouth, opened a little volume of Tyutchev, whom he had long intended to reread; but he was requested to put the book aside and join the group.
My sliz'. Rechyonnaya est' lozh' ("We are slime. What was once uttered is a lie"), a parenthesis omitted in the English version, hints at a line in Tyutchev's poem Silentium! (1830): Mysl' izrechyonnaya est' lozh' (A thought once uttered is untrue). According to Bryusov, Tyutchev had to say that a thought once uttered was untrue:
§±§å§ê§Ü§Ú§ß §Ò§í§Ý §Õ§à§Ý§Ø§Ö§ß §ñ§Ó§Ú§ä§î §ß§Ñ§Þ, §â§å§ã§ã§Ü§Ú§Þ, §à§Ò§Ý§Ú§Ü §´§Ñ§ä§î§ñ§ß§í.
§´§ð§ä§é§Ö§Ó §Ò§í§Ý §Õ§à§Ý§Ø§Ö§ß §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§ä§î: «§®§í§ã§Ý§î §Ú§Ù§â§Ö§é§×§ß§ß§Ñ§ñ ¡ª §Ý§à§Ø§î!»
(Dolzhen byl¡, 1915)
On the other hand, in his poem V chas, kogda geniy vecherney prokhlady ("In the hour, when the genius of the cool of the evening..." 1896) Bryusov mentions sliz' (slime) with which the reptiles defile the reeds at the bank of Ozero Snov (the Lake of Dreams):
§£ §é§Ñ§ã, §Ü§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Ô§Ö§ß§Ú§Û §Ó§Ö§é§Ö§â§ß§Ö§Û §á§â§à§ç§Ý§Ñ§Õ§í
§¨§Ú§Ù§ß§î §Ó§à§Ù§Ó§â§Ñ§ë§Ñ§Ö§ä §è§Ó§Ö§ä§Ñ§Þ,
§¬ §°§Ù§Ö§â§å §³§ß§à§Ó, §á§à §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ü§à§Þ§í§Þ §ä§â§à§á§Ñ§Þ,
§®§Ö§Õ§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§à §ä§ñ§ß§å§ä§ã§ñ §Ô§Ñ§Õ§í.
§´§Ñ§Þ §à§ß§Ú, §Ó §ñ§ã§ß§à§Û §Ú §é§Ú§ã§ä§à§Û §ä§Ú§ê§Ú,
§£§à§Õ§ñ§ä §Ü§â§å§Ô§Ú §à§Þ§Ö§â§Ù§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à§Û §á§Ý§ñ§ã§Ü§Ú,
§±§â§Ñ§Ó§ñ§ä §á§à§Õ §Þ§Ö§ã§ñ§è§Ö§Þ §Ý§Ú§á§Ü§Ú§Ö §Ý§Ñ§ã§Ü§Ú,
§³§Ý§Ú§Ù§î§ð §ã§Ü§Ó§Ö§â§ß§ñ§ä §Ü§Ñ§Þ§í§ê§Ú.
§£ §Ø§å§ä§Ü§à§Û §ä§â§Ö§Ó§à§Ô§Ö §ã§Ó§ñ§ä§í§Ö §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§ß§î§ñ
§¬ §ß§Ö§Ò§å §Ó§à§ã§ç§à§Õ§ñ§ä, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ò§Ö§Ý§í§Û §ä§å§Þ§Ñ§ß;
§³§ß§í §Þ§à§Ú §é§×§â§ß§í, ¡ª §Ú §ã§ß§à§Ó§Ñ §ñ §á§î§ñ§ß
§®§å§ä§ß§í§Þ §Ó§Ú§ß§à§Þ §Ú§ã§Ü§å§ê§Ö§ß§î§ñ.
In Tvorchestvo i remeslo ("Creative Work and Handicraft," 1917), a review of Bryusov's and Blok's collections of poetry, Georgiy Ivanov (in whose Raspad atoma, ¡°Disintegration of an Atom,¡± 1937, pakhuchaya sliz¡¯, a smelly slime, is mentioned) quotes Bryusov¡¯s poem Dolzhen byl¡ (¡°He had to¡¡±) and contrasts Bryusov with Blok, the author of Na pole Kulikovom (¡°In the Field of Kulikovo,¡± 1908). Lik¡¯s real name (mentioned by Gavrilyuk, as he spoke to Koldunov) seems to be Kulikov. As to Gavrilyuk (¡°a dubious character,¡± according to Koldunov), his name brings to mind Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevski. In ¡°The Gift¡± Fyodor writes Chernyshevski¡¯s biography (that ends in the hero¡¯s birth). Gavrilyuk twice recounted to Lik the story of his life:
§¬§Ñ§Ü-§ä§à §Ó§Ö§é§Ö§â§à§Þ, §Ü§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §à§ß §á§à§Ý§å§Ý§Ö§Ø§Ñ§Ý §Ó §á§à§Ý§à§ä§ß§ñ§ß§à§Þ §Ü§â§Ö§ã§Ý§Ö §ß§Ñ §Ó§Ö§â§Ñ§ß§Õ§Ö, §Ü §ß§Ö§Þ§å §á§â§Ú§ã§ä§Ñ§Ý §à§Õ§Ú§ß §Ú§Ù §Ø§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§Ö§Û §á§Ñ§ß§ã§Ú§à§ß§Ñ, §Ò§à§Ý§ä§Ý§Ú§Ó§í§Û §â§å§ã§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §ã§ä§Ñ§â§Ú§Ü (§å§Ø§Ö §å§ã§á§Ö§Ó§ê§Ú§Û §Õ§Ó§Ñ§Ø§Õ§í §Ö§Þ§å §â§Ñ§ã§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§ä§î §ã§Ó§à§ð §Ò§Ú§à§Ô§â§Ñ§æ§Ú§ð, §ã§á§Ö§â§Ó§Ñ §Ó §à§Õ§ß§à§Þ §ß§Ñ§á§â§Ñ§Ó§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§Ú, §Ú§Ù §ß§Ñ§ã§ä§à§ñ§ë§Ö§Ô§à §Ü §á§â§à§ê§Ý§à§Þ§å, §Ñ §á§à§ä§à§Þ §Ó §Õ§â§å§Ô§à§Þ, §á§â§à§ä§Ú§Ó §ê§Ö§â§ã§ä§Ú, §á§â§Ú§é§×§Þ §á§à§Ý§å§é§Ú§Ý§Ú§ã§î §Õ§Ó§Ö §â§Ñ§Ù§Ý§Ú§é§ß§í§Ö §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§Ú, §à§Õ§ß§Ñ §å§Õ§Ñ§é§ß§Ñ§ñ, §Õ§â§å§Ô§Ñ§ñ §ß§Ö§ä), -- §Ú, §å§Õ§à§Ò§ß§à §å§ã§Ö§Ó§ê§Ú§ã§î, §ä§Ö§â§Ö§Ò§ñ §á§à§Õ§Ò§à§â§à§Õ§à§Ü, §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý: "§µ §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §ä§å§ä §à§ä§í§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ü§à§Þ§í§Û, §ä§à §Ö§ã§ä§î §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ü§à§Þ§í§Û-- c'est beaucoup dire, §â§Ñ§Ù§Ñ §Õ§Ó§Ñ §Ó§ã§ä§â§Ö§é§Ñ§Ý §Ö§Ô§à §Ó §¢§â§ð§ã§ã§Ö§Ý§Ö, §ä§Ö§á§Ö§â§î, §å§Ó§í, §ï§ä§à §ã§à§Ó§ã§Ö§Þ §à§á§å§ã§ä§Ú§Ó§ê§Ú§Û§ã§ñ §ä§Ú§á. §£§é§Ö§â§Ñ -- §Õ§Ñ, §Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ö§ä§ã§ñ, §Ó§é§Ö§â§Ñ,-- §å§á§à§Þ§Ú§ß§Ñ§ð §Ó§Ñ§ê§å §æ§Ñ§Þ§Ú§Ý§Ú§ð, §Ñ §à§ß §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§ä: §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ø§Ö, §ñ §Ö§Ô§à §Ù§ß§Ñ§ð, §Þ§í §Õ§Ñ§Ø§Ö §â§à§Õ§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§Ú§Ü§Ú".
-- §²§à§Õ§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§Ú§Ü§Ú? -- §å§Õ§Ú§Ó§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §§Ú§Ü.-- §µ §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §á§à§é§ä§Ú §ß§Ú§Ü§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §ß§Ö §Ò§í§Ý§à §â§à§Õ§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§Ú§Ü§à§Ó. §¬§Ñ§Ü §Ö§Ô§à §Ù§à§Ó§å§ä?
-- §¯§Ö§Ü§ä§à §¬§à§Ý§Õ§å§ß§à§Ó, §°§Ý§Ö§Ô §±§Ö§ä§â§à§Ó§Ú§é,-- §Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ö§ä§ã§ñ, §±§Ö§ä§â§à§Ó§Ú§é? §¯§Ö §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§ä§Ö?
One evening, as he was reclining in a canvas chair on the veranda, he was importuned by one of the pension guests, a loquacious old Russian (who had managed on two occasions already to recount to Lik the story of his life, first in one direction, from the present toward the past, and then in the other, against the grain, resulting in two different lives, one successful, the other not), who, settling himself comfortably and fingering his chin, said: ¡°A friend of mine has turned up here; that is, a ¡®friend,¡¯ c¡¯est beaucoup dire ¨C I met him a couple of times in Brussels, that¡¯s all. Now, alas, he¡¯s a completely derelict character. Yesterday ¨C yes, I think it was yesterday ¨C I happened to mention your name, and he says, ¡®Why, of course I know him ¨Cin fact, we¡¯re even relatives.¡¯¡±
¡°Relatives?¡± asked Lik with surprise. ¡°I almost never had any relatives. What¡¯s his name?¡±
¡°A certain Koldunov ¨C Oleg Petrovich Koldunov. ¡Petrovich, isn¡¯t it? Know him?¡±
Koldunov¡¯s patronymic hints at Petrovich, the tailor in Gogol¡¯s Shinel¡¯ who makes for Akakiy Akakievich the new overcoat. In ¡°The Gift¡± Oleg is the name of Fyodor¡¯s uncle who lives in America and supports his nephew financially. As he speaks to Lik, Koldunov mentions the United States and ¡®money:¡¯
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¡°Allow me an indiscretion,¡± said Koldunov in a confidential tone. ¡°I¡¯m told that in the United States there is a secret society that considers the word ¡®money¡¯ improper, and if payment must be made, they wrap the dollars in the toilet paper. True, only the rich belong ¨C the poor have no time for it. Now, here¡¯s what I¡¯m driving at,¡± and, his brows raised questioningly, Koldunov made a vulgar, palpating motion with two fingers and thumb ¨C the feel of hard cash.
Alexey Sklyarenko