Online reading of the book Lefty Nikolai Leskov. Lefty. The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea Leskov Lefty full contents print

Retelling plan

1. Emperor Alexander and the Don Cossack General Platov inspect the English Cabinet of Curiosities (a collection of rarities and outlandish things).
2. Alexander buys a metal flea and takes it to Russia.
3. After the death of Alexander, another tsar, Nikolai Pavlovich, orders this flea to be shown to Russian craftsmen.
4. Platov leaves the flea with the craftsmen.
5. Platov, not understanding what kind of work the Tula craftsmen did, takes the left-handed man with him.
6. The Tsar, his daughter, Platov see a savvy flea.
7. Lefty goes to London, inspects factories.
8. Returning to his homeland, Lefty falls ill.
9. Different attitudes towards the English half-skipper and Lefty in Russia.
10. Lefty’s dying words and the attitude of Count Chernyshev and the narrator towards them.

Retelling

Chapter 1

When the Vienna Council ended, Emperor Alexander wanted to “travel around Europe and see wonders in different states.” Alexander was a sociable person, talked to everyone, was interested in everything. With him was the Don Cossack Platov, “who did not like this declination and, missing his household, kept beckoning the sovereign home.” And when the tsar notices something outlandish, he says that there are no worse things in Rus'. And the British came up with various tricks for the arrival of the sovereign, “in order to captivate him with his foreignness,” and agreed with Alexander the next day to go to the armory of the Kunstkamera. Platov did not like this, so “he ordered the orderly to bring a flask of Caucasian vodka-sour from the cellar,” but he did not argue with the tsar, he thought: “The morning is wiser than the night.”

Chapter 2

The next day they arrived at the Kunstkamera - “a large building - an indescribable entrance, endless corridors.” The emperor looked at Platov, but he didn’t bat an eyelid. The British showed off all their goods, and the king was happy for them and asked Platov why he was so insensitive. The Cossack replied that “my fellow Don people fought without all this and drove away twelve people.” And the foreigners said:

- This is a pistol of unknown, inimitable craftsmanship...

Alexander marveled at the thing, and then gave it to Platov so that he could admire it too. He picked the lock and read the Russian inscription on the fold: “Ivan Moskvin in the city of Tula.” The British gasped that they had missed. And the king felt sorry for them for such an “embarrassment.”

Chapter 3

The next day they went again to look at the Kunstkamera. Platov kept calling the Tsar home and making fun of foreigners, and Alexander said to him: “Please don’t spoil politics for me.” They were brought to the last cabinet of curiosities, where there was everything, “from the largest Egyptian ceramide to the skin flea.” It seems that the sovereign is not surprised by anything, and Platov feels calm and joyful about this.

Suddenly the king is presented with a gift on an empty tray. Alexander is perplexed, and the British ask him to take the smallest speck on the tray into his palm. This, it turns out, is a metal flea, for which there is even a key to wind it up, and then it will “go dancing.” The Emperor immediately gave away a million for such a miracle. Platov was very annoyed, because the British “gave a gift”, and he had to pay for it. And Alexander only repeated that he should not spoil politics for him. He put the flea in a diamond nut, and then in his golden snuffbox. And he praised the British: “You are the first masters in the whole world...” And Platov secretly took a small scope and put it in his pocket. They were driving to Russia, looking in different directions along the way and not talking.

Chapter 4

In Russia, after Alexander’s death, none of the courtiers understood what to do with this flea; they even wanted to throw it away. But the king forbade it. Here, by the way, Platov said: “It’s true, Your Majesty, that the work is very subtle and interesting, but we shouldn’t be surprised at this with mere delight of feelings, but we should subject it to Russian revisions in Tula or Sesterbek - then Sestroretsk They called it Sisterbek, “can’t our masters surpass this, so that the British do not exalt themselves over the Russians?” Nikolai Pavlovich agreed, hoping that the Russian masters would be no worse.

Chapter 5

Platov took the steel flea and went to the Tula gunsmiths. The men agreed that the thing was cunningly made, and promised Platov that they would come up with something for his arrival from the Don: “We ourselves don’t know what we will do, but we will only hope in God, and maybe the king’s word will not be put to shame for our sake.” will". Platov was not satisfied with this answer, but there was nothing to do. He only warned that the craftsmen should not spoil the fine work.

Chapter 6

Platov left, and the three best masters, one of them a slanting left-hander, who “has a birthmark on his cheek, and the hair on his temples was torn out during training,” said goodbye to their comrades and went into the forest towards Kiev. Many even thought that they wanted to hide with all this good (the king’s golden snuffbox, a diamond), but “however, such an assumption was also completely unfounded and unworthy of skilled people, on whom the hope of the nation now rested.”

Chapter 7

Tula people are described. Tula is smart, knowledgeable in metal work, and very religious. The Tula people's faith and skill help them build magnificently beautiful cathedrals.

The masters did not go to Kyiv, but “to Mtsensk, to the district city of the Oryol province,” where the icon of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of trade and military affairs, is located. “They served a prayer service at the icon itself, then at the stone cross, and finally they returned home at night, and, without telling anyone, they set to work in terrible secrecy.” They all sat in the left-handed man's house, the shutters were closed, the doors were locked. For three days they sat without leaving, “not seeing or talking to anyone.”

Chapter 8

Platov arrived in Tula and sent people to work. Yes, I’m curious myself and can’t wait to see it.

Chapter 9

The Tula craftsmen have almost completed their work, the last screw remains to be screwed in, and they are already banging on their doors and screaming. The masters promise to bring it soon. And indeed, they came out - two of them had nothing in their hands, and the left-handed one was carrying the royal casket.

Chapter 10

They gave the box to Platov. I got into the carriage and was curious myself, so I decided to take a look, and when I opened it, the flea was still there. He asked the tired craftsmen what the problem was. And they say: “See for yourself.” Platov did not see anything, got angry and shouted at them, saying that they had ruined such a thing. They were offended by him and said that they would not reveal the secret of what their work was because he did not trust them. And Platov took the left-handed man into his carriage and took him away without a “tugament”.

Chapter 11

Platov was afraid that the king would remember the flea. Indeed, as soon as he arrived, the king ordered it to be served immediately. And Platov says: “Nymphosoria is still in the same space.” To which the king replied: “I know that my people cannot deceive me. Something has been done here beyond the pale.”

Chapter 12

They pulled out the flea, the tsar called his daughter Alexandra Nikolaevna so that she could wind the flea with her thin fingers. But the flea doesn't dance. Then Platov grabbed the left-handed man and began to pull him by the hair, and the workman said that they had not spoiled anything and asked him to bring “the most powerful small scope.”

Chapter 13

The Emperor is confident that the Russian people will not let him down. They bring a microscope. The king looked and ordered the left-handed man to be brought to him. Lefty, all in torn clothes, “without tugament,” came to the king. Nikolai says he looked, but didn’t see anything. And the left-hander replies: “You just need to bring one of her legs under the entire microscope in detail and look separately at each heel she steps on.” Everyone did just that. The king looked and beamed, hugged the dirty left-hander and said that he was sure that he would not be let down. After all, they shoed the English flea!

Chapter 14

Everyone looked into the microscope and also began to hug the left-hander. And Platov apologized to him, gave him a hundred rubles and ordered him to wash him in the bathhouse and get his hair done at the hairdresser. They made him into a decent man with a decent appearance and took him to London.

Chapter 15

The courier brought a left-handed man, put him in a hotel room, and took the box with the flea where it needed to be. The left-hander wanted to eat. They took him to the “food reception room.” But he refused to eat their food and “is waiting for the courier in the cool behind the eggplant.” Meanwhile, the British looked at the flea and immediately wanted to see the master. The courier takes them to the left-handed man’s room, “the English clap, clap him on the shoulder...” and praise him.

They drank wine together for four days, then, moving away, they began to ask the Tula master where he studied. The left-hander replies: “Our science is simple: according to the Psalter and the Half-Dream Book, but we don’t know arithmetic at all.” Foreigners are surprised and invite him to stay with them, “learn education,” marry and accept their faith. Lefty refuses: “... our Russian faith is the most correct, and just as our right-wingers believed, our descendants should believe just as surely.” They only persuaded him to stay for a short time, and then they themselves would take him on their ship to St. Petersburg.

Chapter 16

Lefty “looked at all their production: metal factories, soap and saw factories, and all their economic procedures he really liked, especially regarding the maintenance of workers. Every worker they have is constantly well-fed, dressed not in rags, but everyone is wearing a capable vest... “He liked everything, and he sincerely praised everyone. But he somehow wanted to go home - he had no strength, and the British had to take him to Russia. They dressed him properly, gave him money and sent him on a ship. And all the time he looked into the distance and asked: “Where is our Russia?” And then the half-skipper and I started drinking all the way to the Riga Dynaminde.

Chapter 17

They got so drunk that they started getting rowdy. The captain even wanted to throw the left-handed man overboard, but the sailors saw him, reported to the captain, and then locked him up separately. They were taken like this to St. Petersburg, and then “the Englishman was taken to the messenger house on Aglitskaya Embankment, and the left-hander was taken to the quarter. From here their fates began to differ greatly.”

Chapter 18

As soon as the Englishman was brought to the embassy, ​​a doctor came to him, a warm bath, and a “gutta-percha pill.” And the left-hander in the neighborhood was knocked down and began to demand documents, but he weakened and could not answer anything. He lay in the sleigh for a long time in the cold while they were looking for which hospital to place him in. No hospital accepts anyone without documents, so they took him until the morning. “Then one doctor told the policeman to take him to the common people’s hospital in Obukhvinsk, where everyone from an unknown class is admitted to die.”

But the Englishman had already recovered and ran to look for the left-hander.

Chapter 19

The skipper quickly found his Russian comrade when he was almost dying. Lefty told him: “I definitely need to say two words to the sovereign.” The Englishman turned to many people, but everyone refused to help, even Platov said: “... I don’t know how to help him in such an unfortunate time; because I’ve already completely served my service and received full publicity - now they don’t respect me anymore...” And only Commandant Skobelev called doctor Martyn-Solsky to see the left-hander. And he, poor thing, with his last breath said to him: “Tell the sovereign that the British don’t clean their guns with bricks: let them not clean ours either, otherwise, God bless war, they’re not good for shooting.” He crossed himself and died. Martyn-Solsky went to Count Chernyshev with this news, and he: “Know your emetics and laxatives, and don’t interfere with your own business: in Russia there are generals for that.

And if they had brought the Leftist’s words to the sovereign in due time, the war with the enemy in Crimea would have taken a completely different turn.”

Chapter 20

All these were things of the past. The name of the left-hander is lost, like the names of “many of the greatest geniuses,” but the era is reflected aptly and correctly. There are no such masters left in Tula anymore. Workers, of course, know how to appreciate the benefits of mechanical science, but they remember the old days with pride and love.

Current page: 1 (book has 4 pages in total)

Nikolay Leskov

(The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea)

Chapter first

When Emperor Alexander Pavlovich graduated from the Vienna Council, he wanted to travel around Europe and see wonders in different states. He traveled to all countries and everywhere, through his affectionateness, he always had the most internecine conversations with all sorts of people, and everyone surprised him with something and wanted to bend him to their side, but with him was the Don Cossack Platov, who did not like this inclination and, missing his the household kept beckoning the sovereign home. And if Platov notices that the sovereign is very interested in something foreign, then all the escorts are silent, and Platov will now say: so and so, and we have our own at home just as well, and he will take him away with something.

The English knew this and, before the arrival of the sovereign, they came up with various tricks in order to captivate him with his foreignness and distract him from the Russians, and in many cases they achieved this, especially in large meetings, where Platov could not speak French completely: but he was not interested in this, because he was a married man and considered all French conversations to be trifles that were not worth the imagination. And when the British began to invite the sovereign to all their prisons, weapons factories and soap-saw factories, in order to show their advantage over us in all things and to be famous for it, Platov said to himself:

- Well, it’s a sabbath here. Until now I have endured, but I can’t go on. Whether I can speak or not, I won’t betray my people.

And as soon as he said this word to himself, the sovereign said to him:

- So and so, tomorrow you and I are going to look at their weapons cabinet. There,” he says, “there are such natures of perfection that once you look at them, you will no longer argue that we Russians are no good with our meaning.”

Platov did not answer the sovereign, he just lowered his hornbeam nose into a shaggy cloak, but came to his apartment, ordered the orderly to bring a flask of Caucasian vodka-kislarka from the cellar, shook a good glass, prayed to God on the road fold, covered himself with the cloak and snored so that In the entire English house, no one was allowed to sleep.

I thought: morning is wiser than night.

Chapter two

The next day the sovereign and Platov went to the Kunstkamera. The Emperor did not take any more Russians with him, because they were given a two-seater carriage.

They arrive at a very large building - the entrance is indescribable, the corridors are endless, and the rooms are one after the other, and, finally, in the main hall there are various huge busts, and in the middle under the canopy stands Abolon of Polveder.

The Emperor looks back at Platov: is he very surprised and what is he looking at? and he walks with his eyes downcast, as if he sees nothing - he just makes rings out of his mustache.

The British immediately began to show various surprises and explain what they had adapted for military circumstances: sea storm gauges, merblue mantons of foot regiments, and tar waterproof cables for the cavalry. The Emperor rejoices at all this, everything seems very good to him, but Platov maintains his expectation that everything means nothing to him.

The Emperor says:

- How is this possible - why are you so insensitive? Isn't there anything surprising to you here?

And Platov answers:

“The only thing that surprises me here is that my fellow Don people fought without all this and drove away twelve people.”

The Emperor says:

- This is recklessness.

Platov answers:

“I don’t know what to attribute it to, but I don’t dare argue and must remain silent.”

And the British, seeing such an exchange between the sovereign, now brought him to Abolon Polvedersky himself and took Mortimer’s gun from one hand and a pistol from the other.

“Here,” they say, “what our productivity is,” and they hand over the gun.

The Emperor looked calmly at Mortimer’s gun, because he had some like that in Tsarskoe Selo, and then they gave him a pistol and said:

“This is a pistol of unknown, inimitable craftsmanship - our admiral pulled it from the belt of the robber chieftain in Candelabria.”

The Emperor looked at the pistol and couldn’t see enough of it.

He got terribly excited.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he says, “how is this possible... how can this even be done so subtly!” “And he turns to Platov in Russian and says: “If I only had one such master in Russia, I would be very happy and proud of it, and I would immediately make that master noble.”

And Platov, at these words, at that very moment lowered his right hand into his large trousers and pulled out a gun screwdriver from there. The English say: “It doesn’t open,” but he, not paying attention, just picks the lock. I turned it once, turned it twice - the lock and got out. Platov shows the sovereign the dog, and there on the very bend there is a Russian inscription: “Ivan Moskvin in the city of Tula.”

The British are surprised and nudge each other:

- Oh, we made a mistake!

And Emperor Platov sadly says:

“Why did you make them so embarrassed, I feel very sorry for them now.” Let's go.

They got into the same two-seater carriage again and drove off, and the sovereign was at the ball that day, and Platov choked down an even larger glass of sour water and slept in a sound Cossack sleep.

He was happy that he had embarrassed the English and put the Tula master on the spot, but he was also annoyed: why did the sovereign feel sorry for the English on such an occasion!

“Why is the Emperor upset? - Platov thought, “I don’t understand that at all,” and in this reasoning he got up twice, crossed himself and drank vodka, until he forced himself into a deep sleep.

And the British were not sleeping at that very time either, because they too were dizzy. While the sovereign was having fun at the ball, they staged such a new surprise for him that Platov was robbed of all his imagination.

Chapter Three

The next day, when Platov appeared to the sovereign with good morning, he said to him:

“Let them lay down the two-seater carriage now, and we’ll go to the new cabinets of curiosities to look.”

Platov even dared to report that it wasn’t enough to look at foreign products and wouldn’t it be better to get ready for Russia, but the sovereign said:

- No, I still want to see other news: they praised me how they make the first grade of sugar.

The British show everything to the sovereign: what different first grades they have, and Platov looked and looked and suddenly said:

- Show us your sugar factories word of mouth?

And the British don't even know what it is word of mouth. They whisper, wink, repeat to each other: “Molvo, molvo,” but they cannot understand that we make this kind of sugar, and they must admit that they have all the sugar, but “rumor” does not.

Platov says:

- Well, there’s nothing to brag about. Come to us, we will give you tea with real molvo from the Bobrinsky plant.

And the sovereign tugged at his sleeve and said quietly:

– Please don’t spoil politics for me.

Then the British called the sovereign to the very last chamber of curiosities, where they collected mineral stones and nymphosoria from all over the world, from the largest Egyptian ceramide to the subcutaneous flea, which is impossible for the eyes to see, and its sting is between the skin and the body.

The Emperor went.

They examined the ceramides and all sorts of stuffed animals and went out, and Platov thought to himself:

“Now, thank God, everything is fine: the sovereign is not surprised at anything.”

But they just arrived in the very last room, and here their workers were standing in tunic vests and aprons and holding a tray with nothing on it.

The Emperor was suddenly surprised that he was being served an empty tray.

-What does this mean? – asks; and the English masters answer:

“This is our humble offering to your Majesty.”

- What is this?

“But,” they say, “would you like to see a speck?”

The Emperor looked and saw: indeed, the tiniest speck was lying on the silver tray.

Workers say:

“If you please, wet your finger and take it in your palm.”

- What do I need this speck for?

“This,” they answer, “is not a speck, but a nymphosoria.”

- Is she alive?

“No,” they answer, “it’s not alive, but we forged it from pure English steel in the image of a flea, and in the middle there is a factory and a spring.” If you please turn the key: she will now start dancing.

The Emperor became curious and asked:

- Where is the key?

And the English say:

- Here is the key in front of your eyes.

“Why,” says the sovereign, “do I not see him?”

“Because,” they answer, “it needs to be done through a small scope.”

A small scope was brought in, and the sovereign saw that there was indeed a key lying on a tray near the flea.

“If you please,” they say, “take her in your palm—she has a winding hole in her little belly, and the key has seven turns, and then she will go dancing…”

The sovereign grabbed this key with force and with force he could hold it in a pinch, and in another pinch he took a flea and just inserted the key, when he felt that she was starting to move her antennae, then she began to move her legs, and finally she suddenly jumped and in one flight straight dance and two beliefs to one side, then to the other, and so in three variations the whole kavril danced.

The Emperor immediately ordered the British to give a million, whatever money they wanted - they wanted it in silver coins, they wanted it in small banknotes.

The British asked to be given silver, because they didn’t know much about paper; and then now they showed another trick of theirs: they gave the flea as a gift, but they didn’t bring a case for it: without a case, you can’t keep it or the key, because they will get lost and be thrown into the trash. And their case for it is made of a solid diamond nut - and there is a place in the middle that is pressed out for it. They didn’t submit this because they say the case is government-issued, but they are strict about government-issued items, even if they are for the sovereign – you can’t sacrifice them.

Platov was very angry because he said:

– Why such fraud! They made a gift and received a million for it, and it’s still not enough! The case, he says, always belongs with every thing.

But the sovereign says:

- Please leave it alone, it’s none of your business - don’t spoil politics for me. They have their own custom. - And asks: - How much does that nut cost, in which the flea is located?

The British paid another five thousand for this.

Sovereign Alexander Pavlovich said: “Pay,” and he himself lowered the flea into this nut, and with it the key, and in order not to lose the nut itself, he lowered it into his golden snuff-box, and ordered the snuff-box to be put in his traveling box, which was all lined with mother of pearl and fish bone. The sovereign released the Aglitsky masters with honor and told them: “You are the first masters in the whole world, and my people cannot do anything against you.”

They were very pleased with this, but Platov could not say anything against the sovereign’s words. He just took the small scope and, without saying anything, put it in his pocket, because “it belongs here,” he says, “and you already took a lot of money from us.”

The Emperor did not know this until his arrival in Russia, but they left soon, because the Emperor became melancholy from military affairs and he wanted to have a spiritual confession in Taganrog with Priest Fedot. On the way, he and Platov had very little pleasant conversation, because they had completely different thoughts: the sovereign thought that the British had no equal in art, and Platov argued that ours, no matter what they look at, can do anything, but only they have no useful teaching . And he represented to the sovereign that the English masters have completely different rules of life, science and food, and each person has all the absolute circumstances before him, and through this he has a completely different meaning.

The Emperor did not want to listen to this for a long time, and Platov, seeing this, did not become stronger. So they rode in silence, only Platov would come out at each station and, out of frustration, drink a leavened glass of vodka, snack on a salted lamb, light his root pipe, which immediately contained a whole pound of Zhukov’s tobacco, and then sit down and sit next to the Tsar in the carriage in silence. The Emperor is looking in one direction, and Platov is sticking his chibouk out the other window and smoking into the wind. So they got to St. Petersburg, and Tsar Platov did not take him to priest Fedot at all.

“You,” he says, “are intemperate in spiritual conversation and smoke so much that your smoke makes my head soot.”

Platov remained resentful and lay down on the annoying couch at home, and still lay there and Zhukov smoked tobacco incessantly.

Chapter Four

An amazing flea made of English blued steel remained with Alexander Pavlovich in a box under a fish bone until he died in Taganrog, giving it to priest Fedot, so that he could hand it over to the empress when she calmed down. Empress Elisaveta Alekseevna looked at the flea's belief and grinned, but did not bother with it.

“It’s mine,” she says, “now it’s a widow’s business, and no amusement is seductive to me,” and when she returned to St. Petersburg, she handed over this wonder with all the other treasures as an inheritance to the new sovereign.

Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich at first also did not pay any attention to the flea, because at sunrise he was in confusion, but then one day he began to look through the box that he had inherited from his brother and took out a snuff box from it, and from the snuff box a diamond nut, and in it he found a steel flea, which had not been wound up for a long time and therefore did not act, but lay quietly, as if numb.

The Emperor looked and was surprised:

- What kind of trifle is this and why does my brother have it in such preservation!

The courtiers wanted to throw it away, but the sovereign said:

- No, it means something.

They called a chemist from Anichkin Bridge from the nasty pharmacy, who weighed poisons on the smallest scales, and they showed him, and now he took a flea, put it on his tongue and said: “I feel cold, as if from strong metal.” And then he slightly crushed it with his teeth and announced:

– As you wish, but this is not a real flea, but a nymphosoria, and it is made of metal, and this work is not ours, not Russian.

The Emperor ordered us to find out now: where does this come from and what does it mean?

They rushed to look at the files and lists, but nothing was written down in the files. They started asking this and that, but no one knew anything. But, fortunately, the Don Cossack Platov was still alive and even still lay on his annoying couch and smoked his pipe. When he heard that there was such unrest in the palace, he immediately got up from his couch, hung up the phone and came to the sovereign in all orders. The Emperor says:

- What do you, courageous old man, want from me?

And Platov answers:

“I, Your Majesty, don’t need anything for myself, since I drink and eat what I want and am happy with everything, and I,” he says, “came to report about this nymphosoria that they found: this,” he says, “is so.” , and this is how it happened before my eyes in England - and here she has a key, and I have their own microscope, through which you can see it, and with this key you can start this nymphosoria through the belly, and it will jump in any way space and to the sides of the probability of doing.

They started it up, she went to jump, and Platov said:

“It’s true,” he says, “your majesty, that the work is very subtle and interesting, but we shouldn’t be surprised at this with mere delight of feelings, but we should subject it to Russian revisions in Tula or in Sesterbek,” then Sestroretsk was still called Sesterbek , - can’t our masters surpass this, so that the British do not exalt themselves over the Russians?

Sovereign Nikolai Pavlovich was very confident in his Russian people and did not like to yield to any foreigner, so he answered Platov:

“You, courageous old man, speak well, and I entrust you to believe this matter.” I don’t need this box anyway now with my troubles, but you take it with you and don’t lie down on your annoying couch anymore, but go to the quiet Don and have internecine conversations there with my Don people about their lives and devotion and what they like. And when you go through Tula, show my Tula masters this nymphosoria, and let them think about it. Tell them from me that my brother was surprised at this thing and praised the strangers who did the nymphosoria most of all, but I hope for my own people that they are no worse than anyone. They will not let my word slip and will do something.

Chapter Five

Platov took the steel flea and, as he drove through Tula to the Don, showed it to the Tula gunsmiths and conveyed the sovereign’s words to them, and then asked:

– What should we do now, Orthodox?

Gunsmiths answer:

“We, father, feel the gracious word of the sovereign and can never forget him because he trusts in his people, but what we should do in the present case, we cannot say in one minute, because the English nation is also not stupid, and quite cunning, and the art in it has a lot of meaning. Against it, they say, we must take it seriously and with God’s blessing. And you, if your honor, like our sovereign, has confidence in us, go to your quiet Don, and leave us this flea as it is, in a case and in a golden royal snuffbox. Walk along the Don and heal the wounds that you suffered for your fatherland, and when you go back through Tula, stop and send for us: by that time, God willing, we will come up with something.

Platov was not entirely satisfied that the Tula people were demanding so much time and, moreover, did not say clearly what exactly they were hoping to arrange. He asked them this way and that and spoke to them slyly in Don style in all manners; but the Tula people were not inferior to him in cunning, because they immediately had such a plan that they did not even hope that Platov would believe them, but wanted to directly fulfill their bold imagination, and then give it away.

“We ourselves don’t yet know what we will do, but we will only hope in God, and perhaps the king’s word will not be put to shame for our sake.”

So Platov wiggles his mind, and so do the Tula people.

Platov wiggled and wiggled, but saw that he couldn’t outweigh Tula, gave them a snuffbox with a nymphosoria and said:

“Well, there’s nothing to do, let it be your way,” he says; I don’t know what you are like, well, there’s nothing to do, I believe you, but just be careful not to replace the diamond and spoil the fine English work, but don’t bother for long, because I’m driving a lot: it won’t be two weeks, when I turn from the quiet Don to Petersburg again - then I will certainly have something to show the sovereign.

The gunsmiths completely reassured him:

“It’s fine work,” they say, “we won’t damage it and we won’t exchange the diamond, but two weeks is enough time for us, and by the time you return back, you’ll have anything worthy to represent the sovereign's splendor.

A What exactly, they never said that.

Chapter Six

Platov left Tula, and the three gunsmiths, the most skilled of them, one with a sideways Lefty, a birthmark on his cheek, and the hair on his temples torn out during training, said goodbye to their comrades and their family and, without telling anyone, took their bags and put them away there they needed food and fled the city.

They only noticed that they did not go to the Moscow outpost, but in the opposite, Kiev direction, and thought that they went to Kiev to bow to the deceased saints or to advise there with one of the living holy men, who are always in abundance in Kiev .

But this was only close to the truth, and not the truth itself. Neither time nor distance allowed the Tula craftsmen to walk to Kyiv for three weeks and then have time to do the work that would disgrace the English nation. It would be better if they could go to pray in Moscow, which is only “two and ninety miles away,” and there are many saints who rest there. And in the other direction, to Orel, the same “two ninety”, and beyond Orel to Kyiv again another good five hundred miles. You won’t make this journey quickly, and even after you’ve made it, you won’t be able to rest soon - your legs will be glassy for a long time and your hands will be shaking.

Some even thought that the masters had boasted to Platov, and then, as they thought about it, they became cowardly and now ran away completely, taking with them the royal golden snuffbox, and the diamond, and the English steel flea in the case that had caused them trouble.

However, such an assumption was also completely unfounded and unworthy of skilled people, on whom the hope of the nation now rested.

Chapter Seven

Tula people, smart people and knowledgeable in metal work, are also known as the first experts in religion. Their native land, and even Saint Athos, are full of their glory in this regard: they are not only masters of singing with the Babylonians, but they know how to paint the picture “Evening Bells,” and if one of them devotes himself to great service and goes into monasticism, then these are considered the best monastic economists, and the most capable collectors emerge from them. On Holy Athos they know that the Tula people are the most profitable people, and if not for them, then the dark corners of Russia would probably not have seen many of the sacred things of the distant East, and Athos would have lost many useful offerings from Russian generosity and piety. Now the “Athos Tula people” carry saints throughout our homeland and skillfully collect collections even where there is nothing to take. Tula is full of church piety and a great practitioner of this matter, and therefore those three masters who undertook to support Platov and with him all of Russia did not make the mistake of heading not to Moscow, but to the south. They were not going to Kiev at all, but to Mtsensk, to the district city of the Oryol province, in which stands the ancient “stone-cut” icon of St. Nicholas, which sailed here in ancient times on a large stone cross along the Zusha River. This icon is of a “formidable and terrible” type - the saint of Myra-Lycia is depicted on it “full-length”, all dressed in silver-gilded clothes, and with a dark face and on one hand holding a temple, and in the other a sword - “military victory”. It was in this “overcoming” that the whole meaning of the thing lay: St. Nicholas in general is the patron of trade and military affairs, and “Nikola of Mtsensk” in particular, and it was to him that the Tula people went to bow. They served a prayer service at the icon itself, then at the stone cross, and finally returned home “at night” and, without telling anyone anything, set to work in terrible secrecy. All three of them came together in one house with Lefty, locked the doors, closed the shutters in the windows, lit the lamp in front of Nikolin’s image and began to work.

For a day, two, three they sit and don’t go anywhere, everyone is tapping with hammers. They are forging something, but what they are forging is unknown.

Everyone is curious, but no one can find out anything, because the workers don’t say anything and don’t show themselves. Different people went to the house, knocked on the doors under different guise, to ask for fire or salt, but the three artisans did not respond to any demand, and it was not even known what they ate. They tried to scare them, as if the house next door was on fire, in case they would jump out in fright and then reveal what they had forged, but nothing would stop these cunning craftsmen; Once only Lefty stuck out up to his shoulders and shouted:

“Burn yourself, but we don’t have time,” and again he hid his plucked head, slammed the shutter, and set about their work.

Only through small cracks one could see the light shining inside the house, and one could hear thin hammers hammering on ringing anvils.

In a word, the whole business was conducted in such a terrible secret that nothing could be found out, and, moreover, it continued until the Cossack Platov returned from the quiet Don to the sovereign, and during all this time the masters did not see or talk to anyone.

“Lefty” is a touching story about a master who devoted his entire life to working for the good of his homeland. Leskov creates many literary images that live and act in the setting of bygone days.

In 1881, the magazine “Rus” published “The Tale of the Tula Lefty and the Steel Flea.” Later, the author will include the work in the collection “The Righteous”.

The fictional and the real are intertwined into a single whole. The plot is based on true events, which allow us to adequately perceive the characters described in the work.

Thus, Emperor Alexander I, accompanied by the Cossack Matvey Platov, actually visited England. In accordance with his rank, he was given due honors.

The true story of Lefty unfolded in 1785, when two Tula gunsmiths, Surnin and Leontyev, by order of the emperor, went to England to get acquainted with weapons production. Surnin is tireless in acquiring new knowledge, and Leontyev “plunges” into a chaotic life and “gets lost” in a foreign land. Seven years later, the first master returns home to Russia and introduces innovations to improve weapons production.

It is believed that Master Surnin is the prototype of the main character of the work.

Leskov makes extensive use of folklore. Thus, a feuilleton about the miracle master Ilya Yunitsyn, who creates tiny locks, no larger than a flea, is the basis for the image of Lefty.

Real historical material is harmoniously integrated into the narrative.

Genre, direction

There are discrepancies regarding genre affiliation. Some authors prefer the story, others prefer the tale. As for N. S. Leskov, he insists that the work be defined as a tale.

“Lefty” is also characterized as a “weapon” or “shop” legend that has developed among people of this profession.

According to Nikolai Semenovich, the origin of the tale is a “fable” he heard in 1878 from some gunsmith in Sestroretsk. The legend became the starting point that formed the basis of the concept of the book.

The writer’s love for the people, admiration for their talents and ingenuity are embodied in the relief characters. The work is full of elements of a fairy tale, popular words and expressions, and folk satire.

The essence

The plot of the book makes you wonder whether Russia can truly appreciate its talents. The main events of the work clearly indicate that the authorities and the mob are equally blind and indifferent towards the masters of their craft. Tsar Alexander I visits England. He is shown the amazing work of the “Aglitsky” masters - a dancing metal flea. He acquires a “curiosity” and brings it to Russia. For some time they forget about “nymphosoria”. Then Emperor Nicholas I became interested in the British “masterpiece.” He sent General Platov to the Tula gunsmiths.

In Tula, a “courageous old man” orders three craftsmen to make something more skillful than the “Aglitsky” flea. The craftsmen thank him for the sovereign’s trust and get to work.

Two weeks later, Platov, who arrived to pick up the finished product, without understanding what exactly the gunsmiths had done, grabs Lefty and takes him to the Tsar’s palace. Presenting himself before Nikolai Pavlovich, Lefty shows what work they have done. It turned out that the gunsmiths had shod the “Aglitz” flea. The Emperor is happy that the Russian fellows did not let him down.

Then follows the order of the sovereign to send the flea back to England in order to demonstrate the skill of Russian gunsmiths. Lefty accompanies the "nymphosoria". The British welcome him warmly. Having become interested in his talent, they are doing everything possible to ensure that the Russian craftsman remains in a foreign land. But Lefty refuses. He misses his homeland and asks to be sent home. The British are sorry to let him go, but you can’t keep him by force.

On the ship, the master meets the half-skipper, who speaks Russian. The acquaintance ends with drinking. In St. Petersburg, half a skipper is sent to a hospital for foreigners, and Lefty, a patient, is imprisoned in a “cold quarter” and robbed. Later they are brought to die in the common people's Obukhov hospital. Lefty, living his last hours, asks Doctor Martyn-Solsky to tell the sovereign important information. But it does not reach Nicholas I, since Count Chernyshev does not want to listen to anything about it. This is what the work says.

The main characters and their characteristics

1. Emperor Alexander I- “enemy of labor.” He is inquisitive and a very impressionable person. Suffering from melancholy. He admires foreign wonders, believing that only the English can create them. He is compassionate and compassionate, builds a policy with the British, carefully smoothing out the rough edges.
2. Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich- an ambitious martinet. Has an excellent memory. Doesn't like to concede to foreigners in anything. He believes in the professionalism of his subjects and proves the inconsistency of foreign masters. However, he is not interested in the common man. He never thinks about how difficult it is to achieve this mastery.
3. Platov Matvey Ivanovich- Don Cossack, count. His figure exudes heroism and sweeping prowess. A truly legendary personality, a living embodiment of courage and bravery. He has enormous endurance and willpower. He loves his native land immensely. A family man, in a foreign land he misses his family. Insensitive to foreign creations. He believes that Russian people can do anything, no matter what they look at. Impatient. Without understanding it, he can beat up a commoner. If he is wrong, then he certainly asks for forgiveness, since behind the image of a tough and invincible chieftain hides a generous heart.
4. Tula masters- the hope of the nation. They are knowledgeable in metal work. They have a bold imagination. Excellent gunsmiths who believe in miracles. Orthodox people are full of church piety. They hope for God's help in solving difficult problems. They honor the gracious word of the sovereign. Thank you for the trust you place in them. They personify the Russian people and their good qualities, which are described in detail Here.
5. Left-handed oblique- a skilled gunsmith. There is a birthmark on the cheek. He wears an old “zyamchik” with hooks. The modest appearance of a great worker hides a bright mind and a kind soul. Before taking on any important task, he goes to church to receive a blessing. The characteristics and description of Lefty are described in detail in this essay. He patiently endures Platov’s bullying, although he has done nothing wrong. Later he forgives the old Cossack, without harboring resentment in his heart. Lefty is sincere, speaks simply, without flattery or cunning. He loves his fatherland immensely and would never agree to exchange his homeland for prosperity and comfort in England. It is difficult to bear separation from his native places.
6. Half skipper– an acquaintance of Levsha who speaks Russian. We met on a ship heading to Russia. We drank a lot together. After arriving in St. Petersburg, he takes care of the gunsmith, trying to rescue him from the terrible conditions of the Obukhov hospital and find a person who would convey an important message from the master to the sovereign.
7. Doctor Martyn-Solsky– a true professional in his field. He tries to help Lefty overcome his illness, but does not have time. He becomes the confidant to whom Lefty tells the secret intended for the sovereign.
8. Count Chernyshev- a narrow-minded Minister of War with enormous self-esteem. Despises the common people. He has little interest in firearms. Because of his narrow-mindedness and narrow-mindedness, he substitutes the Russian army in battles with the enemy in the Crimean War.

Topics and issues

1. Theme of Russian talents runs like a red thread through all of Leskov’s work. Lefty, without any glass magnifiers, was able to make small nails to nail the horseshoes of a metal flea. There are no limits to his imagination. But it's not just about talent. Tula gunsmiths are workers who do not know how to rest. With their diligence, they create not only outlandish products, but also a unique national code that is passed on from generation to generation.
2. Theme of patriotism deeply worried Leskov. Dying on the cold floor in the hospital corridor, Lefty thinks about his homeland. He asks the doctor to find a way to inform the sovereign that guns cannot be cleaned with bricks, since this will make them unusable. Martyn-Solsky tries to convey this information to the Minister of War, Chernyshev, but everything turns out to be in vain. The master’s words do not reach the sovereign, but the cleaning of the guns continues until the Crimean campaign. This unforgivable disregard of the tsarist officials for the people and their fatherland is outrageous!
3. The tragic fate of Lefty is a reflection of the problem of social injustice in Russia. Leskov's tale is both cheerful and sad. The story of how Tula craftsmen shoe a flea is captivating, demonstrating a selfless attitude to work. In parallel with this, the author’s serious thoughts are heard about the difficult destinies of brilliant people who came from the people. The problem of attitude towards folk craftsmen at home and abroad worries the writer. In England, Lefty is respected, they offer him excellent working conditions, and they also try to interest him in various wonders. In Russia, he faces indifference and cruelty.
4. The problem of love for one's native places, to native nature. The native corner of the earth is especially dear to man. Memories of him captivate the soul and give energy to create something beautiful. Many, like Lefty, are drawn to their homeland, since no foreign blessings can replace parental love, the atmosphere of their father’s home and the sincerity of their faithful comrades.
5. The problem of the attitude of talented people to work. Masters are obsessed with finding new ideas. These are hard workers, fanatically passionate about their work. Many of them “burn out” at work, because they devote themselves completely to the implementation of their plans.
6. Problems of power. What is the true strength of a person? Representatives of the authorities allow themselves to go beyond what is “permissible” in relation to ordinary people, shout at them, and use their fists. Craftsmen with calm dignity withstand this attitude of their masters. The true strength of a person lies in balance and perseverance of character, and not in the manifestation of intemperance and spiritual impoverishment. Leskov cannot stay away from the problem of heartless attitude towards people, their lack of rights and oppression. Why is so much cruelty used against the people? Doesn't he deserve humane treatment? Poor Lefty is indifferently left to die on a cold hospital floor, without doing anything that could somehow help him get out of the strong bonds of illness.

the main idea

Lefty is a symbol of the talent of the Russian people. Another striking image from Leskov’s gallery of “righteous people”. No matter how difficult it is, the righteous always fulfills his promise, gives himself to the fatherland to the last drop, without demanding anything in return. Love for one’s native land, for the sovereign, works wonders and makes one believe in the impossible. The righteous rise above the line of simple morality and selflessly do good - this is their moral idea, their main idea.

Many statesmen do not appreciate this, but in the memory of the people there always remain examples of selfless behavior and sincere, selfless actions of those people who lived not for themselves, but for the glory and well-being of their Fatherland. The meaning of their life is the prosperity of the Fatherland.

Peculiarities

Bringing together bright flashes of folk humor and folk wisdom, the creator of “Skaz” wrote a work of art that reflected an entire era of Russian life.

In places in “Lefty” it is difficult to determine where good ends and evil begins. This reveals the “cunning” of the writer’s style. He creates characters that are sometimes contradictory, containing positive and negative traits. Thus, the courageous old man Platov, being of a heroic nature, could never raise his hand against a “little” man.

“The Wizard of the Word”—that’s what Gorky called Leskov after reading the book. The folk language of the heroes of the work is their vivid and accurate description. The speech of each character is figurative and original. It exists in unison with his character, helping to understand the character and his actions. Russian people are characterized by ingenuity, so they come up with unusual neologisms in the spirit of “folk etymology”: “trifle”, “busters”, “peck”, “valdakhin”, “melkoskop”, “nymphosoria”, etc.

What does it teach?

N. S. Leskov teaches fair treatment of people. Everyone is equal before God. It is necessary to judge each person not by his social affiliation, but by his Christian actions and spiritual qualities.

Only then can you find a diamond glowing with righteous rays of warmth and sincerity.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

The Tale of the Tula Oblique Left-Hander and the Steel Flea

1

When Emperor Alexander Pavlovich graduated from the Vienna Council, he wanted to travel around Europe and see wonders in different states. He traveled to all countries and everywhere, through his affectionateness, he always had the most internecine conversations with all sorts of people, and everyone surprised him with something and wanted to bend him to their side, but with him was the Don Cossack Platov, who did not like this inclination and, missing his the household kept beckoning the sovereign home. And if Platov notices that the sovereign is very interested in something foreign, then all the escorts are silent, and Platov will now say: so and so, and we have our own at home just as well, and he will take him away with something.

The British knew this and, upon the arrival of the sovereign, they came up with various tricks in order to captivate him with his foreignness and distract him from the Russians, and in many cases they achieved this, especially in large meetings, where Platov could not fully speak French; but he was little interested in this, because he was a married man and considered all French conversations to be trifles that were not worth imagining. And when the British began to invite the sovereign to all their prisons, weapons factories and soap-saw factories, in order to show their advantage over us in all things and to be famous for it, Platov said to himself:

- Well, it’s a sabbath here. Until now I have endured, but I can’t go on. Whether I can speak or not, I won’t betray my people.

And as soon as he said this word to himself, the sovereign said to him:

- So and so, tomorrow you and I are going to look at their weapons cabinet. “There,” he says, “there are such natures of perfection that once you look at them, you will no longer argue that we Russians are no good with our meaning.”

Platov did not answer the sovereign, he just lowered his hornbeam nose into a shaggy cloak, but came to his apartment, ordered the orderly to bring a flask of Caucasian vodka-kislarka from the cellar, shook a good glass, prayed to God on the road fold, covered himself with the cloak and snored so that In the entire English house, no one was allowed to sleep.

I thought: morning is wiser than night.

2

The next day the sovereign and Platov went to the Kunstkamera. The Emperor did not take any more Russians with him, because they were given a two-seater carriage.

They arrive at a very large building - the entrance is indescribable, the corridors are endless, and the rooms are one after the other, and, finally, in the main hall there are various huge busts, and in the middle under the canopy stands Abolon of Polveder.

The Emperor looks back at Platov: is he very surprised and what is he looking at? and he walks with his eyes downcast, as if he sees nothing - he just makes rings out of his mustache.

The British immediately began to show various surprises and explain what they had adapted for military circumstances: sea storm gauges, merblue mantons of foot regiments, and tar waterproof cables for the cavalry. The Emperor rejoices at all this, everything seems very good to him, but Platov maintains his expectation that everything means nothing to him.

The Emperor says:

- How is this possible - why are you so insensitive? Isn't there anything surprising to you here?

And Platov answers:

“The only thing that surprises me here is that my fellow Don people fought without all this and drove away twelve people.”

The Emperor says:

- This is recklessness.

Platov answers:

“I don’t know what to attribute it to, but I don’t dare argue and must remain silent.”

And the British, seeing such an exchange between the sovereign, now brought him to Abolon Polvedersky himself and took Mortimer’s gun from one hand and a pistol from the other.

“Here,” they say, “what our productivity is,” and they hand over the gun.

The Emperor looked calmly at Mortimer’s gun, because he had some like that in Tsarskoe Selo, and then they gave him a pistol and said:

“This is a pistol of unknown, inimitable craftsmanship - our admiral pulled it from the belt of the robber chieftain in Candelabria.”

The Emperor looked at the pistol and couldn’t see enough of it.

He got terribly excited.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he says, “how is this possible... how can this even be done so subtly!” “And he turns to Platov in Russian and says: “If I only had one such master in Russia, I would be very happy and proud of it, and I would immediately make that master noble.”

And Platov, at these words, at that very moment lowered his right hand into his large trousers and pulled out a gun screwdriver from there. The English say: “It doesn’t open,” but he, not paying attention, just picks the lock. I turned it once, turned it twice - the lock and got out. Platov shows the sovereign the dog, and there on the very bend there is a Russian inscription: “Ivan Moskvin in the city of Tula.”

The British are surprised and nudge each other:

- Oh, we made a mistake!

And Emperor Platov sadly says:

“Why did you make them so embarrassed, I feel very sorry for them now.” Let's go.

They got into the same two-seater carriage again and drove off, and the sovereign was at the ball that day, and Platov choked down an even larger glass of sour water and slept in a sound Cossack sleep.

He was happy that he had embarrassed the English and put the Tula master on the spot, but he was also annoyed: why did the sovereign feel sorry for the English on such an occasion!

“Why is the Emperor upset? - Platov thought, “I don’t understand that at all,” and in this reasoning he got up twice, crossed himself and drank vodka, until he forced himself into a deep sleep.

And the British were not sleeping at that very time either, because they too were dizzy. While the sovereign was having fun at the ball, they staged such a new surprise for him that Platov was robbed of all his imagination.

3

The next day, when Platov appeared to the sovereign with good morning, he said to him:

“Let them lay down the two-seater carriage now, and we’ll go to the new cabinets of curiosities to look.”

Platov even dared to report that it wasn’t enough to look at foreign products and wouldn’t it be better to get ready for Russia, but the sovereign said:

- No, I still want to see other news: they praised me how they make the first grade of sugar.

The British show everything to the sovereign: what different first grades they have, and Platov looked and looked and suddenly said:

- Show us your sugar factories word of mouth?

And the British don't even know what it is word of mouth. They whisper, wink, repeat to each other: “Molvo, molvo,” but they cannot understand that we make this kind of sugar, and they must admit that they have all the sugar, but “rumor” does not.

Platov says:

- Well, there’s nothing to brag about. Come to us, we will give you tea with real molvo from the Bobrinsky plant.

And the sovereign tugged at his sleeve and said quietly:

– Please don’t spoil politics for me.

Then the British called the sovereign to the very last chamber of curiosities, where they collected mineral stones and nymphosoria from all over the world, from the largest Egyptian ceramide to the subcutaneous flea, which is impossible for the eyes to see, and its sting is between the skin and the body.

The Emperor went.

They examined the ceramides and all sorts of stuffed animals and went out, and Platov thought to himself:

“Now, thank God, everything is fine: the sovereign is not surprised at anything.”

But they just arrived in the very last room, and here their workers were standing in tunic vests and aprons and holding a tray with nothing on it.

The Emperor was suddenly surprised that he was being served an empty tray.

-What does this mean? – asks; and the English masters answer:

“This is our humble offering to your Majesty.”

- What is this?

“But,” they say, “would you like to see a speck?”

The Emperor looked and saw: indeed, the tiniest speck was lying on the silver tray.

Workers say:

“If you please, wet your finger and take it in your palm.”

- What do I need this speck for?

“This,” they answer, “is not a speck, but a nymphosoria.”

- Is she alive?

“No,” they answer, “it’s not alive, but we forged it from pure English steel in the image of a flea, and in the middle there is a factory and a spring.” If you please turn the key: she will now start dancing.

The Emperor became curious and asked:

- Where is the key?

And the English say:

- Here is the key in front of your eyes.

“Why,” says the sovereign, “do I not see him?”

“Because,” they answer, “it needs to be done through a small scope.”

A small scope was brought in, and the sovereign saw that there was indeed a key lying on a tray near the flea.

“If you please,” they say, “take her in your palm—she has a winding hole in her little belly, and the key has seven turns, and then she will go dancing…”

The sovereign grabbed this key with force and with force he could hold it in a pinch, and in another pinch he took a flea and just inserted the key, when he felt that she was starting to move her antennae, then she began to move her legs, and finally she suddenly jumped and in one flight straight dance and two beliefs to one side, then to the other, and so in three variations the whole kavril danced.

The Emperor immediately ordered the British to give a million, whatever money they wanted - they wanted it in silver coins, they wanted it in small banknotes.

The British asked to be given silver, because they didn’t know much about paper; and then now they showed another trick of theirs: they gave the flea as a gift, but they didn’t bring a case for it: without a case, you can’t keep it or the key, because they will get lost and be thrown into the trash. And their case for it is made of a solid diamond nut - and there is a place in the middle that is pressed out for it. They didn’t submit this because they say the case is government-issued, but they are strict about government-issued items, even if they are for the sovereign – you can’t sacrifice them.

Platov was very angry because he said:

– Why such fraud! They made a gift and received a million for it, and it’s still not enough! The case, he says, always belongs with every thing.

But the sovereign says:

- Please leave it alone, it’s none of your business - don’t spoil politics for me. They have their own custom. - And asks: - How much does that nut cost, in which the flea is located?

The British paid another five thousand for this.

Sovereign Alexander Pavlovich said: “Pay,” and he himself lowered the flea into this nut, and with it the key, and in order not to lose the nut itself, he lowered it into his golden snuff-box, and ordered the snuff-box to be put in his traveling box, which was all lined with prelamut and fish bone. The sovereign released the Aglitsky masters with honor and told them: “You are the first masters in the whole world, and my people cannot do anything against you.”

They were very pleased with this, but Platov could not say anything against the sovereign’s words. He just took the small scope and, without saying anything, put it in his pocket, because “it belongs here,” he says, “and you already took a lot of money from us.”

The Emperor did not know this until his arrival in Russia, but they left soon, because the Emperor became melancholy from military affairs and he wanted to have a spiritual confession in Taganrog with Priest Fedot. On the way, he and Platov had very little pleasant conversation, because they had completely different thoughts: the sovereign thought that the British had no equal in art, and Platov argued that ours, no matter what they look at, can do anything, but only they have no useful teaching . And he represented to the sovereign that the English masters have completely different rules of life, science and food, and each person has all the absolute circumstances before him, and through this he has a completely different meaning.

The Emperor did not want to listen to this for a long time, and Platov, seeing this, did not become stronger. So they rode in silence, only Platov would come out at each station and, out of frustration, drink a leavened glass of vodka, snack on a salted lamb, light his root pipe, which immediately contained a whole pound of Zhukov’s tobacco, and then sit down and sit next to the Tsar in the carriage in silence. The Emperor is looking in one direction, and Platov is sticking his chibouk out the other window and smoking into the wind. So they got to St. Petersburg, and Tsar Platov did not take him to priest Fedot at all.

“You,” he says, “are intemperate in spiritual conversation and smoke so much that your smoke makes my head soot.”

Platov remained resentful and lay down on the annoying couch at home, and still lay there and Zhukov smoked tobacco incessantly.

4

An amazing flea made of English blued steel remained with Alexander Pavlovich in a box under a fish bone until he died in Taganrog, giving it to priest Fedot, so that he could hand it over to the empress when she calmed down. Empress Elisaveta Alekseevna looked at the flea's belief and grinned, but did not bother with it.

“It’s mine,” she says, “now it’s a widow’s business, and no amusement is seductive to me,” and when she returned to St. Petersburg, she handed over this wonder with all the other treasures as an inheritance to the new sovereign.

Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich at first also did not pay any attention to the flea, because at sunrise he was in confusion, but then one day he began to look through the box that he had inherited from his brother and took out a snuff box from it, and from the snuff box a diamond nut, and in it he found a steel flea, which had not been wound up for a long time and therefore did not act, but lay quietly, as if numb.

The Emperor looked and was surprised.

- What kind of trifle is this and why does my brother have it in such preservation!

The courtiers wanted to throw it away, but the sovereign said:

- No, it means something.

They called a chemist from Anichkin Bridge from the nasty pharmacy, who weighed poisons on the smallest scales, and they showed him, and he immediately took a flea, put it on his tongue and said: “I feel cold, as if from strong metal.” And then he slightly crushed it with his teeth and announced:

– As you wish, but this is not a real flea, but a nymphosoria, and it is made of metal, and this work is not ours, not Russian.

The Emperor ordered us to find out now: where does this come from and what does it mean?

They rushed to look at the files and lists, but nothing was written down in the files. They started asking this and that, but no one knew anything. But, fortunately, the Don Cossack Platov was still alive and even still lay on his annoying couch and smoked his pipe. When he heard that there was such unrest in the palace, he immediately got up from his couch, hung up the phone and came to the sovereign in all orders. The Emperor says:

- What do you, courageous old man, want from me?

And Platov answers:

“I, Your Majesty, don’t need anything for myself, since I drink and eat what I want and am happy with everything, and I,” he says, “came to report about this nymphosoria that they found: this,” he says, “is so.” , and this is how it happened before my eyes in England - and here she has a key, and I have their own microscope, through which you can see it, and with this key you can start this nymphosoria through the belly, and it will jump in any way space and to the sides of the probability of doing.

They started it up, she went to jump, and Platov said:

“It’s true,” he says, “your majesty, that the work is very subtle and interesting, but we shouldn’t be surprised at this with mere delight of feelings, but we should subject it to Russian revisions in Tula or in Sesterbek,” then Sestroretsk was still called Sesterbek , - can’t our masters surpass this, so that the British do not exalt themselves over the Russians?

Sovereign Nikolai Pavlovich was very confident in his Russian people and did not like to yield to any foreigner, so he answered Platov:

“You, courageous old man, speak well, and I entrust you to believe this matter.” I don’t need this box anyway now with my troubles, but you take it with you and don’t lie down on your annoying couch anymore, but go to the quiet Don and have internecine conversations there with my Don people about their lives and devotion and what they like. And when you go through Tula, show my Tula masters this nymphosoria, and let them think about it. Tell them from me that my brother was surprised at this thing and praised the strangers who did the nymphosoria most of all, but I hope for my own people that they are no worse than anyone. They will not let my word slip and will do something.

5

Platov took the steel flea and, as he drove through Tula to the Don, showed it to the Tula gunsmiths and conveyed the sovereign’s words to them, and then asked:

– What should we do now, Orthodox?

Gunsmiths answer:

“We, father, feel the gracious word of the sovereign and can never forget him because he trusts in his people, but what we should do in the present case, we cannot say in one minute, because the English nation is also not stupid, and quite cunning, and the art in it has a lot of meaning. Against it, they say, we must take it seriously and with God’s blessing. And you, if your honor, like our sovereign, has confidence in us, go to your quiet Don, and leave us this flea as it is, in a case and in a golden royal snuffbox. Walk along the Don and heal the wounds that you suffered for your fatherland, and when you go back through Tula, stop and send for us: by that time, God willing, we will come up with something.

Platov was not entirely satisfied that the Tula people were demanding so much time and, moreover, did not say clearly what exactly they were hoping to arrange. He asked them this way and that and spoke to them slyly in Don style in all manners; but the Tula people were not inferior to him in cunning, because they immediately had such a plan that they did not even hope that Platov would believe them, but wanted to directly fulfill their bold imagination, and then give it away.

“We ourselves don’t yet know what we will do, but we will only hope in God, and perhaps the king’s word will not be put to shame for our sake.”

So Platov wiggles his mind, and so do the Tula people.

Platov wiggled and wiggled, but saw that he couldn’t outweigh Tula, gave them a snuffbox with a nymphosoria and said:

“Well, there’s nothing to do, let it be your way,” he says; I know what you are like, well, there’s nothing to do, I believe you, but just watch, so as not to replace the diamond and spoil the fine English work, but don’t bother for long, because I drive a lot: two weeks will not pass before I’ll turn from the quiet Don to St. Petersburg again - then I’ll certainly have something to show the sovereign.

The gunsmiths completely reassured him:

- Fine work. - they say, - we will not damage and will not exchange the diamond, and two weeks is enough time for us, and by the time you return back, you will have anything worthy to represent the sovereign's splendor.

A What exactly, they never said that.

6

Platov left Tula, and the three gunsmiths, the most skilled of them, one with a sideways left hand, a birthmark on his cheek, and the hair on his temples torn out during training, said goodbye to his comrades and to his family and, without telling anyone, took their bags and put them away there they needed food and fled the city.

They only noticed that they did not go to the Moscow outpost, but in the opposite, Kiev direction, and thought that they went to Kiev to bow to the deceased saints or to advise there with one of the living holy men, who are always in abundance in Kiev .

But this was only close to the truth, and not the truth itself. Neither time nor distance allowed the Tula craftsmen to walk to Kyiv for three weeks and then have time to do the work that would disgrace the English nation. It would be better if they could go to pray in Moscow, which is only “two and ninety miles away,” and there are many saints who rest there. And in the other direction, to Orel, the same “two ninety”, and beyond Orel to Kyiv again another good five hundred miles. You can’t make this path quickly, and, having done it, you won’t rest soon - your legs will be glassy for a long time and your hands will be shaking.

Some even thought that the masters had boasted to Platov, and then, as they thought about it, they became cowardly and now ran away completely, taking with them the royal golden snuffbox, and the diamond, and the English steel flea in the case that had caused them trouble.

However, such an assumption was also completely unfounded and unworthy of skilled people, on whom the hope of the nation now rested.

7

Tula people, smart people and knowledgeable in metal work, are also known as the first experts in religion. Their native land, and even Saint Athos, are full of their glory in this regard: they are not only masters of singing with the Babylonians, but they know how to paint the picture “evening bells,” and if one of them devotes himself to greater service and goes into monasticism, then these are considered the best monastic economists, and the most capable collectors emerge from them. On Holy Athos they know that the Tula people are the most profitable people, and if not for them, then the dark corners of Russia would probably not have seen many of the sacred things of the distant East, and Athos would have lost many useful offerings from Russian generosity and piety. Now the “Athos Tula people” carry saints throughout our homeland and skillfully collect collections even where there is nothing to take. Tula is full of church piety and a great practitioner of this matter, and therefore those three masters who undertook to support Platov and with him all of Russia did not make the mistake of heading not to Moscow, but to the south. They were not going to Kyiv at all, but to Mtsensk, to the district city of the Oryol province, in which there is an ancient “stone-cut” icon of St. Nicholas, who sailed here in ancient times on a large stone cross along the Zusha River. This icon is of a “formidable and terrible” type - the saint of Myra-Lycia is depicted on it “full-length”, all dressed in silver-gilded clothes, and with a dark face and on one hand holding a temple, and in the other a sword - “military victory”. It was in this “overcoming” that the meaning of the thing lay: St. Nicholas in general is the patron of trade and military affairs, and “Nikola of Mtsensk” in particular, and it was to him that the Tula people went to bow. They served a prayer service at the icon itself, then at the stone cross, and finally returned home “at night” and, without telling anyone, set to work in terrible secrecy. All three of them came together in one house with the left-hander, locked the doors, closed the shutters in the windows, lit the lamp in front of Nikolin’s image and began to work.

For a day, two, three they sit and don’t go anywhere, everyone is tapping with hammers. They are forging something, but what they are forging is unknown.

Everyone is curious, but no one can find out anything, because the workers don’t say anything and don’t show themselves. Different people went to the house, knocked on the doors under different guise, to ask for fire or salt, but the three artisans did not respond to any demand, and it was not even known what they ate. They tried to scare them, as if the house next door was on fire, in case they would jump out in fright and then reveal what they had forged, but nothing would stop these cunning craftsmen; Once only the left-hander stuck out up to his shoulders and shouted:

“Burn yourself, but we don’t have time,” and again he hid his plucked head, slammed the shutter, and set about their work.

Only through small cracks one could see the light shining inside the house, and one could hear thin hammers hammering on ringing anvils.

In a word, the whole business was conducted in such a terrible secret that nothing could be found out, and, moreover, it continued until the Cossack Platov returned from the quiet Don to the sovereign, and during all this time the masters did not see or talk to anyone.

8

Platov rode very hastily and with ceremony: he himself sat in a carriage, and on the box two whistling Cossacks with whips on both sides of the driver sat down and so they watered him without mercy so that he could gallop. And if any Cossack dozes off, Platov himself will poke him from the carriage with his foot, and they will rush even angrier. These incentive measures worked so successfully that nowhere could horses be kept at any station, and they always jumped a hundred races past the stopping place. Then again the Cossack will act again on the driver, and they will return to the entrance.

So they rolled into Tula - they also flew a hundred leaps further than the Moscow outpost, and then the Cossack pulled the whip on the driver in the opposite direction, and they began harnessing new horses at the porch. Platov did not get out of the carriage, but only ordered the whistler to bring the artisans to whom he had left the flea to him as soon as possible.

One whistler ran so that they would go as quickly as possible and bring him the work with which they were supposed to put the English to shame, and this whistler had barely run away before Platov, after him, sent new ones over and over again, so that as quickly as possible.

He dispersed all the whistlers and began to send ordinary people from the curious public, and even he himself, out of impatience, puts his legs out of the stroller and he himself wants to run out of impatience, but he grinds his teeth - everything will not show up to him soon.

So at that time, everything was required very accurately and quickly, so that not a single minute of Russian usefulness was wasted.

9

The Tula masters, who did amazing work, were just finishing their work at that time. The whistlers ran to them out of breath, but the ordinary people, from the curious public, did not reach them at all, because out of unaccustomment, their legs scattered and fell along the road, and then, out of fear, so as not to look at Platov, they ran home and hid anywhere.

The whistlers just jumped up, now they screamed and, as they saw that they weren’t unlocking, now without ceremony the bolts on the shutters were pulled, but the bolts were so strong that they didn’t budge at all, they pulled the doors, and the doors from the inside were locked with an oak bolt. Then the whistlers took a log from the street, used it, fireman-style, under the roofing bar, and immediately tore the entire roof off the small house. But the roof was removed, and now they themselves collapsed, because the craftsmen in their cramped mansion became such a sweaty spiral from restless work in the air that it was impossible for an unaccustomed person with a fresh wind to breathe even once.

The ambassadors shouted:

- What are you, such and such, bastards, doing, and even dare to make mistakes with such a spiral! Or after this there is no God in you!

And they answer:

“We’re hammering in the last nail now, and once we’ve hammered it in, then we’ll take out our work.”

And the ambassadors say:

“He will eat us alive before that hour and won’t leave our souls behind.”

But the masters answer:

“It won’t have time to swallow you up, because while you were talking here, we’ve already hammered in this last nail.” Run and say that we are carrying it now.

The whistlers ran, but not with confidence: they thought that the masters would deceive them; and therefore they run and run and look back; but the masters followed them and hurried so quickly that they didn’t even dress properly for the appearance of an important person, and as they walked they fastened the hooks in their caftans. Two of them had nothing in their hands, and the third, left-handed, had a royal box with an English steel flea in a green case.

10

The whistlers ran up to Platov and said:

- Here they are!

Platov now to the masters:

– Is it ready?

“Everything,” they answer, “is ready.”

- Give it here.

And the carriage is already harnessed, and the driver and postilion are in place. The Cossacks immediately sat down next to the coachman and raised their whips over him and waved them like that and held them.

Platov tore off the green cover, opened the box, took out a golden snuffbox from the cotton wool, and from the snuffbox a diamond nut - he saw: the English flea was lying there as it was, and besides it there was nothing else.

Platov says:

- What is this? Where is your work, with which you wanted to console the sovereign?

The gunsmiths replied:

- This is our job.

Platov asks:

– What does she involve herself in?

And the gunsmiths answer:

- Why explain this? Everything is here in your sight - and provide for it.

Platov raised his shoulders and shouted:

-Where is the key to the flea?

“And right there,” they answer. - Where there is a flea, there is a key, in one nut.

Platov wanted to take the key, but his fingers were stubby: he caught and caught, but could not grab either the flea or the key to its abdominal plant, and suddenly he became angry and began to swear words in the Cossack manner.

- Why, you scoundrels, didn’t do anything, and even, perhaps, ruined the whole thing! I'll take your head off!

And the Tula people answered him:

- It’s in vain that you offend us like that - we, as the sovereign’s ambassador, must endure all insults from you, but only because you doubted us and thought that we were even capable of deceiving the sovereign’s name - we will not tell you the secret of our work now Let's say, if you please, take us to the sovereign - he will see what kind of people we are and whether he is ashamed of us.

And Platov shouted:

“Well, you’re lying, you scoundrels, I won’t part with you like that, and one of you will go with me to St. Petersburg, and I’ll try to find out what your tricks are.”

And with that, he reached out his hand, grabbed the slanting left-hander by the collar with his knuckle fingers, so that all the hooks from his Cossack flew off, and threw him into the carriage at his feet.

“Sit,” he says, “here, all the way to St. Petersburg, it’s like a Pubel, - you will answer me for everyone.” And you,” he says to the whistlers, “now a guide!” Don’t miss the chance that the day after tomorrow I will visit the Emperor in St. Petersburg.

The masters only dared to say to him on behalf of his comrade: how can you take him away from us without any tugment? it will not be possible to follow him back! And Platov, instead of answering, showed them a fist - so terrible, lumpy and all chopped up, somehow fused together - and, threatening, said: “Here’s a tugament for you!” And he says to the Cossacks:

- Gaida, guys!

The Cossacks, coachmen and horses - everything started working at once, and the left-handed man sped off without a tugament, and a day later, as Platov ordered, they rolled him up to the sovereign’s palace and even, having galloped properly, rode past the columns.

Platov stood up, put on his medals and went to the sovereign, and ordered the slanting left-handed Cossacks to stand guard at the entrance.

11

Platov was afraid to show himself to the sovereign, because Nikolai Pavlovich was terribly wonderful and memorable - he did not forget anything. Platov knew that he would certainly ask him about the flea. And at least he wasn’t afraid of any enemy in the world, but then he chickened out: he entered the palace with the box and quietly placed it in the hall behind the stove and placed it. Having hidden the box, Platov appeared in the sovereign’s office and quickly began to report on the kind of internecine conversations the Cossacks were having on the quiet Don. He thought like this: in order to occupy the sovereign with this, and then, if the sovereign himself remembers and starts talking about the flea, he must file and answer, and if he does not speak, then remain silent; Order the office valet to hide the box, and put the Tula left-handed man in a serf prison without time, so that he could sit there until time, if necessary.

But Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich did not forget about anything, and as soon as Platov finished talking about internecine conversations, he immediately asked him:

– Well, how did my Tula masters justify themselves against the English nymphosoria?

Platov answered as the matter seemed to him.

“Nymphosoria,” he says, “your majesty, is still in the same space, and I brought it back, and the Tula masters could not do anything more amazing.”

The Emperor replied:

“You are a courageous old man, and this, what you are reporting to me, cannot be.”

Platov began to assure him and told him how the whole thing happened, and how he went so far as to say that the Tula people asked him to show his flea to the sovereign, Nikolai Pavlovich patted him on the shoulder and said:

- Give it here. I know that my friends cannot deceive me. Something beyond the concept has been done here.

12

They took the box out from behind the stove, removed the cloth cover from it, opened the golden snuffbox and the diamond nut - and in it lay the flea, as it had been before and as it lay.

The Emperor looked and said:

- What a dashing thing! – But he did not diminish his faith in Russian masters, but ordered to call his beloved daughter Alexandra Nikolaevna and ordered her:

. “Pop Fedot” was not taken from the wind: Emperor Alexander Pavlovich, before his death in Taganrog, confessed to the priest Alexei Fedotov-Chekhovsky, who after that was called “His Majesty’s confessor” and loved to point out to everyone this completely random circumstance. This Fedotov-Chekhovsky, obviously, is the legendary “Priest Fedot.” (Note by N. S. Leskov.)

Nikolai Semenovich Leskov

Sverdlovsk Middle-Ural Book Publishing House 1974

N. LESKOV

The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea

Artist L. Epple

"Fiction", 1973.

When Emperor Alexander Pavlovich graduated from the Vienna Council, he wanted to travel around Europe and see wonders in different states. He traveled to all countries and everywhere, through his affectionateness, he always had the most internecine conversations with all sorts of people, and everyone surprised him with something and wanted to bend him to their side, but with him was the Don Cossack Platov, who did not like this inclination and, missing his household, everything beckoned the sovereign home. And as soon as Platov notices that the sovereign is very interested in something foreign, then all the escorts are silent, and Platov will now say: so and so, and we have our own at home just as well, and he will take him away with something.

EXPLANATIONS

The work first appeared in the magazine “Rus”, 1881, No. 49–51, under the title “The Tale of the Tula Oblique Left-Hander and the Steel Flea (Workshop Legend).” A revised edition of the text is given in a separate publication - “The Tale of the Tula Left-Hander and the Steel Flea (Workshop Legend)”, St. Petersburg, 1882.

* Vienna Council - the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815, summing up the results of the war of Russia and its allies against Napoleon.

* Platov M.I. (1751–1818) - ataman of the Don Cossacks, who became famous in the Patriotic War of 1812. Accompanied Alexander I to London.

The British knew this and, upon the arrival of the sovereign, they came up with various tricks in order to captivate him with his foreignness and distract him from the Russians, and in many cases they achieved this, especially in large meetings, where Platov could not fully speak French; but he was little interested in this, because he was a married man and considered all French conversations to be trifles that were not worth imagining. And when the British began to invite the sovereign to all their workshops, weapons factories and soap-saw factories, in order to show their advantage over us in all things and to be famous for it, Platov said to himself:

“Well, it’s a sabbath here. Until now I have endured, but I can’t go on. Whether I can speak or not, I won’t betray my people.”

And as soon as he said this word to himself, the sovereign said to him:

So and so, tomorrow you and I are going to look at their weapons cabinet. There,” he says, “there are such natures of perfection that once you look, you will no longer argue that we Russians are no good with our meaning.”

Platov did not answer the sovereign, he only lowered his hornbeam nose into a shaggy cloak, but came to his apartment, ordered the orderly to bring a flask of Caucasian vodka-kislarka from the cellar, shook a good glass, prayed to God on the road fold, covered himself with the cloak and snored so that In the entire English house, no one was allowed to sleep.

I thought: morning is wiser than night.

The next day the sovereign and Platov went to the Kunstkamera. The Emperor did not take any more Russians with him, because they were given a two-seater carriage.

They arrive at a very large building - the entrance is indescribable, the corridors are endless, and the rooms are one into the same, and finally in the main hall there are various huge busts and in the middle, under the canopy, stands Abolon of Polveder.

The Emperor looks back at Platov: is he very surprised and what is he looking at? and he walks with his eyes downcast, as if he sees nothing - he just makes rings out of his mustache.

The British immediately began to show various surprises and explain what they had adapted for military circumstances: sea storm gauges, merblue mantons of foot regiments, and tar waterproof cables for the cavalry. The Emperor rejoices at all this, everything seems very good to him, but Platov maintains his expectation that everything means nothing to him.

The Emperor says:

How is this possible - why are you so insensitive? Isn't there anything surprising to you here?

And Platov answers:

The only thing that surprises me here is that my fellow Don people fought without all this and drove away twelve languages.

The Emperor says:

This is recklessness.