According to the narrator of VN¡¯s story Vesna v Fialte (¡°Spring in Fialta¡±), Segur¡¯s yellow car (that runs at full speed into the truck of a traveling circus) resembles zhuk (a beetle; in the English version, ¡°a giant scarab¡±):
§±§à§Õ §á§Ý§Ñ§ä§Ñ§ß§Ñ§Þ§Ú §ã§ä§à§ñ§Ý§Ú §ß§Ö§Þ§Ö§è§Ü§à§Û §Þ§Ñ§â§Ü§Ú §Þ§à§ä§à§è§Ú§Ü§Ý§Ö§ä§Ü§Ñ, §ã§ä§Ñ§â§í§Û §Ô§â§ñ§Ù§ß§í§Û §Ý§Ú§Þ§å§Ù§Ú§ß, §Ö§ë§× §ã§à§ç§â§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ó§ê§Ú§Û §Ú§Õ§Ö§ð §Ü§Ñ§â§Ö§ä§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú, §Ú §Ø§×§Ý§ä§Ñ§ñ, §á§à§ç§à§Ø§Ñ§ñ §ß§Ñ §Ø§å§Ü§Ñ, §Þ§Ñ§ê§Ú§ß§Ñ: "§¯§Ñ§ê§Ñ, §ä§à §Ö§ã§ä§î §³§Ö§Ô§ð§â§Ñ, -- §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §¯§Ú§ß§Ñ, §Õ§à§Ò§Ñ§Ó§Ú§Ó: -- §á§à§Ö§Ù§Ø§Ñ§Û-§Ü§Ñ §ä§í, §£§Ñ§ã§Ö§ß§î§Ü§Ñ, §ã §ß§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ñ?¡±, §ç§à§ä§ñ §à§ä§Ý§Ú§é§ß§à §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ý§Ñ, §é§ä§à §ñ §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ô§å §á§à§Ö§ç§Ñ§ä§î. §±§à §Ý§Ñ§Ü§å §ß§Ñ§Õ§Ü§â§í§Ý§î§ß§Ú§Ü§à§Ó §á§â§à§Ý§×§Ô §Ô§å§Ñ§ê §ß§Ö§Ò§Ñ §Ú §Ó§Ö§ä§Ó§Ö§Û; §Ó §Þ§Ö§ä§Ñ§Ý§Ý§Ö §à§Õ§ß§à§Ô§à §Ú§Ù §ã§ß§Ñ§â§ñ§Õ§à§á§à§Õ§à§Ò§ß§í§ç §æ§à§ß§Ñ§â§Ö§Û §Þ§í §ã §ß§Ö§Û §ã§Ñ§Þ§Ú §à§ä§â§Ñ§Ù§Ú§Ý§Ú§ã§î §ß§Ñ §Þ§Ú§Ô, §á§â§à§ç§à§Õ§ñ §á§à §à§Ü§Ñ§ä§å, §Ñ §á§à§ä§à§Þ, §é§Ö§â§Ö§Ù §ß§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ê§Ñ§Ô§à§Ó, §ñ §á§à§é§Ö§Þ§å-§ä§à §à§Ô§Ý§ñ§ß§å§Ý§ã§ñ §Ú §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ò§í §å§Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý §ä§à, §é§ä§à §Õ§Ö§Û§ã§ä§Ó§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à §á§â§à§Ú§Ù§à§ê§Ý§à §é§Ö§â§Ö§Ù §á§à§Ý§ä§à§â§Ñ §é§Ñ§ã§Ñ: §Ü§Ñ§Ü §à§ß§Ú §Ó§ä§â§à§×§Þ §å§ã§Ñ§Ø§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î, §Ó §Ñ§Ó§ä§à§Þ§à§Ò§Ú§Ý§î§ß§í§ç §é§Ö§á§è§Ñ§ç, §å§Ý§í§Ò§Ñ§ñ§ã§î §Ú §á§à§Þ§Ñ§ç§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ñ §Þ§ß§Ö, §á§â§à§Ù§â§Ñ§é§ß§í§Ö, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §á§â§Ú§Ù§â§Ñ§Ü§Ú, §ã§Ü§Ó§à§Ù§î §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§Ö §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§ß §è§Ó§Ö§ä §Þ§Ú§â§Ñ, §Ú §Ó§à§ä §Õ§×§â§ß§å§Ý§Ú§ã§î, §ä§â§à§ß§å§Ý§Ú§ã§î, §å§Þ§Ö§ß§î§ê§Ú§Ý§Ú§ã§î (§¯§Ú§ß§Ú§ß §á§à§ã§Ý§Ö§Õ§ß§Ú§Û §Õ§Ö§ã§ñ§ä§Ú§á§Ñ§Ý§í§Û §á§â§Ú§Ó§Ö§ä): §ß§à §ß§Ñ §ã§Ñ§Þ§à§Þ §Õ§Ö§Ý§Ö §Ñ§Ó§ä§à§Þ§à§Ò§Ú§Ý§î §ã§ä§à§ñ§Ý §Ö§ë§× §ß§Ö§á§à§Õ§Ó§Ú§Ø§ß§à, §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ü§Ú§Û §Ú §è§Ö§Ý§í§Û, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ñ§Û§è§à, §Ñ §¯§Ú§ß§Ñ §ã§à §Þ§ß§à§Û §Ó§ç§à§Õ§Ú§Ý§Ñ §ß§Ñ §ã§ä§Ö§Ü§Ý§ñ§ß§ß§å§ð §Ó§Ö§â§Ñ§ß§Õ§å §à§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à§Ô§à §â§Ö§ã§ä§à§â§Ñ§ß§Ñ, §Ú §é§Ö§â§Ö§Ù §à§Ü§ß§à §Þ§í §å§Ø§Ö §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ú, §Ü§Ñ§Ü (§Õ§â§å§Ô§Ú§Þ §á§å§ä§×§Þ, §é§Ö§Þ §á§â§Ú§ê§Ý§Ú §Þ§í) §á§â§Ú§Ò§Ý§Ú§Ø§Ñ§ð§ä§ã§ñ §¶§Ö§â§Õ§Ú§ß§Ñ§ß§Õ §Ú §³§Ö§Ô§ð§â.
Under the plane trees stood a motorcycle of German make, a mud-bespattered limousine, and a yellow long-bodied Icarus that looked like a giant scarab (¡°That ¡¯s ours¡ªSegur¡¯s, I mean,¡± said Nina, adding, ¡°Why don¡¯t you come with us, Victor?¡± although she knew very well that I could not come); in the lacquer of its elytra a gouache of sky and branches was engulfed; in the metal of one of the bomb-shaped lamps we ourselves were momentarily reflected, lean filmland pedestrians passing along the
convex surface; and then, after a few steps, I glanced back and foresaw, in an almost optical sense, as it were, what really happened an hour or so later: the three of them wearing motoring helmets, getting in, smiling and waving to me, transparent to me like ghosts, with the color of the world shining through them, and then they were moving, receding, diminishing (Nina¡¯s last ten-fingered farewell); but actually the automobile was still standing quite motionless, smooth and whole like an egg, and Nina under my outstretched arm was entering a laurel-flanked doorway, and as we sat down we could see through the window Ferdinand and Segur, who had come by another way, slowly approaching.
Mme de S¨¦gur (b. Rostopchin, the author of books for children in the Biblioth¨¨que Rose series mentioned by VN in Speak, Memory and in Ada) was highly praised by Marina Tsvetaev:
§¤§â§Ñ§æ§Ú§ß§ñ §Õ§Ö §³§Ö§Ô§ð§â - §Ò§à§Ý§î§ê§Ñ§ñ §á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§Ú§è§Ñ, §Ú§Þ§Ö§Ó§ê§Ñ§ñ §Ô§Ý§å§á§à§ã§ä§î §Ó§à§à§Ò§â§Ñ§Ù§Ú§ä§î §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ §Ò§Ñ§Ò§å§ê§Ü§à§Û §Ú §á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ä§î §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §Õ§Ý§ñ §Õ§Ö§ä§Ö§Û.
Countess de S¨¦gur is a gifted writer who was stupid enough to imagine that she was a grandmother and wrote only for children. (¡°The Tale about Sonechka¡±)
In the first poem of her cycle Oka (¡°The Oka,¡± 1912) Marina Tsvetaev compares the automobiles to zolotye mayskie zhuki (golden may bugs):
§£§à§Ý§ê§Ö§Ò§ã§ä§Ó§à §ß§Ö§Þ§Ö§è§Ü§à§Û §æ§Ö§Ö§â§Ú§Ú,
§´§à§Þ§ß§í§Û §Ó§Ñ§Ý§î§ã, §ß§Ö§Þ§Ö§è§Ü§Ú§Û §Ú §á§â§à§ã§ä§à§Û¡
§¡ §Ý§å§Ô§Ñ §á§à§Ü§Ú§ß§å§ä§à§Û §²§à§ã§ã§Ú§Ú
§©§Ñ§è§Ó§Ö§Ý§Ú §Ü§å§â§Ú§ß§à§Û §ã§Ý§Ö§á§à§ä§à§Û.
§®§Ú§Ý§í§Û §Ý§å§Ô, §ä§Ö§Ò§ñ §Þ§í §ä§Ñ§Ü §Ý§ð§Ò§Ú§Ý§Ú,
§³ §Ù§à§Ý§à§ä§à§Û §ä§â§à§á§Ú§ß§Ü§à§Û §å §°§Ü§Ú¡
§®§Ö§Ø §ã§ä§Ó§à§Ý§à§Ó §ã§ß§å§ð§ä §Ñ§Ó§ä§à§Þ§à§Ò§Ú§Ý§Ú, ¡ª
§©§à§Ý§à§ä§í§Ö §Þ§Ñ§Û§ã§Ü§Ú§Ö §Ø§å§Ü§Ú.
This poem (beginning: ¡°The magic of a German fairy-tale ballet, / a languorous waltz, German and simple¡¡±) was included in Marina Tsvetaev¡¯s book Volshebnyi fonar¡¯ (¡°The Magic Lantern,¡± 1912). In VN¡¯s story Segur¡¯s car has snaryadopodobnye fonari (bomb-shaped lamps). Also, note a motorcycle of German make mentioned by the narrator.
In VN¡¯s story the narrator calls Ferdinand and his friend who survived in a car crash that proved fatal for Nina ¡°salamanders of fate, basilisks of good fortune:¡±
§¯§à §Ü§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ß§î §Ò§í§Ý, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ä§Ö§Ý§à, §ä§×§á§Ý§í§Û, §Ú §Ó§ß§Ö§Ù§Ñ§á§ß§à §ñ §á§à§ß§ñ§Ý §ä§à, §é§Ö§Ô§à, §Ó§Ú§Õ§ñ, §ß§Ö §á§à§ß§Ú§Þ§Ñ§Ý §Õ§à§ä§à§Ý§Ö, §á§à§é§Ö§Þ§å §Õ§Ñ§Ó§Ö§é§Ñ §ä§Ñ§Ü §ã§Ó§Ö§â§Ü§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §ã§Ö§â§Ö§Ò§â§ñ§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ò§å§Þ§Ñ§Ø§Ü§Ñ, §á§à§é§Ö§Þ§å §Õ§â§à§Ø§Ñ§Ý §à§ä§ã§Ó§Ö§ä §ã§ä§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ß§Ñ, §á§à§é§Ö§Þ§å §Þ§Ö§â§è§Ñ§Ý§à §Þ§à§â§Ö: §Ò§Ö§Ý§à§Ö §ß§Ö§Ò§à §ß§Ñ§Õ §¶§Ú§Ñ§Ý§î§ä§à§Û §ß§Ö§Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ä§ß§à §ß§Ñ§Ý§Ú§Ý§à§ã§î §ã§à§Ý§ß§è§Ö§Þ, §Ú §ä§Ö§á§Ö§â§î §à§ß§à §Ò§í§Ý§à §ã§à§Ý§ß§Ö§é§ß§à§Ö §ã§á§Ý§à§ê§î, §Ú §ï§ä§à §Ò§Ö§Ý§à§Ö §ã§Ú§ñ§ß§Ú§Ö §ê§Ú§â§Ú§Ý§à§ã§î, §ê§Ú§â§Ú§Ý§à§ã§î, §Ó§ã§× §â§Ñ§ã§ä§Ó§à§â§ñ§Ý§à§ã§î §Ó §ß§×§Þ, §Ó§ã§Ö §Ú§ã§é§Ö§Ù§Ñ§Ý§à, §Ú §ñ §å§Ø§Ö §ã§ä§à§ñ§Ý §ß§Ñ §Ó§à§Ü§Ù§Ñ§Ý§Ö, §Ó §®§Ú§Ý§Ñ§ß§Ö, §ã §Ô§Ñ§Ù§Ö§ä§à§Û, §Ú§Ù §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Û §å§Ù§ß§Ñ§Ý, §é§ä§à §Ø§×§Ý§ä§í§Û §Ñ§Ó§ä§à§Þ§à§Ò§Ú§Ý§î, §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §Þ§ß§à§Û §á§à§Õ §á§Ý§Ñ§ä§Ñ§ß§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §á§à§ä§Ö§â§á§Ö§Ý §Ù§Ñ §¶§Ú§Ñ§Ý§î§ä§à§Û §Ü§â§å§ê§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö, §Ó§Ý§Ö§ä§Ö§Ó §ß§Ñ §á§à§Ý§ß§à§Þ §ç§à§Õ§å §Ó §æ§å§â§Ô§à§ß §Ò§â§à§Õ§ñ§é§Ö§Ô§à §è§Ú§â§Ü§Ñ, §á§â§Ú§é§×§Þ §¶§Ö§â§Õ§Ú§ß§Ñ§ß§Õ §Ú §Ö§Ô§à §á§â§Ú§ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î, §ß§Ö§å§ñ§Ù§Ó§Ú§Þ§í§Ö §á§â§à§Û§Õ§à§ç§Ú, §ã§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ñ§ß§Õ§â§í §ã§å§Õ§î§Ò§í, §Ó§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ý§Ú§ã§Ü§Ú §ã§é§Ñ§ã§ä§î§ñ, §à§ä§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§ß§í§Þ §Ú
§Ó§â§Ö§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§í§Þ §á§à§Ó§â§Ö§Ø§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö§Þ §é§Ö§ê§å§Ú, §ä§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Ü§Ñ§Ü §¯§Ú§ß§Ñ, §ß§Ö§ã§Þ§à§ä§â§ñ §ß§Ñ §ã§Ó§à§× §Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§Ö§Ö, §á§â§Ö§Õ§Ñ§ß§ß§à§Ö §á§à§Õ§â§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ö §Ú§Þ, §à§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§ã§î §Ó§ã§×-§ä§Ñ§Ü§Ú §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§ß§à§Û.
But the stone was as warm as flesh, and suddenly I understood something I had been seeing without understanding¡ªwhy a piece of tinfoil had sparkled so on the pavement, why the gleam of a glass had trembled on a tablecloth, why the sea was a shimmer: somehow, by imperceptible degrees, the white sky above Fialta had got saturated with sunshine, and now it was sun-pervaded throughout, and this brimming white radiance grew broader and broader, all dissolved in it, all vanished, all passed, and I stood on the station platform of Mlech with a freshly bought newspaper, which told me that the yellow car I had seen under the plane trees had suffered a crash beyond Fialta, having run at full speed into the truck of a traveling circus entering the town, a crash from which Ferdinand and his friend, those invulnerable rogues, those salamanders of fate, those basilisks of good fortune, had escaped with local and temporary injury to their scales, while Nina, in spite of her long-standing, faithful imitation of them, had turned out after all to be mortal.
In her poem Ya seychas lezhu nichkom¡ (¡°I am now lying prone¡¡± 1913) Marina Tsvetaev compares herself to Salamandra i Undina (Salamander and Undine):
§Á §Ò§í §ã§ä§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §Ó §ä§à§ä §Ø§Ö §Þ§Ú§Ô
¡ª §³§Ý§í§ê§Ú§ä§Ö, §Þ§à§Û §å§é§Ö§ß§Ú§Ü? ¡ª
§£ §Ù§à§Ý§à§ä§Ö §Ú §Ó §ã§Ö§â§Ö§Ò§â§Ö
§³§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ñ§ß§Õ§â§Ñ §Ú §µ§ß§Õ§Ú§ß§Ñ.
§®§í §Ò§í §ã§Ö§Ý§Ú §ß§Ñ §Ü§à§Ó§â§Ö
§µ §Ô§à§â§ñ§ë§Ö§Ô§à §Ü§Ñ§Þ§Ú§ß§Ñ.
In her poem Pyotr i Pushkin (¡°Peter I and Pushkin,¡± 1931) Marina Tsvetaev mentions vasiliska vzglyad (a basilisk¡¯s look of the tsar Nicholas I):
§µ§Ø §à§ß §Ò§í §Ø§Ñ§ß§Õ§Ñ§â§Þ§ã§Ü§à§Ô§à §ã§í§ã§Ü§Ñ
§¯§Ö §Ü§â§í§Ý §Ò§í «§à§ä§Ö§é§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§à§Þ §é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó»!
§µ§Ø §à§ß §Ò§í §ä§Ö§Ò§Ö ¡ª §Ó§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ý§Ú§ã§Ü§Ñ
§£§Ù§Ô§Ý§ñ§Õ! ¡ª §ß§Ö §Ù§Ñ§Þ§à§â§Ñ§Ø§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Ý §å§ã§ä.
In VN¡¯s story Ferdinand speaks of criticism and mentions Mme de V. (a well-known literary hostess who strongly resembled a grinning horse) and, a little later, Wouwerman¡¯s white horse:
-- §¬§â§Ú§ä§Ú§Ü§Ñ!-- §Ó§à§ã§Ü§Ý§Ú§Ü§ß§å§Ý §à§ß.-- §·§à§â§à§ê§Ñ §Ü§â§Ú§ä§Ú§Ü§Ñ. §£§ã§ñ§Ü§Ñ§ñ §ä§×§Þ§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ý§Ú§é§ß§à§ã§ä§î §Þ§ß§Ö §é§Ú§ä§Ñ§Ö§ä §Þ§à§â§Ñ§Ý§î. §¢§Ý§Ñ§Ô§à§Õ§Ñ§â§ð §á§à§Ü§à§â§ß§à. §¬ §Þ§à§Ú§Þ §Ü§ß§Ú§Ô§Ñ§Þ §á§â§Ú§ä§â§Ñ§Ô§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ð§ä§ã§ñ §ã §à§á§Ñ§ã§Ü§à§Û, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ü §ß§Ö§Ú§Ù§Ó§Ö§ã§ä§ß§à§Þ§å §ï§Ý§Ö§Ü§ä§â§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Þ§å §Ñ§á§á§Ñ§â§Ñ§ä§å. §ª§ç §â§Ñ§Ù§Ò§Ú§â§Ñ§ð§ä §ã§à §Ó§ã§Ö§ç §ä§à§é§Ö§Ü §Ù§â§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ,
§Ü§â§à§Þ§Ö §ã§å§ë§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§Û. §£§â§à§Õ§Ö §ä§à§Ô§à, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ö§ã§Ý§Ú §Ò§í §ß§Ñ§ä§å§â§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§ä, §ä§à§Ý§Ü§å§ñ §à §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§Ú, §ß§Ñ§é§Ñ§Ý §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§ä§î §à §ã§×§Õ§Ý§Ñ§ç, §é§Ö§á§â§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ç §Ú§Ý§Ú M-me de V. (§à§ß §ß§Ñ§Ù§Ó§Ñ§Ý §Õ§Ñ§Þ§å §Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§â§Ñ§ä§å§â§ß§à§Ô§à §ã§Ó§Ö§ä§Ñ, §Ó §ã§Ñ§Þ§à§Þ §Õ§Ö§Ý§Ö §à§é§Ö§ß§î §á§à§ç§à§Ø§å§ð §ß§Ñ §à§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§å§ð §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î). §Á §ä§à§Ø§Ö §ç§à§é§å §ï§ä§à§Û §Ô§à§Ý§å§Ò§Ú§ß§à§Û §Ü§â§à§Ó§Ú,-- §á§â§à§Õ§à§Ý§Ø§Ñ§Ý §à§ß §ä§Ö§Þ §Ø§Ö §Ô§â§à§Þ§Ü§Ú§Þ, §â§Ó§å§ë§Ú§Þ §Ô§à§Ý§à§ã§à§Þ, §à§Ò§â§Ñ§ë§Ñ§ñ§ã§î §Ü §Ý§Ñ§Ü§Ö§ð, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§Û §á§à§ß§ñ§Ý §Ö§Ô§à §Ø§Ö§Ý§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ö, §á§à§ã§Þ§à§ä§â§Ö§Ó §á§à §ß§Ñ§á§â§Ñ§Ó§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§ð §á§Ö§â§ã§ä§Ñ, §Ò§Ö§ã§è§Ö§â§Ö§Þ§à§ß§ß§à §å§Ü§Ñ§Ù§í§Ó§Ñ§Ó§ê§Ö§Ô§à §ß§Ñ §ã§ä§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ß §Ñ§ß§Ô§Ý§Ú§é§Ñ§ß§Ú§ß§Ñ. §³§Ö§Ô§ð§â §å§á§à§Þ§ñ§ß§å§Ý §Ú§Þ§ñ §à§Ò§ë§Ö§Ô§à §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ü§à§Þ§à§Ô§à, §ç§å§Õ§à§Ø§ß§Ú§Ü§Ñ, §Ý§ð§Ò§Ú§Ó§ê§Ö§Ô§à §á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ä§î §ã§ä§Ö§Ü§Ý§à, §Ú §â§Ñ§Ù§Ô§à§Ó§à§â §á§â§Ú§ß§ñ§Ý §Þ§Ö§ß§Ö§Ö §à§ã§Ü§à§â§Ò§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§í§Û §ç§Ñ§â§Ñ§Ü§ä§Ö§â. §®§Ö§Ø§Õ§å §ä§Ö§Þ §Ñ§ß§Ô§Ý§Ú§é§Ñ§ß§Ú§ß §Ó§Õ§â§å§Ô §â§Ö§ê§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à §á§à§Õ§ß§ñ§Ý§ã§ñ, §Ó§ã§ä§Ñ§Ý §ß§Ñ §ã§ä§å§Ý, §à§ä§ä§å§Õ§Ñ §ê§Ñ§Ô§ß§å§Ý §ß§Ñ §á§à§Õ§à§Ü§à§ß§ß§Ú§Ü §Ú, §Ó§í§á§â§ñ§Þ§Ú§Ó§ê§Ú§ã§î §Ó§à §Ó§Ö§ã§î §ã§Ó§à§Û §Ô§â§à§Þ§Ñ§Õ§ß§í§Û §â§à§ã§ä, §ã§ß§ñ§Ý §ã §Ó§Ö§â§ç§ß§Ö§Ô§à §å§Ô§Ý§Ñ §à§Ü§à§ß§ß§Ú§è§í §Ú §Ý§à§Ó§Ü§à §á§Ö§â§Ö§Ó§Ö§Ý §Ó §Ü§à§â§à§Ò§à§Ü §ß§à§é§ß§å§ð §Ò§Ñ§Ò§à§é§Ü§å §ã §Ò§à§Ò§â§à§Ó§à§Û §ã§á§Ú§ß§Ü§à§Û.
...§ï§ä§à, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ò§Ö§Ý§Ñ§ñ §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î §£§å§Ó§Ö§â§Þ§Ñ§ß§Ñ,-- §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý §¶§Ö§â§Õ§Ú§ß§Ñ§ß§Õ, §â§Ñ§ã§ã§å§Ø§Õ§Ñ§ñ §à §é§Ö§Þ-§ä§à §ã §³§Ö§Ô§ð§â§à§Þ.
-- Tu es tr¨¦s hippique ce matin,-- §Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ä§Ú§Ý §ä§à§ä.
¡°Criticism!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°Fine criticism! Every slick jackanapes sees fit to read me a lecture. Ignorance of my work is their bliss. My books are touched gingerly, as one touches something that may go bang. Criticism! They are examined from every point of view except the essential one. It is as if a naturalist, in describing the equine genus, started to jaw about saddles or Mme. de V.¡± (he named a well-known literary hostess who indeed strongly resembled a grinning horse). ¡°I would like some of that pigeon¡¯s blood too,¡± he continued in the same loud, ripping voice, addressing the waiter, who understood his desire only after he had looked in the direction of the long-nailed finger which unceremoniously pointed at the Englishman¡¯s glass. For some reason or other, Segur mentioned Ruby Rose, the lady who painted flowers on her breast, and the conversation took on a less insulting character. Meanwhile the big Englishman suddenly made up his mind, got up on a chair, stepped from there onto the windowsill, and stretched up till he reached that coveted corner of the frame where rested a compact furry moth, which he deftly slipped into a pillbox.
¡°. . . rather like Wouwerman¡¯s white horse,¡± said Ferdinand, in regard to something he was discussing with Segur.
¡°Tu es tr¨¨s hippique ce matin,¡± remarked the latter.
In her memoir story Chudo s loshad¡¯mi (¡°A Miracle with Horses,¡± 1934) Marina Tsvetaev speaks of Ivan Rukavishnikov and his wife, a former circus performer who was made by Lunacharski the head of all Soviet circuses. Rukavishnikov and his wife are also mentioned by Khodasevich in his memoir essay Belyi koridor (¡°The White Corridor,¡± 1925). In his essay Khodasevich describes Mme Kamenev as a Soviet literary hostess who lives in Kremlin. Khodasevich¡¯s essay on V. V. Mayakovski (VN¡¯s ¡°late namesake¡±) is entitled Dekol¡¯tirovannaya loshad¡¯ (¡°The Horse in a D¨¦collet¨¦ Dress,¡± 1927). The author compares Mayakovski to a circus horse:
§±§â§Ö§Õ§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§î§ä§Ö §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î, §Ú§Ù§à§Ò§â§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§ð§ë§å§ð §ã§ä§Ñ§â§å§ð §Ñ§ß§Ô§Ý§Ú§é§Ñ§ß§Ü§å. §£ §Õ§Ñ§Þ§ã§Ü§à§Û §ê§Ý§ñ§á§Ü§Ö, §ã §è§Ó§Ö§ä§Ñ§Þ§Ú §Ú §á§Ö§â§î§ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ó §â§à§Ù§à§Ó§à§Þ §á§Ý§Ñ§ä§î§Ö, §ã §Ü§à§â§à§ä§Ü§Ú§Þ§Ú §â§å§Ü§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§Þ§Ú §Ú §ã §â§à§Ù§à§Ó§í§Þ §â§ð§ê§Ö§Þ §Ó§à§Ü§â§å§Ô §Ô§Ú§Ô§Ñ§ß§ä§ã§Ü§à§Ô§à §Ó§à§â§à§ß§à§Ô§à §Õ§Ö§Ü§à§Ý§î§ä§ï, §à§ß§Ñ §ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä §ß§Ñ §Ù§Ñ§Õ§ß§Ú§ç §ß§à§Ô§Ñ§ç, §ß§Ö§Ý§Ö§á§à §Ó§í§ä§ñ§Ô§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ñ §Ò§Ö§ã§Ü§à§ß§Ö§é§ß§å§ð §ê§Ö§ð §Ú §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ý§ñ §Ø§Ö§Ý§ä§í§Ö §Ù§å§Ò§í.
§´§Ñ§Ü§å§ð §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î §ñ §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý §Ó §è§Ú§â§Ü§Ö §à§ã§Ö§ß§î§ð 1912 §Ô§à§Õ§Ñ. §£§Ö§â§à§ñ§ä§ß§à, §ñ §Ó§ã§Ü§à§â§Ö §Ù§Ñ§Ò§í§Ý §Ò§í §Ö§×, §Ö§ã§Ý§Ú §Ò§í §ß§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §Õ§ß§Ö§Û §ã§á§å§ã§ä§ñ, §á§â§Ú§Õ§ñ §Ó §°§Ò§ë§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§à §ã§Ó§à§Ò§à§Õ§ß§à§Û §ï§ã§ä§Ö§ä§Ú§Ü§Ú, §ß§Ö §å§Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý §ä§Ñ§Þ §à§Ô§â§à§Þ§ß§à§Ô§à §ð§ß§à§ê§å §ã §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§Ú§ß§í§Þ§Ú §é§Ö§Ý§ð§ã§ä§ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ó §é§×§â§ß§à§Û §â§å§Ò§Ñ§ç§Ö, §â§Ñ§ã§ã§ä§×§Ô§ß§å§ä§à§Û §é§å§ä§î §Ý§Ú §ß§Ö §Õ§à §á§à§ñ§ã§Ñ §Ú §à§Ò§ß§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§Ó§ê§Ö§Û §Ô§Ú§Ô§Ñ§ß§ä§ã§Ü§à§Ö §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§Ú§ß§à§Ö §Õ§Ö§Ü§à§Ý§î§ä§ï. §¬§Ñ§ð§ã§î: §á§â§à§Ù§Ó§Ú§ë§Ö "§Õ§Ö§Ü§à§Ý§î§ä§Ú§â§à§Ó§Ñ§ß§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î" §ß§Ñ§Õ§à§Ý§Ô§à §ã §ä§à§Ô§à §Ó§Ö§é§Ö§â§Ñ §å§ä§Ó§Ö§â§Õ§Ú§Ý§à§ã§î §Ù§Ñ §ð§ß§à§ê§Ö§Û... §¡ §ð§ß§à§ê§Ñ §ï§ä§à§ä §Ò§í§Ý §£§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ú§Þ§Ú§â §®§Ñ§ñ§Ü§à§Ó§ã§Ü§Ú§Û. §¿§ä§à §Ò§í§Ý§à §Ö§Ô§à §á§Ö§â§Ó§à§Ö §á§à§ñ§Ó§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §Ó §Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§â§Ñ§ä§å§â§ß§à§Û §ã§â§Ö§Õ§Ö, §Ú§Ý§Ú §à§Õ§ß§à §Ú§Ù §á§Ö§â§Ó§í§ç. §³ §ä§Ö§ç §á§à§â §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§Ú§ß§à§Û §á§à§ã§ä§å§á§î§ð §á§â§à§ê§Ö§Ý §à§ß §á§à §â§å§ã§ã§Ü§à§Û §Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§â§Ñ§ä§å§â§Ö -- §Ú §ß§í§ß§Ö, §ã§Õ§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §Þ§ß§Ö, §ã§ä§à§Ú§ä §å§Ø§Ö §á§â§Ú §Ü§à§ß§è§Ö §ã§Ó§à§Ö§Ô§à §á§å§ä§Ú. §±§ñ§ä§ß§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î §Ý§Ö§ä -- §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§Ú§ß§í§Û §Ó§Ö§Ü.
Khodasevich¡¯s essay begins: ¡°Imagine a horse that imitates an old Englishwoman¡¡± This horse brings to mind both Mme V. and the big Englishman in VN¡¯s story.
Alexey Sklyarenko