For several months now, the landowner Pyotr Konstantinovich Muromsky, having entrusted the village economy to the manager, lives with his daughter Lidochka and her elderly aunt Anna Antonovna Atueva in Moscow. He has vast lands in the Yaroslavl province and as many as one and a half thousand serf souls - a serious condition.

Of course, the twenty-year-old girl Lidochka is a “tidbit” for Moscow dandy grooms. But her aunt does not understand this. She believes that Lida should be shown to the world, inviting guests to the house: “you won’t give a girl in marriage without expenses.” But suddenly it turns out that no expenses are needed anymore.

Lidochka secretly confesses to her aunt that she already has a fiancé! Yesterday at the ball she danced a mazurka with Mikhail Vasilyevich Krechinsky. And he - oh, my God is right! - proposed to her. But what's annoying - there is no time to think! The answer must be given immediately. “Michel” leaves Moscow not today tomorrow and wants to know before his departure - “yes” or “no”.

How to be? After all, daddy will not give a blessing to hastily. He must know the future son-in-law well. And what is this Krechinsky - a highly mysterious figure. He has been going to Muromsky's house for the whole winter, but little is known about him, although enough for his aunt and niece to be crazy about him. He is under forty. Staten, handsome. Fluffy sideburns. Dancing smartly. He speaks excellent French. He has the most extensive circle of acquaintances in high society! It seems that there is an estate somewhere in the Simbirsk province ... And what aristocratic manners he has! What charming gallantry! What an exquisite taste in everything - after all, that's how charmingly he "wrought" Lidochkin's solitaire (large diamond), that is, he set it at the jeweler's in a pin made according to his own model ...

But Muromsky cannot be caught by such talk. What is the state of Krechinsky? How much land he has, how many souls - no one knows. But they say that he wanders around the clubs, plays cards and has "debts". And here is another young man, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nelysin, an old "friend of the house", all in full view. Modest, even shy. Doesn't take cards. True, she dances poorly and does not shine with manners. But on the other hand, he is a neighbor - his estate is next to him, "furrow to furrow." And he is also here, in Moscow, and also visits Muromsky's house: he is silently in love with Lidochka. Muromsky reads him as a husband to his "kralechka" and "spoiler".

However, through the efforts of the aunt and Krechinsky himself, the matter is settled in such a way that Muromsky on the same day blesses his daughter for marriage with a “wonderful man”, to whom “princes and counts are friends”. Ne-lkin is in despair. No, he will not allow this wedding to take place! He knows something about the "sins" of Krechinsky. But now he "knows all the ins and outs" and even then he will present this "wit" and "reckless driver" to the old man in the true light.

And there is a "underground" thing. And what a! Krechinsky does not just play cards - he is a "terrible player." He raves about the game. And Lidochka with her dowry is only a jackpot for him, with which he can enter into a big game. “I have a thousand and five hundred souls in my hands,” he reflects, “and this is one and a half million, and two hundred thousand of the purest capital. After all, this amount can win two million! and win, win for sure.

Yes, but this jackpot still needs to be obtained. The blessing of a parent is only a shaky luck wrested from fate thanks to an inspired bluff. The bluff must be sustained to the end! But how, how?! Krechinsky's position is catastrophic. He got involved with the "riff-raff", petty card cheat Ivan Antonovich Rasplyuev, whose impure and insignificant winnings barely support his existence. The apartment where he lives with this miserable rogue is constantly besieged by creditors. There is no money even for a cab! And then that vile merchant Shchebnev appears, demands to issue a card debt this very minute, threatens to write down his name in the club in a shameful debt "book", that is, to denounce him to the whole city as bankrupt! And this is at the very moment when Krechinsky “gets a million in his hand” ... Yes, on the one hand, a million, and on the other, some two or three thousand are needed to distribute debts, pay bills and hastily - in three days - arrange a wedding. Without these small bets, the whole game will collapse! What is there! - it is already collapsing: Shchebnev agrees to wait only until the evening, creditors outside the door are menacingly raging.

However, there is still hope. Krechinsky sends Rasplyuev to moneylenders, ordering him to borrow money from them at any interest. They will give it, they will certainly give it, because they know Krechinsky: they will return it in full. But Rasplyuev comes with bad news. The usurers can no longer trust Krechinsky: “It must be smelled!..” They demand a reliable pledge. And what is left of the poor player! Nothing but a gold watch worth seventy-five rubles. Its end! The game is lost!

And it is here, in a moment of complete hopelessness, that a brilliant idea dawns on Krechinsky. However, neither Rasplyuev nor the servant Fyodor can yet appreciate her brilliance. They even believe that Krechinsky has lost his mind. And indeed, he seems to be out of his mind. He takes out a penny pin from the bureau, the same one that he used as a model, "turning" Lidochka's tapeworm, looks at it with enthusiastic amazement and exclaims: "Bravo!. Hurrah! found…” What did you find? Some kind of "trinket". The stone in the pin is strass, made of lead glass!

Without explaining anything, Krechinsky tells Rasplyuev to pawn a gold watch and use the proceeds to buy a luxurious bouquet of flowers, "so that everything is made of white camellias." Meanwhile, he himself sits down to compose a letter to Lidochka. He fills him with tenderness, passion, dreams of family happiness - "the devil knows what nonsense." And, as if by the way, he asks her to send him a tapeworm with a messenger - he made a bet on its size with a certain Prince Belsky.

As soon as Rasplyuev appears, Krechinsky sends him with flowers and a note to Lidochka, explaining to him that he must get a tapeworm from her and bring the thing "in the most accurate manner." Rasplyuev understood everything - Krechinsky intends to steal the diamond and run away from the city with it. But no! Krechinsky is not a thief, he still values ​​​​his honor and is not going to run anywhere. Against. While Rasplyuev is fulfilling his instructions, he orders Fyodor to prepare an apartment for a magnificent reception of the Muromsky family. The “decisive moment” is coming - will Rasplyuev bring a tapeworm or not?

Brought! "Victoria! The Rubicon has been crossed! Krechinsky takes both pins - fake and genuine - and rushes with them to the shop of the usurer Nikanor Savich Bek. Asking for money on bail, he presents the usurer with a genuine pin - "the one just moved, and his mouth gaped." The thing is the most valuable, worth ten thousand! Beck is ready to give four. Krechinsky is bargaining - asking for seven. Beck doesn't give up. And then Krechinsky takes the pin: he will go to another usurer ... No, no, why - to another ... Beck gives six! Krechinsky agrees. However, he requires to put the pin in a separate box and seal it. At that moment, when Beck leaves for the box, Krechinsky replaces the genuine pin with a fake one. Beck calmly puts it in the box - after all, the diamond has already been checked both under a magnifying glass and on the scales. It is done! Game won!

Krechinsky returns home with money and a tapeworm. Debts were paid, bills paid, expensive clothes bought, servants in black coats and white waistcoats hired, a proper dinner ordered. There is a reception of the bride and her family. Dust thrown into the eyes, gold dust, diamond! Everything is great!

But suddenly Nelkin appears at Krechinsky's apartment. Here it is, revelation! Nelkin has already found out everything: oh, God! with whom did the most venerable Peter Konstantinovich contact! Yes, these are crooks, gamblers, thieves !! After all, they stole a tapeworm from Lida... What's the bet?! what Prince Belsky?! Krechinsky does not have a tapeworm - he pawned it to the usurer Beck! .. Everyone is embarrassed, everyone is horrified. Everyone except Krechinsky, because at that moment he is at the height of his inspiration - his bluff takes on special impressiveness. Magnificently portraying the noblest man, whose honor is offended by an insidious slander, he takes from Muromsky a promise to “drive out” the offender by the neck if the tapeworm is immediately presented for public viewing. The old man is forced to make such a promise. Krechinsky, with solemn indignation, presents the diamond! Nelkin is disgraced. His bit card Muromsky himself points him to the door. But this is not enough for Krechinsky. Success must be secured. Now the skillful gambler is feigning a different feeling: he is shocked that the family would so easily believe the vile gossip about their future son-in-law, husband!! Oh no! now he cannot be Lidochka's husband. He returns her heart to her, and Muromsky his blessing. The whole family begs for his forgiveness. Well, he's ready to forgive. But on one condition: the wedding must be played tomorrow, in order to put an end to all gossip and rumors! Everyone happily agrees. Now the game is truly won!

It remains only to gain time, that is, to send dear guests out as soon as possible. Nelkin will not calm down. He could be here any minute with Beck, a fake pin, and allegations of fraud. We need to be in time ... The guests have already risen, moved to the exit. But no! The doorbell is ringing ... knocking, breaking. Nelkin did it! He showed up with Beck, and with a pin, and with the police! Only for a moment Krechinsky loses his temper; ordering not to unlock the door, he grabs the handle of the chair and threatens to “blow his head” to anyone who moves! But this is no longer a game - this is robbery! But Krechinsky is still a player, "not devoid of genuine nobility." In the next moment, Krechinsky “throws the arm of the chair into the corner” and already, as a true player, admits his defeat with an exclamation characteristic of a card player: “It fell off !!!” Now he shines "Vladimir road" and "ace of diamonds on his back." But what is it?! Lidochka saves "Michel" from the sad road to Siberia and the prison clothes. “Here is a pin… which should be pledged,” she says to the pawnbroker, “take it… it was a mistake!” For this, the whole family, "running away from shame", leaves the player's apartment.

For several months now, the landowner Pyotr Konstantinovich Muromsky, having entrusted the village economy to the manager, lives with his daughter Lidochka and her elderly aunt Anna Antonovna Atueva in Moscow. He has vast lands in the Yaroslavl province and as many as one and a half thousand serf souls - a serious condition.

Of course, the twenty-year-old girl Lidochka is a “tidbit” for Moscow dandy grooms. But her aunt does not understand this. She believes that Lida should be shown to the world, inviting guests to the house: “you won’t give a girl in marriage without expenses.” But suddenly it turns out that no expenses are needed anymore.

Lidochka secretly confesses to her aunt that she already has a fiancé! Yesterday at the ball she danced a mazurka with Mikhail Vasilyevich Krechinsky. And he - oh, my God is right! - proposed to her. But what's annoying - there is no time to think! The answer must be given immediately. “Michel” leaves Moscow not today tomorrow and wants to know before his departure - “yes” or “no”.

How to be? After all, daddy will not give a blessing in haste. He must know the future son-in-law well. And what is this Krechinsky - a highly mysterious figure. He has been going to Muromsky's house for the whole winter, but little is known about him, although enough for his aunt and niece to be crazy about him. He is under forty. Staten, handsome. Fluffy sideburns. Dancing smartly. He speaks excellent French. He has the most extensive circle of acquaintances in high society! It seems that there is an estate somewhere in the Simbirsk province ... And what aristocratic manners he has! What charming gallantry! What an exquisite taste in everything - after all, that's how charmingly he "wrought" Lidochkin's solitaire (large diamond), that is, he set it at the jeweler's in a pin made according to his own model ...

But Muromsky cannot be caught by such talk. What is the state of Krechinsky? How much land he has, how many souls - no one knows. But they say that he wanders around the clubs, plays cards and has "debts". And here is another young man, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nelysin, an old "friend of the house", all in full view. Modest, even shy. Doesn't take cards. True, she dances poorly and does not shine with manners. But on the other hand, he is a neighbor - his estate is next to him, "furrow to furrow." And he is also here, in Moscow, and also visits Muromsky's house: he is silently in love with Lidochka. Muromsky reads him as a husband to his "kralechka" and "spoiler".

However, through the efforts of the aunt and Krechinsky himself, the matter is settled in such a way that Muromsky on the same day blesses his daughter for marriage with a “wonderful man”, to whom “princes and counts are friends”. Ne-lkin is in despair. No, he will not allow this wedding to take place! He knows something about the "sins" of Krechinsky. But now he "knows all the ins and outs" and even then he will present this "wit" and "reckless driver" to the old man in the true light.

And there is a "underground" thing. And what a! Krechinsky does not just play cards - he is a "terrible player." He raves about the game. And Lidochka with her dowry is only a jackpot for him, with which he can enter into a big game. “I have a thousand and five hundred souls in my hands,” he reflects, “and this is one and a half million, and two hundred thousand of the purest capital. After all, this amount can win two million! and win, win for sure.

Yes, but this jackpot still needs to be obtained. The blessing of a parent is only a shaky luck wrested from fate thanks to an inspired bluff. The bluff must be sustained to the end! But how, how?! Krechinsky's position is catastrophic. He got involved with the "riff-raff", petty card cheat Ivan Antonovich Rasplyuev, whose impure and insignificant winnings barely support his existence. The apartment where he lives with this miserable rogue is constantly besieged by creditors. There is no money even for a cab! And then that vile merchant Shchebnev appears, demands to issue a card debt this very minute, threatens to write down his name in the club in a shameful debt "book", that is, to denounce him to the whole city as bankrupt! And this is at the very moment when Krechinsky “gets a million in his hand” ... Yes, on the one hand, a million, and on the other, some two or three thousand are needed to distribute debts, pay bills and hastily - in three days - arrange a wedding. Without these small bets, the whole game will collapse! What is there! - it is already collapsing: Shchebnev agrees to wait only until the evening, creditors outside the door are menacingly raging.

However, there is still hope. Krechinsky sends Rasplyuev to moneylenders, ordering him to borrow money from them at any interest. They will give it, they will certainly give it, because they know Krechinsky: they will return it in full. But Rasplyuev comes with bad news. The usurers can no longer trust Krechinsky: “It must be smelled!..” They demand a reliable pledge. And what is left of the poor player! Nothing but a gold watch worth seventy-five rubles. Its end! The game is lost!

And it is here, in a moment of complete hopelessness, that a brilliant idea dawns on Krechinsky. However, neither Rasplyuev nor the servant Fyodor can yet appreciate her brilliance. They even believe that Krechinsky has lost his mind. And indeed, he seems to be out of his mind. He takes out a penny pin from the bureau, the same one that he used as a model, "turning" Lidochka's tapeworm, looks at it with enthusiastic amazement and exclaims: "Bravo!. Hurrah! found…” What did you find? Some kind of "trinket". The stone in the pin is strass, made of lead glass!

Without explaining anything, Krechinsky tells Rasplyuev to pawn a gold watch and use the proceeds to buy a luxurious bouquet of flowers, "so that everything is made of white camellias." Meanwhile, he himself sits down to compose a letter to Lidochka. He fills him with tenderness, passion, dreams of family happiness - "the devil knows what nonsense." And, as if by the way, he asks her to send him a tapeworm with a messenger - he made a bet on its size with a certain Prince Belsky.

As soon as Rasplyuev appears, Krechinsky sends him with flowers and a note to Lidochka, explaining to him that he must get a tapeworm from her and bring the thing "in the most accurate manner." Rasplyuev understood everything - Krechinsky intends to steal the diamond and run away from the city with it. But no! Krechinsky is not a thief, he still values ​​​​his honor and is not going to run anywhere. Against. While Rasplyuev is fulfilling his instructions, he orders Fyodor to prepare an apartment for a magnificent reception of the Muromsky family. The “decisive moment” is coming - will Rasplyuev bring a tapeworm or not?

Brought! "Victoria! The Rubicon has been crossed! Krechinsky takes both pins - fake and genuine - and rushes with them to the shop of the usurer Nikanor Savich Bek. Asking for money on bail, he presents the usurer with a genuine pin - "the one just moved, and his mouth gaped." The thing is the most valuable, worth ten thousand! Beck is ready to give four. Krechinsky is bargaining - asking for seven. Beck doesn't give up. And then Krechinsky takes the pin: he will go to another usurer ... No, no, why - to another ... Beck gives six! Krechinsky agrees. However, he requires to put the pin in a separate box and seal it. At that moment, when Beck leaves for the box, Krechinsky replaces the genuine pin with a fake one. Beck calmly puts it in the box - after all, the diamond has already been checked both under a magnifying glass and on the scales. It is done! Game won!

Krechinsky returns home with money and a tapeworm. Debts were paid, bills paid, expensive clothes bought, servants in black coats and white waistcoats hired, a proper dinner ordered. There is a reception of the bride and her family. Dust thrown into the eyes, gold dust, diamond! Everything is great!

But suddenly Nelkin appears at Krechinsky's apartment. Here it is, revelation! Nelkin has already found out everything: oh, God! with whom did the most venerable Peter Konstantinovich contact! Yes, these are crooks, gamblers, thieves !! After all, they stole a tapeworm from Lida... What's the bet?! what Prince Belsky?! Krechinsky does not have a tapeworm - he pawned it to the usurer Beck! .. Everyone is embarrassed, everyone is horrified. Everyone except Krechinsky, because at that moment he is at the height of his inspiration - his bluff takes on special impressiveness. Magnificently portraying the noblest man, whose honor is offended by an insidious slander, he takes from Muromsky a promise to “drive out” the offender by the neck if the tapeworm is immediately presented for public viewing. The old man is forced to make such a promise. Krechinsky, with solemn indignation, presents the diamond! Nelkin is disgraced. His bit card Muromsky himself points him to the door. But this is not enough for Krechinsky. Success must be secured. Now the skillful gambler is feigning a different feeling: he is shocked that the family would so easily believe the vile gossip about their future son-in-law, husband!! Oh no! now he cannot be Lidochka's husband. He returns her heart to her, and Muromsky his blessing. The whole family begs for his forgiveness. Well, he's ready to forgive. But on one condition: the wedding must be played tomorrow, in order to put an end to all gossip and rumors! Everyone happily agrees. Now the game is truly won!

It remains only to gain time, that is, to send dear guests out as soon as possible. Nelkin will not calm down. He could be here any minute with Beck, a fake pin, and allegations of fraud. We need to be in time ... The guests have already risen, moved to the exit. But no! The doorbell is ringing ... knocking, breaking. Nelkin did it! He showed up with Beck, and with a pin, and with the police! Only for a moment Krechinsky loses his temper; ordering not to unlock the door, he grabs the handle of the chair and threatens to “blow his head” to anyone who moves! But this is no longer a game - this is robbery! But Krechinsky is still a player, "not devoid of genuine nobility." In the next moment, Krechinsky “throws the arm of the chair into the corner” and already, as a true player, admits his defeat with an exclamation characteristic of a card player: “It fell off !!!” Now he shines "Vladimir road" and "ace of diamonds on his back." But what is it?! Lidochka saves "Michel" from the sad road to Siberia and the prison clothes. “Here is a pin… which should be pledged,” she says to the pawnbroker, “take it… it was a mistake!” For this, the whole family, "running away from shame", leaves the player's apartment.

Sukhovo-Kobylin A.V.

For several months now, the landowner Pyotr Konstantinovich Muromsky, having entrusted the village economy to the manager, lives with his daughter Lidochka and her elderly aunt Anna Antonovna Atueva in Moscow. He has vast lands in the Yaroslavl province and as many as one and a half thousand serf souls - a serious condition.

Of course, the twenty-year-old girl Lidochka is a “tidbit” for Moscow dandies-grooms. But her aunt does not understand this. She believes that Lida should be shown to the world, inviting guests to the house: “you won’t give a girl in marriage without expenses.” But suddenly it turns out that no expenses are needed anymore.

Lidochka secretly confesses to her aunt that she already has a fiancé! Yesterday at the ball she danced a mazurka with Mikhail Vasilyevich Krechinsky. And he - oh, my God is right! - proposed to her. But what's annoying - there is no time to think! The answer must be given immediately. “Michel” leaves Moscow not today tomorrow and wants to know before his departure - “yes” or “no”.

How to be? After all, daddy will not give a blessing in haste. He must know the future son-in-law well. And what is this Krechinsky - a highly mysterious figure. He has been going to Muromsky's house for the whole winter, but little is known about him, although enough for his aunt and niece to be crazy about him. He is under forty. Staten, handsome. Fluffy sideburns. Dancing smartly. He speaks excellent French. He has the most extensive circle of acquaintances in high society! It seems that there is an estate somewhere in the Simbirsk province ... And what aristocratic manners he has! What charming gallantry! What an exquisite taste in everything - after all, that's how charmingly he "wrought" Lidochkin's solitaire (large diamond), that is, he set it at the jeweler's in a pin made according to his own model ...

But Muromsky cannot be caught by such talk. What is the state of Krechinsky? How much land he has, how many souls - no one knows. But they say that he wanders around the clubs, plays cards and has "debts". And here is another young man, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nelkin, an old "friend of the house", all in full view. Modest, even shy. Doesn't take cards. True, she dances poorly and does not shine with manners. But on the other hand, he is a neighbor - his estate is next to him, "furrow to furrow." And he is also here, in Moscow, and also visits Muromsky's house: he is silently in love with Lidochka. Muromsky reads him as a husband to his "kralechka" and "spoiler".

However, through the efforts of the aunt and Krechinsky himself, the matter is settled in such a way that Muromsky on the same day blesses his daughter for marriage with a “wonderful man”, to whom “princes and counts are friends”. Nelkin is in despair. No, he will not allow this wedding to take place! He knows something about the "sins" of Krechinsky. But now he "knows all the ins and outs" and even then he will present this "wit" and "reckless driver" to the old man in the true light.

And there is a "underground" thing. And what a! Krechinsky does not just play cards - he is a "terrible player." He raves about the game. And Lidochka with her dowry is only a jackpot for him, with which he can enter into a big game. “I have a thousand and five hundred souls in my hands,” he reflects, “and this is one and a half million, and two hundred thousand of the purest capital. After all, this amount can win two million! and win, win for sure.

Yes, but this jackpot still needs to be obtained. The blessing of a parent is only a shaky luck wrested from fate thanks to an inspired bluff. The bluff must be sustained to the end! But how, how?! Krechinsky's position is catastrophic. He got involved with the "riff-raff", petty card cheat Ivan Antonovich Rasplyuev, whose impure and insignificant winnings barely support his existence. The apartment where he lives with this miserable rogue is constantly besieged by creditors. There is no money even for a cab! And then that vile merchant Shchebnev appears, demands to issue a card debt this very minute, threatens to write down his name in the club in a shameful debt "book", that is, to denounce him to the whole city as bankrupt! And this is at the very moment when Krechinsky "gets a million in his hand" ... Yes, on the one hand, a million, and on the other, some two or three thousand rubles are needed to distribute debts, pay bills and hastily - in three days to arrange a wedding. Without these small bets, the whole game will collapse! What is there! - it is already collapsing: Shchebnev agrees to wait only until the evening, creditors outside the door are menacingly raging.

However, there is still hope. Krechinsky sends Rasplyuev to moneylenders, ordering him to borrow money from them at any interest. They will give it, they will certainly give it, because they know Krechinsky: they will return it in full. But Rasplyuev comes with bad news. The usurers can no longer trust Krechinsky: “It must be smelled!..” They demand a reliable pledge. And what is left of the poor player! Nothing but a gold watch worth seventy-five rubles. Its end! The game is lost!

And it is here, in a moment of complete hopelessness, that a brilliant idea dawns on Krechinsky. However, neither Rasplyuev nor the servant Fyodor can yet appreciate her brilliance. They even believe that Krechinsky has lost his mind. And indeed, he seems to be out of his mind. He takes out a penny pin from the bureau, the same one that he used as a model, "turning" Lidochka's tapeworm, looks at it with enthusiastic amazement and exclaims: "Bravo!. Hurrah! Found... What did you find? Some kind of "trinket". The stone in the pin is strass, made of lead glass!

Without explaining anything, Krechinsky tells Rasplyuev to pawn a gold watch and use the proceeds to buy a luxurious bouquet of flowers, "so that everything is made of white camellias." Meanwhile, he himself sits down to compose a letter to Lidochka. He fills him with tenderness, passion, dreams of family happiness - "the devil knows what nonsense." And, as if by the way, he asks her to send him a tapeworm with a messenger - he made a bet on its size with a certain Prince Belsky.

As soon as Rasplyuev appears, Krechinsky sends him with flowers and a note to Lidochka, explaining to him that he must get a tapeworm from her and bring the thing "in the most accurate manner." Rasplyuev understood everything - Krechinsky intends to steal the diamond and run away from the city with it. But no! Krechinsky is not a thief, he still values ​​​​his honor and is not going to run anywhere. Against. While Rasplyuev is fulfilling his instructions, he orders Fyodor to prepare an apartment for a magnificent reception of the Muromsky family. The “decisive moment” is coming - will Rasplyuev bring a tapeworm or not?

Brought! "Victoria! The Rubicon has been crossed! Krechinsky takes both pins - fake and genuine - and rushes with them to the shop of the usurer Nikanor Savich Bek. Asking for money on bail, he presents the usurer with a genuine pin - "the one just moved, and his mouth gaped." The thing is the most valuable, worth ten thousand! Beck is ready to give four. Krechinsky is bargaining - asking for seven. Beck doesn't give up. And then Krechinsky takes the pin: he will go to another usurer ... No, no, why - to another ... Beck gives six! Krechinsky agrees. However, he requires that the pin be placed in a separate box and sealed. At that moment, when Beck leaves for the box, Krechinsky replaces the genuine pin with a fake one. Beck calmly puts it in the box - after all, the diamond has already been checked both under a magnifying glass and on the scales. It is done! Game won!

Krechinsky returns home with money and a tapeworm. Debts were paid, bills paid, expensive clothes bought, servants in black coats and white waistcoats hired, a proper dinner ordered. There is a reception of the bride and her family. Dust thrown into the eyes, gold dust, diamond! Everything is great!

But suddenly Nelkin appears at Krechinsky's apartment. Here it is, revelation! Nelkin has already found out everything: oh, God! with whom did the most venerable Peter Konstantinovich contact! Yes, these are crooks, gamblers, thieves !! After all, they stole a tapeworm from Lidochka... What's the bet?! what Prince Belsky?! Krechinsky does not have a tapeworm - he pawned it to the usurer Beck! .. Everyone is embarrassed, everyone is horrified. Everyone except Krechinsky, because at that moment he is at the height of his inspiration - his bluff takes on special impressiveness. Magnificently portraying the noblest man, whose honor is offended by an insidious slander, he takes from Muromsky a promise to “drive out” the offender by the neck if the tapeworm is immediately presented for public viewing. The old man is forced to make such a promise. Krechinsky, with solemn indignation, presents the diamond! Nelkin is disgraced. His bit card Muromsky himself points him to the door. But this is not enough for Krechinsky. Success must be secured. Now the skillful gambler is feigning a different feeling: he is shocked that the family would so easily believe the vile gossip about their future son-in-law, husband!! Oh no! now he cannot be Lidochka's husband. He returns her heart to her, and Muromsky his blessing. The whole family begs for his forgiveness. Well, he's ready to forgive. But on one condition: the wedding must be played tomorrow, in order to put an end to all gossip and rumors! Everyone happily agrees. Now the game is truly won!

It remains only to gain time, that is, to send dear guests out as soon as possible. Nelkin will not calm down. He could be here any minute with Beck, a fake pin, and allegations of fraud. We need to be in time ... The guests have already risen and moved towards the exit. But no! The doorbell is ringing ... knocking, breaking. Nelkin did it! He showed up with Beck, and with a pin, and with the police! Only for a moment Krechinsky loses his temper; ordering not to unlock the door, he grabs the handle of the chair and threatens to “blow his head” to anyone who moves! But this is no longer a game - this is robbery! But Krechinsky is still a player, "not devoid of genuine nobility." In the next moment, Krechinsky “throws the arm of the chair into the corner” and already, as a true player, admits his defeat with an exclamation characteristic of a card player: “It fell off !!!” Now he shines "Vladimir road" and "ace of diamonds on his back." But what is it?! Lidochka saves "Michel" from the sad road to Siberia and the prison clothes. "Here's a pin... which should be pledged," she says to the pawnbroker, "take it... it was a mistake!" For this, the whole family, "running away from shame", leaves the player's apartment.

Alexander Vasilievich Sukhovo-Kobylin

"Wedding Krechinsky"

For more than a month now, the landowner Pyotr Konstantinovich Muromsky, having entrusted the village economy to the manager, lives with his daughter Lidochka and her elderly aunt Anna Antonovna Atueva in Moscow. He has vast lands in the Yaroslavl province and as many as one and a half thousand serf souls - a serious condition.

Of course, the twenty-year-old girl Lidochka is a “tidbit” for Moscow dandy grooms. But her aunt does not understand this. She believes that Lida should be shown to the world, inviting guests to the house: “you won’t give a girl in marriage without expenses.” But suddenly it turns out that no expenses are needed anymore.

Lidochka secretly confesses to her aunt that she already has a fiancé! Yesterday at the ball she danced a mazurka with Mikhail Vasilyevich Krechinsky. And he - oh, my God is right! - proposed to her. But what's annoying is that there is no time to think! The answer must be given immediately. “Michel” is leaving Moscow not today tomorrow and wants to know before his departure - “yes” or “no”.

How to be? After all, daddy will not give a blessing in haste. He must know the future son-in-law well. And what is this Krechinsky - a figure in the highest degree mysterious. He has been going to Muromsky's house for the whole winter, but little is known about him, although enough for his aunt and niece to be crazy about him. He is under forty. Staten, handsome. Fluffy sideburns. Dancing smartly. He speaks excellent French. He has the most extensive circle of acquaintances in high society! It seems that there is an estate somewhere in the Simbirsk province ... And what aristocratic manners he has! What charming gallantry! What an exquisite taste in everything - after all, that’s how charmingly he “wrought” Lidochkin’s solitaire (large diamond), that is, he set it at the jeweler’s in a pin made according to his own model ...

But you won't get Muromsky with such talk. What is the state of Krechinsky? How much land he has, how many souls - no one knows. But they say that he wanders around the clubs, plays cards and has "debts". And here is another young man, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nelkin, an old "friend of the house", all in full view. Modest, even shy. Doesn't take cards. True, she dances poorly and does not shine with manners. But on the other hand, he is a neighbor - his estate is side by side, "furrow to furrow." And he is also here, in Moscow, and also visits Muromsky's house: he is silently in love with Lidochka. Muromsky reads him as a husband to his "kralechka" and "spoiler".

However, through the efforts of the aunt and Krechinsky himself, the matter is settled in such a way that Muromsky on the same day blesses his daughter for marriage with a “wonderful man”, to whom “princes and counts are friends”. Nelkin is in despair. No, he will not allow this wedding to take place! He knows something about the "sins" of Krechinsky. But now he "knows all the ins and outs" and even then he will present this "wit" and "reckless driver" to the old man in the true light.

And there is a "underground" thing. Yes, even what! Krechinsky does not just play cards - he is a "terrible player." He raves about the game. And Lidochka with her dowry is only a jackpot for him, with which he can enter into a big game. “I have fifteen hundred souls in my hands,” he reflects, “and this is one and a half million, and two hundred thousand of the purest capital. After all, this amount can win two million! and win, win for sure.

Yes, but this kush still needs to be obtained. A parent's blessing is only a shaky fortune wrested from fate by an inspired bluff. The bluff must be sustained to the end! But how, how?! Krechinsky's position is catastrophic. He got involved with the "riff-raff", petty card cheat Ivan Antonovich Rasplyuev, whose impure and insignificant winnings barely support his existence. The apartment where he lives with this miserable rogue is constantly besieged by creditors. There is no money even for a cab! And then that vile merchant Shchebnev appears, demands to issue a card debt this very minute, threatens to write down his name in the club in a shameful debt "book", that is, to denounce him to the whole city as bankrupt! And this is at the very moment when Krechinsky “gets a million in his hand” ... Yes, on the one hand, a million, and on the other, some two or three thousand are needed to distribute debts, pay bills and hastily - in three days - arrange a wedding. Without these small bets, the whole game will collapse! What is there! - it is already collapsing: Shchebnev agrees to wait only until the evening, creditors are raging menacingly outside the door.

However, there is still hope. Krechinsky sends Rasplyuev to moneylenders, ordering him to borrow money from them at any interest. They will give it, they will certainly give it, because they know Krechinsky: they will return it in full. But Rasplyuev comes with bad news. The usurers can no longer trust Krechinsky: “It must be smelled!..” They demand a reliable pledge. And what is left of the poor player! Nothing but a gold watch worth seventy-five rubles. Its end! The game is lost!

And it is here, in a moment of complete hopelessness, that a brilliant idea dawns on Krechinsky. However, neither Rasplyuev nor the servant Fyodor can yet appreciate her brilliance. They even believe that Krechinsky has lost his mind. And indeed, he seems to be out of his mind. He takes out a penny pin from the bureau, the same one that he used as a model, "turning" Lidochkin's solitaire, looks at it with enthusiastic amazement and exclaims: "Bravo! Hurrah! found…” What did you find? Some kind of "trinket". The stone in the pin is strass, made of lead glass!

Without explaining anything, Krechinsky tells Rasplyuev to pawn a gold watch and use the proceeds to buy a luxurious bouquet of flowers, "so that everything is made of white camellias." Meanwhile, he himself sits down to compose a letter to Lidochka. He fills him with tenderness, passion, dreams of family happiness - "the devil knows what nonsense." And, as if by the way, he asks her to send him a solitaire with a messenger - he made a bet on its size with a certain Prince Belsky.

As soon as Rasplyuev appears, Krechinsky sends him with flowers and a note to Lidochka, explaining to him that he must get a solitaire from her and bring the thing "in the neatest way." Rasplyuev understood everything - Krechinsky intends to steal the diamond and run away from the city with it. But no! Krechinsky is not a thief, he still cherishes his honor and is not going to run anywhere. Against. While Rasplyuev is fulfilling his instructions, he orders Fyodor to prepare an apartment for a magnificent reception of the Muromsky family. The "decisive moment" is coming - will Rasplyuev bring a solitaire or not?

Brought! "Victoria! The Rubicon has been crossed! Krechinsky takes both pins - fake and genuine - and rushes with them to the shop of the usurer Nikanor Savich Bek. Asking for money on bail, he shows the usurer a genuine pin - "it just stirred, and his mouth gaped." The thing is the most valuable, worth ten thousand! Beck is ready to give four. Krechinsky is bargaining - asking for seven. Beck doesn't give up. And then Krechinsky takes the pin: he will go to another usurer ... No, no, why - to another ... Beck gives six! Krechinsky agrees. However, he requires to put the pin in a separate box and seal it. At that moment, when Beck leaves for the box, Krechinsky replaces the genuine pin with a fake one. Beck calmly puts it in the box - after all, the diamond has already been checked both under a magnifying glass and on the scales. It is done! Game won!

Krechinsky returns home with money and a solitaire. Debts were paid, bills paid, expensive clothes bought, servants in black tailcoats and white waistcoats hired, a proper dinner ordered. There is a reception of the bride and her family. Dust thrown into the eyes, gold dust, diamond! Everything is great!

But suddenly Nelkin appears at Krechinsky's apartment. Here it is, revelation! Nelkin has already found out everything: oh, God! with whom did the most venerable Peter Konstantinovich contact! Yes, these are crooks, gamblers, thieves! After all, they stole a tapeworm from Lida... What's the bet?! what Prince Belsky?! Krechinsky does not have a tape recorder - he pawned it to the usurer Beck! .. Everyone is embarrassed, everyone is horrified. Everyone except Krechinsky, because at that moment he is at the height of his inspiration - his bluff takes on special impressiveness. Magnificently portraying the noblest man, whose honor is offended by an insidious slander, he takes from Muromsky a promise to “drive out” the offender by the neck if the solitaire is immediately presented for public viewing. The old man is forced to make such a promise. Krechinsky, with solemn indignation, presents the diamond! Nelkin is disgraced. His bit card Muromsky himself points him to the door. But this is not enough for Krechinsky. Success must be secured. Now the skillful gambler pretends to have a different feeling: he is shocked that the family so easily believed the vile gossip about their future son-in-law, husband! Oh no! now he cannot be Lidochka's husband. He returns her heart to her, and Muromsky his blessing. The whole family begs for his forgiveness. Well, he's ready to forgive. But on one condition: the wedding must be played tomorrow, in order to put an end to all gossip and rumors! Everyone happily agrees. Now the game is truly won!

It remains only to gain time, that is, to send dear guests out as soon as possible. Nelkin will not calm down. He could be here any minute with Beck, a fake pin, and allegations of fraud. We need to be in time ... The guests have already risen, moved to the exit. But no! The doorbell is ringing ... knocking, breaking. Nelkin did it! He showed up with Beck, and with a pin, and with the police! Only for a moment Krechinsky loses his temper; ordering not to unlock the door, he grabs the handle of the chair and threatens to “blow his head” to anyone who moves! But this is no longer a game - this is robbery! But Krechinsky is still a player, "not devoid of genuine nobility." In the next moment, Krechinsky “throws the arm of the chair into the corner” and already, as a true player, admits his defeat with an exclamation characteristic of a card player: “It fell off !!!” Now he shines "Vladimir road" and "ace of diamonds on his back." But what is it?! Lidochka saves "Michel" from the sad road to Siberia and the prison clothes. “Here is a pin… which should be pledged,” she says to the pawnbroker, “take it… it was a mistake!” For this, the whole family, "running away from shame", leaves the player's apartment.

The landowner Pyotr Konstantinovich Muromsky lives in Moscow with his daughter and her aunt.

Daughter Lidochka, according to the aunt, should be presented to the world in order to successfully marry, but it turns out that there is no need for this, since the girl has a fiancé.

At yesterday's ball, Mikhail Vasilyevich Krechinsky proposed to her. He plans to leave Moscow soon and would like to know Lidochka's answer before he leaves.

The girl likes the gentleman - he is so gallant, dances excellently, with excellent taste. Lidochkin's diamond, according to his instructions, was set by a jeweler. But all these virtues are nothing for papa.

Yes, and the rumor about the mysterious groom goes bad - that he was a player and reveled. Another thing is Vladimir Dmitrievich Nelkin. In manners, he cannot be compared with Krechinsky, but everything is known about him. And he is not indifferent to Lida.

Auntie and Krechinsky tried to get the landlord to give his consent to the marriage. Nelkin swears that he will do everything in order to present Muromsky with evidence of the groom's sins.

And there are plenty of sins. And he needs Lidochka only in order to get her dowry. Krechinsky has already calculated how much he will win thanks to the rich bride's millions.

Things are catastrophically bad for the sharper. Father's consent to the marriage was received, but how not to spoil everything if creditors threaten to make public his debts and denounce all of Moscow? Then all his plans will definitely not come true.

Krechinsky tries to borrow money from moneylenders, but they no longer trust the swindler. It would seem that the game is lost, but our fiance is not like that. He remembered that when they made Lidochka a pin with a diamond, there was a model with a cheap glass.

With the last money he buys flowers and asks his bride in a letter to give her a diamond for a while. Allegedly in order to present it to Prince Belsky, with whom a bet was made.

And now the jewel has been delivered, Krechinsky rushes with a pin to the usurer. After a long bargaining, he gives the cheater money - as much as six thousand. When the usurer left for a minute, Krechinsky changes the original to a fake.

Now he does not owe anyone, he rented a rich house and ordered a chic dinner for a meeting of future relatives. Krechinsky is pleased with his ingenuity and thinks that all his problems are behind him.

During the long-awaited dinner, Nelkin appears. He accuses Krechinsky of stealing the jewel. The guests are amazed, but the skilled swindler triumphs. He knows that he has the diamond and triumphantly presents it to the audience. Nelkin is disgraced and kicked out of the house.

Depicting a terrible insult for distrust, Krechinsky refuses the bride. He is ready to forgive only if the marriage takes place the next day.

But luck did not smile on him. Nelkin brings the moneylender and the police to the house. Krechinsky was saved from prison by Lidochka, who gave away a real diamond. The family leaves the swindler's house in disgrace.

Krechinsky's wedding summary

WEDDING KRECHINSKY
Comedy in three acts (1852 - 1854, publ. 1856)

For several months now, the landowner Pyotr Konstantinovich Muromsky, having entrusted the village economy to the manager, lives with his daughter Lidochka and her elderly aunt Anna Antonovna Atueva in Moscow. He has vast lands in the Yaroslavl province and as many as one and a half thousand serf souls - a serious condition.
Of course, the twenty-year-old girl Lidochka is a “tidbit” for Moscow dandy grooms. But her aunt does not understand this. She believes that Lida should be shown to the world, inviting guests to the house: “you won’t give a girl in marriage without expenses.” But suddenly it turns out that no expenses are needed anymore.
Lidochka secretly confesses to her aunt that she already has a fiancé! Yesterday at the ball she danced a mazurka with Mikhail Vasilyevich Krechinsky. And he - oh, my God is right! - proposed to her. But what's annoying - there is no time to think! The answer must be given immediately. “Michel” leaves Moscow not today tomorrow and wants to know before his departure - “yes” or “no”.
How to be? After all, daddy will not give a blessing in haste. He must know the future son-in-law well. And what is this Krechinsky - a highly mysterious figure. He has been going to Muromsky's house for the whole winter, but little is known about him, although enough for his aunt and niece to be crazy about him. He is under forty. Staten, handsome. Fluffy sideburns. Dancing smartly. He speaks excellent French. He has the most extensive circle of acquaintances in high society! It seems that there is an estate somewhere in the Simbirsk province ... And what aristocratic manners he has! What charming gallantry! What an exquisite taste in everything - after all, that's how charmingly he "wrought" Lidochkin's solitaire (large diamond), that is, he set it at the jeweler's in a pin made according to his own model ...
But Muromsky cannot be caught by such talk. What is the state of Krechinsky? How much land he has, how many souls - no one knows. But they say that he wanders around the clubs, plays cards and has "debts". And here is another young man, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nelysin, an old "friend of the house", all in full view. Modest, even shy. Doesn't take cards. True, she dances poorly and does not shine with manners. But on the other hand, he is a neighbor - his estate is next to him, "furrow to furrow." And he is also here, in Moscow, and also visits Muromsky's house: he is silently in love with Lidochka. Muromsky reads him as a husband to his "kralechka" and "spoiler".
However, through the efforts of the aunt and Krechinsky himself, the matter is settled in such a way that Muromsky on the same day blesses his daughter for marriage with a “wonderful man”, to whom “princes and counts are friends”. Ne-lkin is in despair. No, he will not allow this wedding to take place! He knows something about the "sins" of Krechinsky. But now he "knows all the ins and outs" and even then he will present this "wit" and "reckless driver" to the old man in the true light.
And there is a "underground" thing. And what a! Krechinsky does not just play cards - he is a "terrible player." He raves about the game. And Lidochka with her dowry is only a jackpot for him, with which he can enter into a big game. “I have a thousand and five hundred souls in my hands,” he reflects, “and this is one and a half million, and two hundred thousand of the purest capital. After all, this amount can win two million! and win, win for sure.
Yes, but this jackpot still needs to be obtained. The blessing of a parent is only a shaky luck wrested from fate thanks to an inspired bluff. The bluff must be sustained to the end! But how, how?! Krechinsky's position is catastrophic. He got involved with the "riff-raff", petty card cheat Ivan Antonovich Rasplyuev, whose impure and insignificant winnings barely support his existence. The apartment where he lives with this miserable rogue is constantly besieged by creditors. There is no money even for a cab! And then that vile merchant Shchebnev appears, demands to issue a card debt this very minute, threatens to write down his name in the club in a shameful debt "book", that is, to denounce him to the whole city as bankrupt! And this is at the very moment when Krechinsky "gets a million in his hand" ... Yes, on the one hand, a million, and on the other, some two or three thousand rubles are needed to distribute debts, pay bills and hastily - in three days to arrange a wedding. Without these small bets, the whole game will collapse! What is there! - it is already collapsing: Shchebnev agrees to wait only until the evening, creditors outside the door are menacingly raging.
However, there is still hope. Krechinsky sends Rasplyuev to moneylenders, ordering him to borrow money from them at any interest. They will give it, they will certainly give it, because they know Krechinsky: they will return it in full. But Rasplyuev comes with bad news. The usurers can no longer trust Krechinsky: “It must be smelled!..” They demand a reliable pledge. And what is left of the poor player! Nothing but a gold watch worth seventy-five rubles. Its end! The game is lost!
And it is here, in a moment of complete hopelessness, that a brilliant idea dawns on Krechinsky. However, neither Rasplyuev nor the servant Fyodor can yet appreciate her brilliance. They even believe that Krechinsky has lost his mind. And indeed, he seems to be out of his mind. He takes out a penny pin from the bureau, the same one that he used as a model, "turning" Lidochka's tapeworm, looks at it with enthusiastic amazement and exclaims: "Bravo!. Hurrah! Found... What did you find? Some kind of "trinket". The stone in the pin is strass, made of lead glass!
Without explaining anything, Krechinsky tells Rasplyuev to pawn a gold watch and use the proceeds to buy a luxurious bouquet of flowers, "so that everything is made of white camellias." Meanwhile, he himself sits down to compose a letter to Lidochka. He fills him with tenderness, passion, dreams of family happiness - "the devil knows what nonsense." And, as if by the way, he asks her to send him a tapeworm with a messenger - he made a bet on its size with a certain Prince Belsky.
As soon as Rasplyuev appears, Krechinsky sends him with flowers and a note to Lidochka, explaining to him that he must get a tapeworm from her and bring the thing "in the most accurate manner." Rasplyuev understood everything - Krechinsky intends to steal the diamond and run away from the city with it. But no! Krechinsky is not a thief, he still values ​​​​his honor and is not going to run anywhere. Against. While Rasplyuev is fulfilling his instructions, he orders Fyodor to prepare an apartment for a magnificent reception of the Muromsky family. The “decisive moment” is coming - will Rasplyuev bring a tapeworm or not?
Brought! "Victoria! The Rubicon has been crossed! Krechinsky takes both pins - fake and genuine - and rushes with them to the shop of the usurer Nikanor Savich Bek. Asking for money on bail, he presents the usurer with a genuine pin - "the one just moved, and his mouth gaped." The thing is the most valuable, worth ten thousand! Beck is ready to give four. Krechinsky is bargaining - asking for seven. Beck doesn't give up. And then Krechinsky takes the pin: he will go to another usurer ... No, no, why - to another ... Beck gives six! Krechinsky agrees. However, he requires that the pin be placed in a separate box and sealed. At that moment, when Beck leaves for the box, Krechinsky replaces the genuine pin with a fake one. Beck calmly puts it in the box - after all, the diamond has already been checked both under a magnifying glass and on the scales. It is done! Game won!
Krechinsky returns home with money and a tapeworm. Debts were paid, bills paid, expensive clothes bought, servants in black coats and white waistcoats hired, a proper dinner ordered. There is a reception of the bride and her family. Dust thrown into the eyes, gold dust, diamond! Everything is great!
But suddenly Nelkin appears at Krechinsky's apartment. Here it is, revelation! Nelkin has already found out everything: oh, God! with whom did the most venerable Peter Konstantinovich contact! Yes, these are crooks, gamblers, thieves !! After all, they stole a tapeworm from Lida... What tampari?! what Prince Belsky?! Krechinsky does not have a tapeworm - he pawned it to the usurer Beck! .. Everyone is embarrassed, everyone is horrified. Everyone except Krechinsky, because at that moment he is at the height of his inspiration - his bluff takes on special impressiveness. Magnificently portraying the noblest man, whose honor is offended by an insidious slander, he takes from Muromsky a promise to “drive out” the offender by the neck if the tapeworm is immediately presented for public viewing. The old man is forced to make such a promise. Krechinsky, with solemn indignation, presents the diamond! Nelkin is disgraced. His bit card Muromsky himself points him to the door. But this is not enough for Krechinsky. Success must be secured. Now the skillful gambler is feigning a different feeling: he is shocked that the family would so easily believe the vile gossip about their future son-in-law, husband!! Oh no! now he cannot be Lidochka's husband. He returns her heart to her, and Muromsky his blessing. The whole family begs for his forgiveness. Well, he's ready to forgive. But on one condition: the wedding must be played tomorrow, in order to put an end to all gossip and rumors! Everyone happily agrees. Now the game is truly won!
It remains only to gain time, that is, to send dear guests out as soon as possible. Nelkin will not calm down. He could be here any minute with Beck, a fake pin, and allegations of fraud. We need to be in time ... The guests have already risen and moved towards the exit. But no! The doorbell is ringing ... knocking, breaking. Nelkin did it! He showed up with Beck, and with a pin, and with the police! Only for a moment Krechinsky loses his temper; ordering not to unlock the door, he grabs the handle of the chair and threatens to “blow his head” to anyone who moves! But this is no longer a game - this is robbery! But Krechinsky is still a player, "not devoid of genuine nobility." In the next moment, Krechinsky “throws the arm of the chair into the corner” and already, as a true player, admits his defeat with an exclamation characteristic of a card player: “It fell off !!!” Now he shines "Vladimir road" and "ace of diamonds on his back." But what is it?! Lidochka saves "Michel" from the sad road to Siberia and the prison clothes. "Here's a pin... which should be pledged," she says to the pawnbroker, "take it... it was a mistake!" For this, the whole family, "running away from shame", leaves the player's apartment.