The captain's daughter from chapters 7 to 8. "The Captain's Daughter": retelling

The story "The Captain's Daughter", a retelling of which is offered in this article, was written by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in 1836. It tells about the Pugachev uprising. The author, when creating the work, was based on the events that actually happened in 1773-1775, when the Yaik Cossacks, led by Emelyan Pugachev, who pretended to be Tsar Peter Fedorovich, began taking villains, thieves and escaped convicts as servants. Maria Mironova and Pyotr Grinev - however, their destinies truly reflected the sad time of the civil war.

Chapter 1 Sergeant of the Guard

The story "The Captain's Daughter", a retelling of which you are reading, begins with Pyotr Grinev's story about his life. He was the only child who managed to survive out of 9 children of a poor noblewoman and a retired major; he lived in a noble family with average income. The old servant was actually the young master's tutor. Peter received a poor education, since his father hired a Frenchman, the hairdresser Beaupre, as a tutor. This man led an immoral, dissolute lifestyle. For his debauchery and drunkenness, he was eventually kicked out of the estate. And Petrusha, a 17-year-old boy, his father decided to send him to serve in Orenburg through old connections. He sent him there instead of St. Petersburg, where they were supposed to take the young man into the guard. To look after his son, he assigned Savelich, an old servant, to him. Petrusha was very upset, because instead of capital partying, a joyless existence awaited him in this wilderness. Alexander Sergeevich writes about these events in the story “The Captain's Daughter” (Chapter 1).

The retelling of the work continues. During one of the stops along the way, the young master meets Zurin, a rake-captain, because of whom he became addicted to playing billiards under the pretext of studying. Soon Zurin invites the hero to play for money, and in the end Peter loses 100 rubles - a significant amount for those times. Savelich, who was entrusted with keeping the master’s “treasury,” protests that Pyotr Grinev pay the debt, but the master insists on it. Savelich had to submit and give the money.

Chapter 2 Counselor

We continue to describe the events of the story "The Captain's Daughter". The retelling of the second chapter is as follows. Peter eventually begins to feel ashamed of this loss and promises the servant not to gamble for money anymore. A long journey awaits them, and Savelich forgives his master. But they again get into trouble because of Peter's indiscretion. Despite the approaching storm, Grinev ordered the coachman to continue the journey, and they got lost and almost froze. However, luck was on the side of the heroes - they suddenly met a stranger. He helped the travelers get to

We continue our retelling of chapter 2 of "The Captain's Daughter". Grinev recalls that he, tired after this unsuccessful trip, had a dream in a wagon, which he called prophetic: he saw his mother, who said that Peter’s father was dying, and his house. After that, Grinev saw a man with a beard in his father’s bed, whom he did not know. The mother told the hero that this man was her named husband. Peter refuses to accept the stranger's "father's" blessing, and then he grabs an ax, corpses appear everywhere. However, he does not touch Grinev.

Now they are already approaching the inn, which resembles a thieves' den. A stranger, frozen in only an overcoat, asks Petrusha for wine, and he treats him. An incomprehensible conversation begins between the owner of the house and the man in the thieves' language. Peter does not understand its meaning, but what he heard seems very strange to the hero. Grinev, leaving the shelter, thanked his guide, again to Savelich’s displeasure, by giving him a sheepskin coat. The stranger bowed in response, saying that he would not forget this mercy forever.

When the hero finally gets to Orenburg, one of his father’s colleagues, having read a letter with a request to keep the young man, sends him to serve in the Belogorsk fortress - an even more remote place. This upsets Peter, who had long dreamed of a guards uniform.

Chapter 3 Fortress

Chapter 3 of the story "The Captain's Daughter", a retelling of which is offered to your attention, begins with the following events. We meet the commandant of the fortress. Ivan Kuzmich Mironov was its owner, but in fact everything was managed by the boss’s wife, Vasilisa Egorovna. Peter immediately liked these sincere and simple people. The already middle-aged couple had a young daughter, Masha, but her acquaintance with the main character had not yet taken place. In what turned out to be an ordinary fortress village, a young man meets a lieutenant named Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin. He was sent here from the guard for participating in a duel that ended in the death of his opponent. This hero often made sarcastic remarks about Masha, the captain's daughter, making her look like a fool, and generally had the habit of speaking unflatteringly about people. After Grinev himself met the girl, he expresses doubt about the lieutenant’s remark. Let's continue our retelling. "The Captain's Daughter", chapter 4, is presented below in a brief summary.

Chapter 4 Duel

Benevolent and kind by nature, Grinev began to communicate more and more closely with the commandant’s family, and gradually moved away from Shvabrin. Masha did not have a dowry, but she turned out to be a lovely girl. Peter did not like Shvabrin's caustic remarks. In the evenings, inspired by thoughts of this girl, he began to write poetry to her and read them to Alexei Ivanovich. But he only ridiculed him, beginning to further humiliate the girl’s dignity, saying that she would come at night to anyone who gave her earrings.

In the end, the friends quarreled violently, and a duel had to take place. Vasilisa Egorovna found out about the duel, but the heroes pretended that they had made peace, and they themselves decided to postpone the duel until the next day. In the morning, as soon as they drew their swords, 5 disabled people and Ivan Ignatich led them to Vasilisa Yegorovna under escort. Having properly reprimanded the duelists, she released them. Alarmed by the news of this duel, Masha in the evening told Pyotr Grinev about Alexei Shvabrin’s failed matchmaking with her. Then Grinev understood the motives for this man’s behavior. The duel still took place. Peter turned out to be a serious opponent for Alexei Ivanovich. However, Savelich suddenly appeared at the duel, and, having hesitated, Peter was wounded.

Chapter 5 Love

The retelling of the story "The Captain's Daughter" continues, we have already reached chapter 5. Masha was leaving the wounded Peter. The duel brought them closer, and they fell in love with each other. Grinev, wanting to marry a girl, writes a letter to his parents, but does not receive a blessing. The father's refusal does not change the hero's intentions, but Masha does not agree to get married secretly. The lovers move away from each other for a while.

Chapter 6 Pugachevshchina

We bring to your attention a retelling of chapter 6 (“The Captain’s Daughter”). There is a commotion in the fortress. Mironov receives orders to prepare for an attack by robbers and rebels. Calling himself Peter III, he escaped from custody and is now terrorizing the local population. He is approaching Belogorsk. There are not enough people to defend the fortress. Mironov sends his wife and daughter to Orenburg, where it is more reliable. The wife decides not to leave her husband, and Masha says goodbye to Grinev, but she is no longer able to leave.

Chapter 7 Massacre

Pugachev offers to surrender, but the commandant does not agree to this and opens fire. The battle ends with the transfer of the fortress into the hands of Pugachev.

Emelyan decides to carry out reprisals against those who refused to obey him. He executes Mironov and Ivan Ignatich. Grinev decides to die, but not to swear allegiance to this man. But the servant Savelich throws himself at the ataman’s feet, and he decides to have mercy on Peter. The Cossacks drag Vasilisa Yegorovna out of the house and kill her.

Chapter 8 Uninvited guest

The retelling of the story "The Captain's Daughter" does not end here. Grinev understands that Masha will also be executed if they find out that she is here. In addition, Shvabrin took the side of the rebels. The girl is hiding in the priest's house. In the evening, Peter had a friendly conversation with Pugachev. He remembered the good and in return granted the young man freedom.

Chapter 9 Parting

Pugachev ordered Peter to go to Orenburg in order to report his attack in a week. The young man leaves Belogorsk. Shvabrin becomes commandant and remains in the fortress.

Chapter 10 Siege of the city

Upon arrival in Orenburg, Grinev reported on what was happening in the council. At the council, everyone except the main character voted not for attack, but for defense.

The siege began, and with it need and hunger. Peter secretly corresponds with Masha, and in one of the letters she tells the hero that Shvabrin is holding her captive and wants to marry her. Grinev reports this to the general and asks soldiers to save the girl, but he refuses. Then Peter alone decides to save his beloved.

Chapter 11 Rebel settlement

On the way, Grinev ends up with Pugachev’s people, and he is sent for interrogation. Peter tells Pugachev about everything, and he decides to have mercy on him.

They travel to the fortress together and have a conversation along the way. Peter persuades the troublemaker to surrender, but Emelyan knows that it is too late.

Chapter 12 Orphan

Pugachev learns from Shvabrin that Masha is the daughter of the former commandant. At first he is angry, but this time Peter manages to gain Emelyan’s favor.

Chapter 13 Arrest

Pugachev releases the lovers, and they go home to their parents. On the way they meet Zurin, the former head of the outpost. He persuades the young man to stay in the service. Peter himself understands that duty is calling him. He sends Savelich and Masha to their parents.

In battles, Pugachev begins to suffer defeat. But he himself could not be caught. Zurin and his squad are sent to suppress a new rebellion. Then news comes that Pugachev has been captured.

Chapter 14 Court

We continue our brief retelling. Pushkin ("The Captain's Daughter") further narrates the following events. Grinev is arrested as a traitor, following a denunciation from Shvabrin. The Empress pardoned him, taking into account his father's merits, but sentenced the hero to lifelong exile. Masha decides to go to St. Petersburg to ask the Empress for her beloved.

By chance, a girl meets her on a walk in the garden and talks about her grief, not knowing who her interlocutor is. After this conversation, Maria Mironova was invited to the palace, where she saw Catherine II. She pardoned Grinev. Pugachev was executed. The lovers reunited and continued the Grinev family.

Only a brief retelling of the chapters has been offered to your attention. It does not cover all the events and does not fully reveal the psychology of the characters, therefore, to form a more detailed idea of ​​this work, we recommend turning to the original.

Main characters

Petr Grinev- Pyotr Andreevich Grinev. 16-year-old nobleman. Grinev enters service in the Belogorsk fortress near Orenburg. Here he falls in love with the boss’s daughter, the captain’s daughter Masha Mironova.

Masha Mironova- Marya Ivanovna Mironova, captain's daughter. 18-year-old daughter of Captain Mironov. Smart and kind girl, poor noblewoman. Masha and Pyotr Grinev fall in love with each other. They overcome many difficulties on the path to happiness.

Emelyan Pugachev- Don Cossack. He starts a rebellion and impersonates the late Emperor Peter III (husband of Catherine II). He attacks the Belogorsk fortress, where Grinev serves. Pugachev has friendly relations with Grinev, despite the fact that Pugachev is a cruel robber.

Chapter 1. Sergeant of the Guard

At the beginning of the story, the main character Peter Grinev tells the reader about his young life. He is the only survivor of 9 children of a retired major and a poor noblewoman; he lived in a middle-class noble family. The old servant was actually involved in raising the young master. Peter's education was low, since his father, a retired major, hired the French hairdresser Beaupre, who led an immoral lifestyle, as a tutor. For drunkenness and dissolute acts he was expelled from the estate. And his father decided to send 17-year-old Petrusha, through old connections, to serve in Orenburg (instead of St. Petersburg, where he was supposed to go to serve in the guard) and assigned an old servant Savelich to look after him. Petrusha was upset, because instead of partying in the capital, a dull existence in the wilderness awaited him. During a stop along the way, the young master made an acquaintance with the rake-captain Zurin, because of whom, under the pretext of learning, he became involved in playing billiards. Then Zurin suggested playing for money and as a result Petrusha lost as much as 100 rubles - a lot of money at that time. Savelich, being the keeper of the master’s “treasury,” is against Peter paying the debt, but the master insists. The servant is indignant, but gives the money.

Chapter 2. Counselor

In the end, Peter is ashamed of his loss and promises Savelich not to play for money anymore. A long road awaits them ahead, and the servant forgives the master. But due to Petrusha’s indiscretion, they again find themselves in trouble - the approaching snowstorm did not bother the young man and he ordered the coachman not to return. As a result, they lost their way and almost froze to death. As luck would have it, they met a stranger who helped the lost travelers find their way to the inn.

Grinev recalls how then, tired from the road, he had a dream in a wagon, which he called prophetic: he sees his house and his mother, who says that his father is dying. Then he sees an unfamiliar man with a beard in his father’s bed, and his mother says that he is her sworn husband. The stranger wants to give his “father’s” blessing, but Peter refuses, and then the man takes up an ax, and corpses appear around. He doesn't touch Peter.

They arrive at an inn that resembles a thieves' den. A stranger, frozen in the cold in only an army coat, asks Petrusha for wine, and he treats him. A strange conversation took place between the man and the owner of the house in thieves' language. Peter does not understand the meaning, but everything he heard seems very strange to him. Leaving the shelter, Peter, to Savelich’s further displeasure, thanked the guide by giving him a sheepskin coat. To which the stranger bowed, saying that the century would not forget such mercy.

When Peter finally gets to Orenburg, his father’s colleague, having read the cover letter with instructions to keep the young man “with a tight rein,” sends him to serve in the Belgorod fortress - an even greater wilderness. This could not but upset Peter, who had long dreamed of a guards uniform.

Chapter 3. Fortress

The owner of the Belgorod garrison was Ivan Kuzmich Mironov, but his wife, Vasilisa Egorovna, was actually in charge of everything. Grinev immediately liked simple and sincere people. The middle-aged Mironov couple had a daughter, Masha, but so far their acquaintance has not taken place. In the fortress (which turned out to be a simple village), Peter meets the young lieutenant Alexei Ivanovich Shvabrin, who was exiled here from the guard for a duel that ended in the death of his opponent. Shvabrin, having a habit of speaking unflatteringly about those around him, often spoke sarcastically about Masha, the captain’s daughter, making her look like a complete fool. Then Grinev himself meets the commander’s daughter and questions the lieutenant’s statements.

Chapter 4. Duel

By nature, kind and good-natured, Grinev began to become closer and closer friends with the commandant and his family, and moved away from Shvabrin. The captain's daughter Masha had no dowry, but turned out to be a charming girl. Shvabrin's caustic remarks did not please Peter. Inspired by thoughts of the young girl on quiet evenings, he began to write poems for her, the contents of which he shared with a friend. But he ridiculed him, and even more began to humiliate Masha’s dignity, assuring that she would come at night to someone who would give her a pair of earrings.

As a result, the friends quarreled, and it came to a duel. Vasilisa Egorovna, the commandant’s wife, found out about the duel, but the duelists pretended to make peace, deciding to postpone the meeting until the next day. But in the morning, as soon as they had time to draw their swords, Ivan Ignatich and 5 disabled people were escorted out to Vasilisa Yegorovna. Having reprimanded them properly, she released them. In the evening, Masha, alarmed by the news of the duel, told Peter about Shvabrin’s unsuccessful matchmaking with her. Now Grinev understood his motives for his behavior. The duel still took place. The confident swordsman Peter, taught at least something worthwhile by tutor Beaupre, turned out to be a strong opponent for Shvabrin. But Savelich appeared at the duel, Peter hesitated for a second and ended up wounded.

Chapter 5. Love

The wounded Peter was nursed by his servant and Masha. As a result, the duel brought the young people closer together, and they were inflamed with mutual love for each other. Wanting to marry Masha, Grinev sends a letter to his parents.

Grinev made peace with Shvabrin. Peter's father, having learned about the duel and not wanting to hear about the marriage, became furious and sent his son an angry letter, where he threatened to be transferred from the fortress. At a loss as to how his father could have found out about the duel, Peter attacked Savelich with accusations, but he himself received a letter of dissatisfaction from the owner. Grinev finds only one answer - Shvabrin reported the duel. His father’s refusal to give his blessing does not change Peter’s intentions, but Masha does not agree to get married secretly. They move away from each other for a while, and Grinev realizes that unhappy love can deprive him of his reason and lead to debauchery.

Chapter 6. Pugachevism

Trouble begins in the Belgorod fortress. Captain Mironov receives an order from the general to prepare the fortress for an attack by rebels and robbers. Emelyan Pugachev, who called himself Peter III, escaped from custody and terrified the surrounding area. According to rumors, he had already captured several fortresses and was approaching Belgorod. There was no hope of victory with 4 officers and army “disabled” soldiers. Alarmed by rumors about the capture of a neighboring fortress and the execution of officers, Captain Mironov decided to send Masha and Vasilisa Yegorovna to Orenburg, where the fortress was stronger. The captain's wife speaks out against leaving and decides not to leave her husband in difficult times. Masha says goodbye to Peter, but she fails to leave the fortress.

Chapter 7. Attack

Ataman Pugachev appears at the walls of the fortress and offers to surrender without a fight. Commandant Mironov, having learned about the betrayal of the constable and several Cossacks who joined the rebel clan, does not agree to the proposal. He orders his wife to dress Masha as a commoner and take her to the priest’s hut, while he opens fire on the rebels. The battle ends with the capture of the fortress, which, together with the city, passes into the hands of Pugachev.

Right at the commandant’s house, Pugachev commits reprisals against those who refused to take the oath to him. He orders the execution of Captain Mironov and Lieutenant Ivan Ignatyich. Grinev decides that he will not swear allegiance to the robber and will accept an honest death. However, then Shvabrin comes up to Pugachev and whispers something in his ear. The chieftain decides not to ask for the oath, ordering all three to be hanged. But the old faithful servant Savelich throws himself at the ataman’s feet and he agrees to pardon Grinev. Ordinary soldiers and city residents take the oath of allegiance to Pugachev. As soon as the oath was over, Pugachev decided to have dinner, but the Cossacks dragged the naked Vasilisa Yegorovna by the hair from the commandant’s house, where they were plundering property, who was screaming for her husband and cursing the convict. The chieftain ordered to kill her.

Chapter 8. Uninvited Guest

Grinev's heart is not in the right place. He understands that if the soldiers find out that Masha is here and alive, she cannot avoid reprisals, especially since Shvabrin took the side of the rebels. He knows that his beloved is hiding in the priest's house. In the evening, the Cossacks arrived, sent to take him to Pugachev. Although Peter did not accept the Liar’s offer of all sorts of honors for the oath, the conversation between the rebel and the officer was friendly. Pugachev remembered the good and now granted Peter freedom in return.

Chapter 9. Separation

The next morning, in front of the people, Pugachev called Peter to him and told him to go to Orenburg and report on his attack in a week. Savelich began to bother about the looted property, but the villain said that he would let him go to sheepskin coats for such impudence. Grinev and his servant leave Belogorsk. Pugachev appoints Shvabrin as commandant, and he himself goes off to his next exploits.

Peter and Savelich are walking, but one of Pugachev’s gang caught up with them and said that His Majesty was granting them a horse and a sheepskin coat, and half a rouble, but he supposedly lost it.
Masha fell ill and lay delirious.

Chapter 10. Siege of the city

Arriving in Orenburg, Grinev immediately reported on Pugachev’s actions in the Belgorod fortress. A council met, at which everyone except Peter voted for defense rather than attack.

A long siege begins - hunger and need. On his next foray into the enemy’s camp, Peter receives a letter from Masha in which she begs to be saved. Shvabrin wants to marry her and keeps her captive. Grinev goes to the general with a request to give half a company of soldiers to save the girl, but he is refused. Then Peter decides to help out his beloved alone.

Chapter 11. Rebel settlement

On the way to the fortress, Peter ends up on Pugachev’s guard and is taken for interrogation. Grinev honestly tells everything about his plans to the troublemaker and says that he is free to do whatever he wants with him. Pugachev's thug advisors offer to execute the officer, but he says, “have mercy, so have mercy.”

Together with the robber chieftain, Peter travels to the Belgorod fortress; on the road they have a conversation. The rebel says that he wants to go to Moscow. Peter pities him in his heart, begging him to surrender to the mercy of the empress. But Pugachev knows that it’s too late, and says, come what may.

Chapter 12. Orphan

Shvabrin holds the girl on water and bread. Pugachev pardons the AWOL, but from Shvabrin he learns that Masha is the daughter of an unsworn commandant. At first he is furious, but Peter, with his sincerity, wins favor this time too.

Chapter 13. Arrest

Pugachev gives Peter a pass to all outposts. Happy lovers go to their parents' house. They confused the army convoy with Pugachev's traitors and were arrested. Grinev recognized Zurin as the head of the outpost. He said that he was going home to get married. He dissuades him, assuring him to stay in the service. Peter himself understands that duty calls him. He sends Masha and Savelich to their parents.

The military actions of the detachments that came to the rescue ruined the robber plans. But Pugachev could not be caught. Then rumors spread that he was rampant in Siberia. Zurin's detachment is sent to suppress another outbreak. Grinev recalls the unfortunate villages plundered by savages. The troops had to take away what people were able to save. News arrived that Pugachev had been caught.

Chapter 14. Court

Grinev, following Shvabrin's denunciation, was arrested as a traitor. He could not justify himself with love, fearing that Masha would also be interrogated. The Empress, taking into account his father's merits, pardoned him, but sentenced him to lifelong exile. The father was in shock. Masha decided to go to St. Petersburg and ask the Empress for her beloved.

By the will of fate, Maria meets the Empress in the early autumn morning and tells her everything, not knowing who she is talking to. That same morning, a cab driver was sent to pick her up at the house of a socialite, where Masha had settled down for a while, with the order to deliver Mironov’s daughter to the palace.

There Masha saw Catherine II and recognized her as her interlocutor.

Grinev was released from hard labor. Pugachev was executed. Standing on the scaffold in the crowd, he saw Grinev and nodded.

The reunited loving hearts continued the Grinev family, and in their Simbirsk province, under glass, a letter from Catherine II was kept, pardoning Peter and praising Mary for her intelligence and kind heart.

The Captain's Daughter audiobook listen

The captain's daughter watch the film adaptation.

There are times when you need to quickly get acquainted with a book, but there is no time to read. For such cases there is a short retelling (brief). “The Captain's Daughter” is a story from the school curriculum, which certainly deserves attention, at least in a brief retelling.

The main characters of "The Captain's Daughter"

Before you read the abridged story “The Captain's Daughter,” you need to get to know the main characters.

“The Captain's Daughter” tells the story of several months in the life of Pyotr Andreevich Grinev, a hereditary nobleman. He undergoes military service in the Belogorodskaya fortress during the time of peasant unrest under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev. This story is told by Pyotr Grinev himself through entries in his diary.

Main characters

Minor characters

Chapter I

Peter Grinev's father, even before his birth, enrolled in the ranks of the sergeants of the Semenovsky regiment, since he himself was a retired officer.

At the age of five, he assigned his son a personal servant named Arkhip Savelich. His task was to raise him to be a real master. Arkhip Savelich taught little Peter a lot, for example, to understand the breeds of hunting dogs, Russian literacy and much more.

Four years later, his father sends sixteen-year-old Peter to serve with his good friend in Orenburg. Servant Savelich is traveling with Peter. In Simbirsk, Grinev meets a man named Zurin. He teaches Peter how to play billiards. After getting drunk, Grinev loses a hundred rubles to a military man.

Chapter II

Grinev and Savelich got lost on the way to their place of duty, but a random passer-by showed them the way to the inn. There Peter examines the guide- he looks about forty years old, he has a black beard, a strong build, and in general he looks like a robber. Having entered into a conversation with the owner of the inn, they discussed something in a foreign language.

The guide is practically naked, and therefore Grinev decides to give him a hare sheepskin coat. The sheepskin coat was so small for him that it was literally bursting at the seams, but despite this, he was glad for the gift and promised never to forget this kind deed. A day later, young Peter, having arrived in Orenburg, introduces himself to the general, who sends him to the Belgorod fortress to serve under Captain Mironov. Not without the help of Father Peter, of course.

Chapter III

Grinev arrives at the Belgorod fortress, which is a village surrounded by a high wall and one cannon. Captain Mironov, under whose leadership Peter came to serve, was a gray-haired old man, and two officers and approximately a hundred soldiers served under his command. One of the officers is the one-eyed old lieutenant Ivan Ignatich, the second is called Alexey Shvabrin - he was exiled to this place as punishment for a duel.

Newly arrived Peter met Alexei Shvabrin that same evening. Shvabrin told about each of the captain’s family: his wife Vasilisa Egorovna and their daughter Masha. Vasilisa commands both her husband and the entire garrison. And my daughter Masha is a very cowardly girl. Later, Grinev himself meets Vasilisa and Masha, and also the constable Maksimych . He's very scared that the upcoming service will be boring and therefore very long.

Chapter IV

Grinev liked it in the fortress, despite Maksimych’s experiences. The soldiers here are treated without much severity, despite the fact that the captain at least occasionally organizes exercises, but they still cannot distinguish between “left” and “right.” In the house of Captain Mironov, Pyotr Grinev becomes almost a member of the family, and also falls in love with his daughter Masha.

In one of the outbursts of feelings, Grinev dedicates poems to Masha and reads them to the only one in the castle who understands poetry - Shvabrin. Shvabrin makes fun of his feelings in a very rude manner and says that the earrings are this is a more useful gift. Grinev is offended by this too harsh criticism in his direction, and he calls him a liar in response, and Alexey emotionally challenges him to a duel.

Excited Peter wants to call Ivan Ignatich as a second, but the old man believes that such a showdown is too much. After lunch, Peter tells Shvabrin that Ivan Ignatich did not agree to be a second. Shvabrin proposes to conduct a duel without seconds.

Having met early in the morning, they did not have time to sort things out in a duel, because they were immediately tied up and taken into custody by soldiers under the command of a lieutenant. Vasilisa Egorovna forces them to pretend that they have made peace, and after that they are released from custody. From Masha, Peter learns that the whole point is that Alexey had already received a refusal from her, which is why he behaved so aggressively.

This did not dampen their ardor, and they meet the next day by the river to complete the matter. Peter had almost defeated the officer in a fair fight, but was distracted by the call. It was Savelich. Turning towards a familiar voice, Grinev is wounded in the chest area.

Chapter V

The wound turned out to be so serious that Peter woke up only on the fourth day. Shvabrin decides to make peace with Peter, they apologize to each other. Taking advantage of the moment that Masha is caring for the sick Peter, he confesses his love to her and receives reciprocity in return.

Grinev, in love and inspired writes a letter home asking for blessings for the wedding. In response, a stern letter comes with a refusal and the sad news of the death of the mother. Peter thinks that his mother died when she found out about the duel, and suspects Savelich of the denunciation.

The offended servant shows proof to Peter: a letter from his father, where he scolds and scolds him because he did not tell about the injury. After a while, suspicions lead Peter to the idea that Shvabrin did this in order to prevent his and Masha’s happiness and disrupt the wedding. Having learned that her parents do not give their blessing, Maria refuses the wedding.

Chapter VI

In October 1773 very quickly rumor spreads about the Pugachev rebellion, despite the fact that Mironov tried to keep it a secret. The captain decides to send Maksimych on reconnaissance. Maksimych returns two days later and reports that a huge disturbance is rising among the Cossacks.

At the same time, they report to Maksimych that he went over to Pugachev’s side and incited the Cossacks to start a riot. Maksimych is arrested, and in his place they put the man who reported on him - the baptized Kalmyk Yulay.

Further events pass very quickly: constable Maksimych escapes from custody, one of Pugachev’s men is captured, but he cannot be asked anything because he does not have a language. The neighboring fortress has been captured, and very soon the rebels will be under the walls of this fortress. Vasilisa and her daughter go to Orenburg.

Chapter VII

The next morning, an armful of fresh news reaches Grinev: the Cossacks left the fortress, taking Yulay prisoner; Masha did not have time to get to Orenburg and the road was blocked. By order of the captain, the rebel patrols are shot from a cannon.

Soon Pugachev’s main army appears, led by Emelyan himself, smartly dressed in a red caftan and riding a white horse. Four traitorous Cossacks offer to surrender, recognizing Pugachev as ruler. They throw Yulay's head over the fence, which falls at Mironov's feet. Mironov gives the order to shoot, and one of the negotiators is killed, the rest manage to escape.

They begin to storm the fortress, and Mironov says goodbye to his family and gives Masha’s blessing. Vasilisa takes her terrified daughter away. The commandant fires the cannon once, gives the order to open the gate, and then rushes into battle.

The soldiers are in no hurry to run after the commander, and the attackers manage to break into the fortress. Grinev is taken prisoner. A large gallows is being built in the square. A crowd gathers around, many greet the rioters with joy. The impostor, sitting on a chair in the commandant's house, takes oaths from prisoners. Ignatyich and Mironov are hanged for refusing to take an oath.

The turn reaches Grinev, and he notices Shvabrin among the rebels. When Peter is escorted to the gallows to be executed, Savelich unexpectedly falls at Pugachev’s feet. Somehow he manages to beg for mercy for Grinev. When Vasilisa was taken out of the house, seeing her dead husband, she emotionally called Pugachev “an escaped convict.” She is immediately killed for this.

Chapter VIII

Peter began to look for Masha. The news was disappointing - she was lying unconscious with the priest’s wife, who told everyone that it was her seriously ill relative. Peter returns to the old looted apartment and learns from Savelich how he managed to persuade Pugachev to let Peter go.

Pugachev is the same random passer-by whom they met when they got lost and gave them a hare sheepskin coat. Pugachev invites Peter to the commandant’s house, and he eats there with the rebels at the same table.

During lunch, he manages to overhear how the military council is making plans to march on Orenburg. After lunch, Grinev and Pugachev have a conversation, where Pugachev again demands to take an oath. Peter again refuses him, arguing that he is an officer and the orders of his commanders are law for him. Pugachev likes such honesty, and he lets Peter go again.

Chapter IX

On the morning before Pugachev’s departure, Savelich approaches him and brings things that were taken from Grinev during his capture. At the very end of the list is a hare sheepskin coat. Pugachev gets angry and throws out the sheet of paper with this list. Leaving, he leaves Shvabrin as commandant.

Grinev rushes to the priest's wife to find out how Masha is, but very disappointing news awaits him - she is delirious and in a fever. He can't take her away, but he also can't stay. Therefore, he has to leave her temporarily.

Worried, Grinev and Savelich walk slowly to Orenburg. Suddenly, unexpectedly, the former constable Maksimych, who is riding a Bashkir horse, catches up with them. It turned out that it was Pugachev who said to give the officer a horse and a sheepskin coat. Peter gratefully accepts this gift.

Chapter X

Arriving in Orenburg, Peter reports to the general about everything that happened in the fortress. At the council they decide not to attack, but only to defend. After some time, the siege of Orenburg by Pugachev’s army begins. Thanks to a fast horse and luck, Grinev remains safe and sound.

In one of these forays he meets Maksimych. Maksimych gives him a letter from Masha, which says that Shvabrin kidnapped her and forcibly forces her to marry him. Grinev runs to the general and asks for a company of soldiers to liberate the Belgorod fortress, but the general refuses him.

Chapter XI

Grinev and Savelich decide to escape from Orenburg and without any problems go towards the Bermuda settlement, which was occupied by Pugachev’s people. Having waited until nightfall, they decide to drive around the settlement in the dark, but they are caught by a detachment of patrolmen. He miraculously manages to escape, but Savelich, unfortunately, does not.

Therefore, Peter returns for him and is then captured. Pugachev finds out why he fled Orenburg. Peter informs him about Shvabrin’s tricks. Pugachev begins to get angry and threatens to hang him.

Pugachev's adviser does not believe Grinev's stories, claiming that Peter is a spy. Suddenly, a second adviser named Khlopusha begins to stand up for Peter. They almost start a fight, but the impostor calms them down. Pugachev decides to take the wedding of Peter and Masha into his own hands.

Chapter XII

When Pugachev arrived to the Belgorod fortress, he began to demand to see the girl who was kidnapped by Shvabrin. He leads Pugachev and Grinev into the room where Masha is sitting on the floor.

Pugachev, deciding to understand the situation, asks Masha why her husband beats her. Masha exclaims indignantly that she will never become his wife. Pugachev is very disappointed in Shvabrin and orders him to immediately let the young couple go.

Chapter XIII

Masha with Peter set off on the road. When they enter the town, where there should be a large detachment of Pugachevites, they see that the city has already been liberated. They want to arrest Grinev, he goes into the officer’s room and sees his old acquaintance Zurin at the head.

He remains in Zurin’s detachment, and sends Masha and Savelich to their parents. Soon the siege was lifted from Orenburg, and news of victory and the end of the war arrived, since the impostor was captured. While Peter was getting ready to go home, Zurin received an order for his arrest.

Chapter XIV

In court, Pyotr Grinev is accused of treason and espionage. Witness - Shvabrin. In order not to drag Masha into this matter, Peter does not justify himself in any way, and they want to hang him. Empress Catherine, taking pity on his elderly father, changes the execution to serving a life sentence in the Siberian settlement. Masha decides that she will lie at the feet of the empress, begging for mercy.

Having gone to St. Petersburg, she stops at an inn and finds out that the owner is the niece of the stove burner in the palace. She helps Masha enter the garden of Tsarskoye Selo, where she meets a lady who promises to help her. After some time, a carriage arrives from the palace for Masha. Entering Catherine's chambers, she is surprised to see the woman with whom she spoke in the garden. She announces to her that Grinev is acquitted.

Afterword

This was a short retelling. “The Captain's Daughter” is a rather interesting story from the school curriculum. A summary of the chapters is needed for.

“The Captain's Daughter” is a historical work of A.S., amazing in its content. Pushkin. While writing the story, Pushkin was working on “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion.” In order to obtain reliable information, the poet traveled to the Southern Urals to communicate with people who, if not eyewitnesses themselves, then heard stories from eyewitnesses of the events.

The bright, picturesque sketches of “The Captain’s Daughter” contained more historical facts, portraits and events than in “History” itself.

The story begins with the birth and childhood of the main character of the story - Pyotr Andreevich Grinev. The first chapter talks about the upbringing of the future officer, which Pushkin described in another of his works - “We all learned a little, something and somehow.” At first, the boy was raised by the yard uncle Arkhip Savelich. From the age of 12, he was assigned to be a “Mussie” - a French tutor”, who did not bother the noble teenager very much with science. So young Grinev reached the age of 17.

One fine day, his father decided to send Pyotr Andreevich to serve, assigning the faithful Savelich to him.

At the end of the chapter, Grinev and Savelich stopped at the Simbirsk tavern, where Guard Sergeant Grinev met the captain of the hussar regiment, Zurin, and lost 100 rubles to him at billiards.

In the second chapter, Grinev and Savelich continued their journey further. Grinev felt guilty before Savelich for losing and for getting drunk. The amount lost was considerable at that time, and the state of health after drinking wine was also not pleasing. The young man managed to draw appropriate conclusions from his offense. He apologized to the old man.

Suddenly the weather began to deteriorate, they lost their way and got up. And then they saw a man walking towards them. It was a local Cossack. He determined by the smell of smoke which side the village was on and ordered the coachman to go in that direction.

While the wagon slowly rolled along the impassable roads, constantly falling into ravines, Grinev dozed off to the sound of the wind. And he had a strange, and, as it seemed to him, prophetic dream, as if instead of an inn he had returned home. There his mother met him and took him to his dying father. But in bed, instead of his father, he saw the bearded face of a man whom they had met on the way. The man called Peter for a blessing. The dormant consciousness was gripped by horror, from which Grinev woke up. And then he heard Savelich’s voice, announcing that they had arrived.

The bearded man quickly found a place on the stove. Grinev offered him tea. But he asked to order him a glass of wine. The young man readily agreed. He noticed that the owner of the inn and the man with the beard clearly knew each other, and a strange, incomprehensible conversation ensued between them.

The next morning the storm subsided, the weather cleared, and it was necessary to continue the journey. Getting ready for the journey, the young man decided to give the bearded man a hare sheepskin coat, to which the keeper of the master's goods, Savelich, objected with all his soul, saying that he would drink it away in the nearest tavern. Grinev insisted on his own, and the hare sheepskin coat came into the possession of the peasant, who immediately tried to pull it on himself.

Grinev and Savelich continued their journey to Orenburg. In the provincial town, the young man immediately went to the old general with a letter from his father. He was received warmly. The general decided to send young Grinev as an officer to the Belogorsk fortress under the command of Captain Mironov.

In the third chapter of “The Captain's Daughter” the reader learns that the Belogorsk fortress was located not far from Orenburg - only 40 miles away and in its appearance looked more like a village than a fortress.

Here he met the wife of Captain Mironov and other inhabitants of the fortress. Vasilisa Egorovna was a wonderful woman, a real Russian captain. She delved into all her husband’s affairs, and managed the affairs of the fortress almost on an equal footing with him.

Grinev’s first impression of the fortress was not the kindest; the young man became sad and even refused dinner, which displeased Savelich.

The next morning Shvabrin came to him. He was witty, spoke French well, and Grinev reached out to his new friend. At first, friendly relations developed between the officers.

In the fourth chapter, it turns out that service in the fortress was not as hateful as it might seem at first glance. Grinev talked every day with the captain’s daughter, Masha, a simple-minded girl and not at all stupid, contrary to how Shvabrin described her. And between official matters, Grinev tried to write poetry.

One of these poems, or rather a song, became the cause of a quarrel between Grinev and Shvabrin, which ended in a stupid and meaningless duel.

In this episode, Shvabrin’s mean character traits were revealed. Not only was he the initiator of this duel, taking advantage of Grinev’s hesitation and inflicting a serious wound on him, he also informed Pyotr Andreevich’s father about the duel.

Fifth chapter. The wounded Grinev lay in the captain's house. The wound turned out to be severe, Pyotr Andreevich did not come to his senses for several days. During this period, Masha and Palashka, the Mironovs’ courtyard girl, looked after him. When Grinev began to recover, he asked Masha to marry him. Masha also liked Grinev, and she promised to give consent if Pyotr Andreevich’s parents accepted her.

But because of the denunciation of the duel received by the old major, he wrote a sharp letter to his son, in which there could be no talk of consent to marriage. My father wrote that he would ask Andrei Karlovich, the old general, to transfer him from the Belogorsk fortress. Having learned about the refusal, Masha began to avoid the young man; Grinev himself secluded himself and tried not to leave the house except on official business.

In the sixth chapter, the newly-minted “Sovereign Peter III”, the Don Cossack and schismatic Emelyan Pugachev, appeared in the Orenburg province, to whom the laurels of Grishka Otrepyev did not give rest. In the captured fortresses, half of the population were Cossacks, who supported the Pugachev rebellion. Therefore, at first his “army” was victorious. The men plundered the captured fortresses, and the nobles who refused to “swear allegiance to the sovereign” were hanged.

In the seventh chapter, Pugachev takes the Belogorsk fortress, hangs Captain Mironov and several officers. Shvabrin was among the “sworn”. Young Grinev was ready to say goodbye to his life, but the faithful Savelich fell at the feet of the “sovereign,” begging him to take his life and have mercy on the “master’s child.” Here Pugachev recognized Savelich and Grinev as his recent companions. Because Grinev gave him a hare sheepskin coat (which, by the way, Savelich could not forgive him), he ordered the release of Grinev, despite the fact that he honestly refused to swear allegiance and honestly admitted that he would fight against him, Pugachev. Pugachev placed Shvabrin in charge of the fortress.

The capture of the Belogorsk fortress is the culmination of the entire work. The events that took place here turned the fates of the main characters of the story upside down.

In the eighth chapter, Pugachev tried to win Grinev over to his side, but he refused. But despite this, the robber, who remembered goodness, decided to let our hero go.

Ninth chapter. The next morning Grinev and Savelich went to Orenburg. They walk, but soon Pugachev’s man catches up with them and, at the behest of the chieftain, gives them a horse and a sheepskin coat. The robber himself goes to take other cities, and Shvabrin becomes the commandant of the fortress. Masha is sick, she is delirious.

In the tenth chapter, Grinev, having arrived in Orenburg, went to the general. He spoke about the events in the fortress. At the military council, the young officer spoke out in favor of an offensive, noting that the Pugachevites could not resist an organized offensive and military weapons. But at the council it was decided to take a state of siege - a decision that was neither rational nor smart. Finding itself in a state of siege, the city was forced to starve.

Here he received a letter from Masha, who informed him that Shvabrin was forcibly persuading her to marry. The lowly man, without receiving voluntary consent, decided to take advantage of his power and Masha’s helplessness. Grinev immediately rushed to the fortress.

In the eleventh chapter, our hero was intercepted by the Pugachevites and taken to the “sovereign”. He understood perfectly well that he might not return alive. But the thought of losing Masha frightened him even more.

He told Pugachev that he was going to help out an orphan whom Shvabrin was hurting in Belogorskaya. He told Pugachev everything, concealing only that Masha was the daughter of Captain Mironov. Pugachev decided to personally go to Belogorskaya, realizing that Shvabrin might not obey anyone but him.

In the twelfth chapter, the ataman demanded from Shvabrin that he open Maria’s room and let him in to the girl. Seeing that the deception and cunning have been exposed, he again resorts to meanness and announces to Pugachev that Masha is the daughter of the former commandant of the fortress. But Pugachev released Masha and Grinev, gave them his letter, which opened up for them all the roads in the lands under his control.

In the thirteenth chapter, in one town, Grinev met with Zurin, who advised him to send Masha to his parents. Grinev liked this idea. Together with Masha, he equipped Savelich. Grinev's family warmly received the girl.

Grinev himself joined Zurin’s detachment, in which he fought against the rebels.

Chapter fourteen. Zurin receives a paper ordering the arrest of Grinev for his connection with Pugachev. This was the last revenge of the vile Shvabrin. He slandered the young officer, attributing to him his own baseness.

When the Grinev estate learned that Pyotr Andreevich had been imprisoned for connections with rebels and betrayal, his father was upset, and Masha decided to go to St. Petersburg to see Empress Catherine II. Masha met with the Empress in the garden and told about everything, without even suspecting that she was talking to Her Majesty. The Empress believed the story of Captain Mironov's daughter. Masha returned to the estate with a letter to her future father-in-law from Her Majesty.

Pyotr Grinev was released from prison and was present in the square where Pugachev was executed. Soon he and Masha got married and lived a long and happy life in the Simbirsk province.

This is a brief summary of Pushkin’s “The Captain’s Daughter,” but it is much more interesting to read the work in its entirety.

Take care of your honor from a young age.

Chapter I
Sergeant of the Guard

“If only he were a guard captain tomorrow.”

- That’s not necessary; Let him serve in the army.

- Well said! let him push...

………………………………………………………

Who's his father?

My father, Andrei Petrovich Grinev, in his youth served under Count Minich and retired as prime minister in 17.... Since then, he lived in his Simbirsk village, where he married the girl Avdotya Vasilievna Yu., the daughter of a poor nobleman there. There were nine of us children. All my brothers and sisters died in infancy.

Mother was still pregnant with me, as I had already been enlisted in the Semenovsky regiment as a sergeant, by the grace of Guard Major Prince B., a close relative of ours. If, more than anything else, mother had given birth to a daughter, then the priest would have announced the death of the sergeant who had not appeared, and that would have been the end of the matter. I was considered on leave until I finished my studies. At that time, we were not brought up in the traditional way. From the age of five I was given into the hands of the eager Savelich, who was granted my uncle status for his sober behavior. Under his supervision, in my twelfth year, I learned Russian literacy and could very sensibly judge the properties of a greyhound dog. At this time, the priest hired a Frenchman for me, Monsieur Beaupré, who was discharged from Moscow along with a year's supply of wine and Provençal oil. Savelich did not like his arrival very much. “Thank God,” he grumbled to himself, “it seems the child is washed, combed, and fed. Where should we spend extra money and hire monsieur, as if our people were gone!”

Beaupre was a hairdresser in his homeland, then a soldier in Prussia, then he came to Russia pour être outchitel, not really understanding the meaning of this word. He was a kind fellow, but flighty and dissolute to the extreme. His main weakness was his passion for the fair sex; Often, for his tenderness, he received pushes, from which he groaned for whole days. Moreover, he was not (as he put it) and the enemy of the bottle, that is (speaking in Russian) he liked to take a sip too much. But since we only served wine at dinner, and then only in small glasses, and the teachers usually carried it around, my Beaupre very soon got used to the Russian liqueur and even began to prefer it to the wines of his fatherland, as it was much healthier for the stomach. We hit it off immediately, and although he was contractually obligated to teach me in French, German and all sciences, but he preferred to quickly learn from me how to chat in Russian, and then each of us went about his own business. We lived in perfect harmony. I didn't want any other mentor. But soon fate separated us, and for this reason.

The washerwoman Palashka, a fat and pockmarked girl, and the crooked cowwoman Akulka somehow agreed at the same time to throw themselves at mother’s feet, blaming themselves for their criminal weakness and complaining with tears about the monsieur who had seduced their inexperience. Mother didn’t like to joke about this and complained to the priest. His reprisal was short. He immediately demanded the Frenchman's channel. They reported that Monsieur was giving me his lesson. Father went to my room. At this time, Beaupre was sleeping on the bed in the sleep of innocence. I was busy with business. You need to know that a geographical map was issued for me from Moscow. It hung on the wall without any use and had long tempted me with the width and goodness of the paper. I decided to make snakes out of it and, taking advantage of Beaupre's sleep, I set to work. Father came in at the same time as I was adjusting the bast tail to the Cape of Good Hope. Seeing my exercises in geography, the priest pulled me by the ear, then ran up to Beaupre, woke him up very carelessly and began to shower him with reproaches. Beaupre, in confusion, wanted to get up but could not: the unfortunate Frenchman was dead drunk. Seven troubles, one answer. Father lifted him out of bed by the collar, pushed him out of the door and drove him out of the yard that same day, to Savelich’s indescribable joy. That was the end of my upbringing.

I lived as a teenager, chasing pigeons and playing leapfrog with the yard boys. Meanwhile, I was sixteen years old. Then my fate changed.

One autumn, my mother was making honey jam in the living room, and I, licking my lips, looked at the seething foam. Father at the window was reading the Court Calendar, which he receives every year. This book always had a strong influence on him: he never re-read it without special participation, and reading this always produced in him an amazing excitement of bile. Mother, who knew by heart all his habits and customs, always tried to shove the unfortunate book as far away as possible, and thus the Court Calendar did not catch his eye sometimes for entire months. But when he found it by chance, he would not let it out of his hands for hours at a time. So, the priest read the Court Calendar, occasionally shrugging his shoulders and repeating in a low voice: “Lieutenant General!.. He was a sergeant in my company!.. He was a holder of both Russian orders!.. How long ago have we…” Finally, the priest threw the calendar on the sofa and plunged into reverie, which did not bode well.

Suddenly he turned to his mother: “Avdotya Vasilyevna, how old is Petrusha?”

“Yes, I’ve just reached my seventeenth year,” answered my mother. “Petrusha was born in the same year that Aunt Nastasya Gerasimovna became sad, and when else...

“Okay,” interrupted the priest, “it’s time for him to go into service. It’s enough for him to run around the maidens and climb dovecotes.”

The thought of imminent separation from me struck my mother so much that she dropped the spoon into the saucepan and tears streamed down her face. On the contrary, it is difficult to describe my admiration. The thought of service merged in me with thoughts of freedom, of the pleasures of St. Petersburg life. I imagined myself as a guard officer, which, in my opinion, was the height of human well-being.

Father did not like to change his intentions or postpone their implementation. The day for my departure was set. The day before, the priest announced that he intended to write with me to my future boss, and demanded pen and paper.

“Don’t forget, Andrei Petrovich,” said mother, “to bow to Prince B. for me; I, they say, hope that he will not abandon Petrusha with his favors.

- What nonsense! - answered the priest, frowning. - Why on earth would I write to Prince B.?

“But you said that you would like to write to Petrusha’s boss.”

- Well, what’s there?

- But the chief Petrushin is Prince B. After all, Petrusha is enrolled in the Semenovsky regiment.

- Recorded by! Why do I care that it’s recorded? Petrusha will not go to St. Petersburg. What will he learn while serving in St. Petersburg? hang out and hang out? No, let him serve in the army, let him pull the strap, let him smell gunpowder, let him be a soldier, not a chamaton. Enlisted in the Guard! Where is his passport? give it here.

Mother found my passport, which was kept in her box along with the shirt in which I was baptized, and handed it to the priest with a trembling hand. Father read it with attention, placed it on the table in front of him and began his letter.

Curiosity tormented me: where are they sending me, if not to St. Petersburg? I didn’t take my eyes off Father’s pen, which was moving quite slowly. Finally he finished, sealed the letter in the same bag with his passport, took off his glasses and, calling me, said: “Here is a letter for you to Andrei Karlovich R., my old comrade and friend. You are going to Orenburg to serve under his command.”

So, all my bright hopes were dashed! Instead of a cheerful life in St. Petersburg, boredom awaited me in a remote and remote place. The service, which I had been thinking about with such delight for a minute, seemed to me like a grave misfortune. But there was no point in arguing! The next day, in the morning, a road wagon was brought to the porch; They packed it with a suitcase, a cellar with a tea set, and bundles of buns and pies, the last signs of home pampering. My parents blessed me. Father told me: “Goodbye, Peter. Serve faithfully to whom you pledge allegiance; obey your superiors; Don’t chase their affection; don’t ask for service; do not dissuade yourself from serving; and remember the proverb: take care of your dress again, but take care of your honor from a young age.” Mother, in tears, ordered me to take care of my health and Savelich to look after the child. They put a hare sheepskin coat on me, and a fox fur coat on top. I got into the wagon with Savelich and set off on the road, shedding tears.

That same night I arrived in Simbirsk, where I was supposed to stay for a day to purchase the necessary things, which was entrusted to Savelich. I stopped at a tavern. Savelich went to the shops in the morning. Bored of looking out the window at the dirty alley, I went to wander through all the rooms. Entering the billiard room, I saw a tall gentleman, about thirty-five, with a long black mustache, in a dressing gown, with a cue in his hand and a pipe in his teeth. He played with a marker, who, when he won, drank a glass of vodka, and when he lost, he had to crawl under the billiards on all fours. I started watching them play. The longer it went on, the more frequent the walks on all fours became, until finally the marker remained under the billiards. The master uttered several strong expressions over him in the form of a funeral word and invited me to play a game. I refused out of incompetence. This apparently seemed strange to him. He looked at me as if with regret; however, we started talking. I found out that his name is Ivan Ivanovich Zurin, that he is the captain of the ** hussar regiment and is in Simbirsk receiving recruits, and is standing in a tavern. Zurin invited me to dine with him as God sent, like a soldier. I readily agreed. We sat down at the table. Zurin drank a lot and treated me too, saying that I needed to get used to the service; he told me army jokes that almost made me laugh, and we left the table perfect friends. Then he volunteered to teach me to play billiards. “This,” he said, “is necessary for our serving brother. On a hike, for example, you come to a place - what do you want to do? After all, it’s not all about beating the Jews. Involuntarily, you will go to a tavern and start playing billiards; and for that you need to know how to play!” I was completely convinced and began to study with great diligence. Zurin loudly encouraged me, marveled at my quick successes and, after several lessons, invited me to play for money, one penny at a time, not to win, but so as not to play for nothing, which, according to him, is the worst habit. I agreed to this too, and Zurin ordered punch to be served and persuaded me to try, repeating that I needed to get used to the service; and without punch, what is the service! I listened to him. Meanwhile, our game continued. The more often I sipped from my glass, the more courageous I became. Balls kept flying over my side; I got excited, scolded the marker, who counted God knows how, increased the game hour by hour, in a word, I behaved like a boy who had broken free. Meanwhile, time passed unnoticed. Zurin looked at his watch, put down his cue and announced to me that I had lost a hundred rubles. This confused me a little. Savelich had my money. I started apologizing. Zurin interrupted me: “Have mercy! Don't worry. I can wait, but in the meantime we’ll go to Arinushka.”

What do you want? I ended the day as dissolutely as I started it. We had dinner at Arinushka's. Zurin kept adding more to me every minute, repeating that I needed to get used to the service. Getting up from the table, I could barely stand; at midnight Zurin took me to the tavern.

Savelich met us on the porch. He gasped when he saw the unmistakable signs of my zeal for service. “What has happened to you, sir? - he said in a pitiful voice, - where did you load this? Oh my goodness! Such a sin has never happened in my life!” - “Be quiet, you bastard! “I answered him, stuttering, “you’re probably drunk, go to bed... and put me to bed.”

The next day I woke up with a headache, vaguely remembering yesterday’s incidents. My thoughts were interrupted by Savelich, who came to me with a cup of tea. “It’s early, Pyotr Andreich,” he told me, shaking his head, “you start walking early. And who did you go to? It seems that neither the father nor the grandfather were drunkards; There’s nothing to say about my mother: from her childhood she never deigned to take anything into her mouth except kvass. And who is to blame for everything? damn monsieur. Every now and then, he would run to Antipyevna: “Madam, wow, vodka.” So much for you! There is nothing to say: he taught me good things, son of a dog. And it was necessary to hire an infidel as an uncle, as if the master no longer had his own people!”

I was ashamed. I turned away and told him: “Get out, Savelich; I don’t want tea.” But it was difficult to calm Savelich down when he started preaching. “You see, Pyotr Andreich, what it’s like to cheat. And my head feels heavy, and I don’t want to eat. A person who drinks is good for nothing... Drink cucumber pickle with honey, but it would be better to get over your hangover with half a glass of tincture. Won't you give me an order?"

At this time, the boy came in and gave me a note from I.I. Zurin. I unfolded it and read the following lines:

“Dear Pyotr Andreevich, please send me and my boy the hundred rubles that you lost to me yesterday. I am in dire need of money.

Ready for service

Ivan Zurin."

There was nothing to do. I assumed an indifferent look and, turning to Savelich, who was and money, and linen, and my affairs, a steward, ordered to give the boy one hundred rubles. "How! For what?" – asked the amazed Savelich. “I owe them to him,” I answered with all possible coldness. "Must! - Savelich objected, more and more astonished from time to time, - but when, sir, did you manage to owe him? Something is wrong. It’s your will, sir, but I won’t give you any money.”

I thought that if at this decisive moment I did not overcome the stubborn old man, then in the future it would be difficult for me to free myself from his tutelage, and, looking at him proudly, I said: “I am your master, and you are my servant. The money is mine. I lost them because I felt like it. And I advise you not to be smart and do what you are ordered.”

Savelich was so amazed by my words that he clasped his hands and was dumbfounded. “Why are you standing there!” – I shouted angrily. Savelich began to cry. “Father Pyotr Andreich,” he said in a trembling voice, “don’t kill me with sadness. You are my light! listen to me, old man: write to this robber that you were joking, that we don’t even have that kind of money. One hundred rubles! God you are merciful! Tell me that your parents firmly ordered you not to play, except like nuts...” - “Stop lying,” I interrupted sternly, “give me the money here or I’ll drive you away.”

Savelich looked at me with deep sorrow and went to collect my debt. I felt sorry for the poor old man; but I wanted to break free and prove that I was no longer a child. The money was delivered to Zurin. Savelich hastened to take me out of the damned tavern. He came with the news that the horses were ready. With an uneasy conscience and silent repentance, I left Simbirsk, without saying goodbye to my teacher and without thinking of ever seeing him again.

Chapter II
Counselor

Is it my side, my side,

Unfamiliar side!

Was it not I who came upon you?

Wasn’t it a good horse that brought me:

She brought me, good fellow,

Agility, good cheerfulness

And the tavern's hop drink.

Old song

My thoughts on the road were not very pleasant. My loss, at the prices at that time, was significant. I could not help but admit in my heart that my behavior in the Simbirsk tavern was stupid, and I felt guilty before Savelich. All this tormented me. The old man sat sullenly on the bench, turned away from me, and was silent, only quacking occasionally. I definitely wanted to make peace with him and didn’t know where to start. Finally I told him: “Well, well, Savelich! that's enough, let's make peace, it's my fault; I see for myself that I am guilty. Yesterday I misbehaved, and I wronged you in vain. I promise to behave smarter and obey you in the future. Well, don't be angry; let's make peace."

- Eh, Father Pyotr Andreich! - he answered with a deep sigh. – I’m angry with myself; It's all my fault. How could I have left you alone in the tavern! What to do? I was confused by sin: I decided to wander into the sacristan’s house and see my godfather. That's it: I went to see my godfather and ended up in prison. Trouble and nothing more! How will I show myself to the gentlemen? what will they say when they find out that the child is drinking and playing?

To console poor Savelich, I gave him my word that in future I would not dispose of a single penny without his consent. He gradually calmed down, although he still occasionally grumbled to himself, shaking his head: “A hundred rubles! Isn’t it easy!”

I was approaching my destination. Around me stretched sad deserts, intersected by hills and ravines. Everything was covered with snow. The sun was setting. The carriage was traveling along a narrow road, or more precisely along a trail made by peasant sleighs. Suddenly the driver began to look to the side and, finally, taking off his hat, turned to me and said: “Master, would you order me to turn back?”

- What is this for?

– Time is unreliable: the wind rises slightly; see how it sweeps away the powder.

- What a problem!

– Do you see what there? (The coachman pointed his whip to the east.)

“I see nothing but the white steppe and the clear sky.”

- And there - there: this is a cloud.

I actually saw a white cloud at the edge of the sky, which at first I took for a distant hill. The driver explained to me that the cloud foreshadowed a snowstorm.

I heard about the blizzards there and knew that entire convoys were covered in them. Savelich, in agreement with the driver’s opinion, advised him to turn back. But the wind did not seem strong to me; I hoped to get to the next station in time and ordered to go quickly.

The coachman galloped off; but kept looking to the east. The horses ran together. Meanwhile, the wind became stronger hour by hour. The cloud turned into a white cloud, which rose heavily, grew and gradually covered the sky. It began to snow lightly and suddenly began to fall in flakes. The wind howled; there was a snowstorm. In an instant, the dark sky mixed with the snowy sea. Everything has disappeared. “Well, master,” the coachman shouted, “trouble: a snowstorm!..”

I looked out of the wagon: everything was darkness and whirlwind. The wind howled with such ferocious expressiveness that it seemed animated; the snow covered me and Savelich; the horses walked at a pace - and soon stopped. “Why aren’t you going?” – I asked the driver impatiently. “Why go? - he answered, getting off the bench, - God knows where we ended up: there is no road, and there is darkness all around. I started to scold him. Savelich stood up for him: “And I would have disobeyed,” he said angrily, “I would have returned to the inn, had some tea, rested until the morning, the storm would have subsided, and we would have moved on. And where are we rushing? You’d be welcome to the wedding!” Savelich was right. There was nothing to do. The snow was still falling. A snowdrift was rising near the wagon. The horses stood with their heads down and occasionally shuddering. The coachman walked around, having nothing better to do, adjusting the harness. Savelich grumbled; I looked in all directions, hoping to see at least a sign of a vein or a road, but I could not discern anything except the muddy whirling of a snowstorm... Suddenly I saw something black. “Hey, coachman! - I shouted, “look: what’s black there?” The coachman began to peer closely. “God knows, master,” he said, sitting down in his place, “a cart is not a cart, a tree is not a tree, but it seems that it is moving. It must be either a wolf or a man." I ordered to go towards an unfamiliar object, which immediately began to move towards us. Two minutes later we caught up with the man. “Hey, good man! - the coachman shouted to him. “Tell me, do you know where the road is?”

- The road is here; “I’m standing on a solid strip,” answered the roadie, “but what’s the point?”

“Listen, little man,” I told him, “do you know this side?” Will you undertake to take me to my lodging for the night?

“The side is familiar to me,” answered the traveler, “thank God, it’s well-trodden and traveled far and wide.” Look what the weather is like: you’ll just lose your way. It’s better to stop here and wait, maybe the storm will subside and the sky will clear: then we’ll find our way by the stars.

His composure encouraged me. I had already decided, surrendering myself to God’s will, to spend the night in the middle of the steppe, when suddenly the roadman quickly sat down on the beam and said to the coachman: “Well, thank God, he lived not far away; turn right and go."

- Why should I go to the right? – the driver asked with displeasure. -Where do you see the road? Probably: the horses are strangers, the collar is not yours, don’t stop driving. “The coachman seemed right to me.” “Really,” I said, “why do you think that they lived not far away?” “But because the wind pulled away from here,” answered the roadman, “and I hear the smell of smoke; know the village is close." His intelligence and subtlety of instinct amazed me. I told the coachman to go. The horses tramped heavily through the deep snow. The wagon moved quietly, now driving onto a snowdrift, now collapsing into a ravine and rolling over to one side or the other. It was like sailing a ship on a stormy sea. Savelich groaned, constantly pushing against my sides. I lowered the mat, wrapped myself in a fur coat and dozed off, lulled by the singing of the storm and the rolling of the quiet ride.

I had a dream that I could never forget and in which I still see something prophetic when I consider the strange circumstances of my life with it. The reader will excuse me: for he probably knows from experience how human it is to indulge in superstition, despite all possible contempt for prejudice.

I was in that state of feelings and soul when materiality, yielding to dreams, merges with them in the unclear visions of first sleep. It seemed to me that the storm was still raging and we were still wandering through the snowy desert... Suddenly I saw a gate and drove into the manor’s courtyard of our estate. My first thought was the fear that my father would be angry with me for my involuntary return to my parents’ roof and would consider it deliberate disobedience. With anxiety, I jumped out of the wagon and saw: mother met me on the porch with an appearance of deep grief. “Hush,” she tells me, “your father is dying and wants to say goodbye to you.” Struck with fear, I follow her into the bedroom. I see the room is dimly lit; there are people with sad faces standing by the bed. I quietly approach the bed; Mother lifts the curtain and says: “Andrei Petrovich, Petrusha has arrived; he returned after learning about your illness; bless him." I knelt down and fixed my eyes on the patient. Well?.. Instead of my father, I see a man with a black beard lying in bed, looking at me cheerfully. I turned to my mother in bewilderment, telling her: “What does this mean? This is not father. And why should I ask for a man’s blessing?” “It doesn’t matter, Petrusha,” my mother answered me, “this is your imprisoned father; kiss his hand and may he bless you...” I did not agree. Then the man jumped out of bed, grabbed the ax from behind his back and began swinging it in all directions. I wanted to run... and couldn’t; the room was filled with dead bodies; I stumbled over bodies and slid in bloody puddles... The scary man called me affectionately, saying: “Don’t be afraid, come under my blessing...” Horror and bewilderment took possession of me... And at that moment I woke up; the horses stood; Savelich tugged at my hand, saying: “Come out, sir: we’ve arrived.”

-Where have you arrived? – I asked, rubbing my eyes.

- To the inn. The Lord helped, we ran straight into a fence. Come out, sir, quickly and warm yourself up.

I left the wagon. The storm still continued, although with less force. It was so dark that you could put out your eyes. The owner met us at the gate, holding a lantern under his skirt, and led me into the room, cramped, but quite clean; a torch illuminated her. A rifle and a tall Cossack hat hung on the wall.

The owner, a Yaik Cossack by birth, seemed to be a man of about sixty, still fresh and vigorous. Savelich brought the cellar behind me and demanded a fire to prepare tea, which I never seemed to need so much. The owner went to do some work.

- Where is the counselor? – I asked Savelich. “Here, your honor,” the voice from above answered me. I looked at the Polati and saw a black beard and two sparkling eyes. “What, brother, are you cold?” - “How not to vegetate in one skinny armyak! There was a sheepskin coat, but let’s be honest? I laid the evening at the kisser’s: the frost did not seem too great.” At that moment the owner came in with a boiling samovar; I offered our counselor a cup of tea; the man got off the floor. His appearance seemed remarkable to me: he was about forty, average height, thin and broad-shouldered. His black beard showed streaks of gray; the lively big eyes kept darting around. His face had a rather pleasant, but roguish expression. The hair was cut into a circle; he was wearing a tattered overcoat and Tatar trousers. I brought him a cup of tea; he tasted it and winced. “Your Honor, do me such a favor - order me to bring a glass of wine; tea is not our Cossack drink.” I willingly fulfilled his wish. The owner took a damask and a glass out of the stall, walked up to him and, looking into his face: “Ehe,” he said, “you’re in our land again!” Where did God bring it?” My counselor blinked significantly and answered with a saying: “He flew into the garden, pecked hemp; Grandmother threw a pebble - yes, it missed. Well, what about yours?”

- Yes, ours! - the owner answered, continuing the allegorical conversation. “They started ringing for vespers, but the priest didn’t say: the priest is visiting, the devils are in the graveyard.”

“Be quiet, uncle,” my tramp objected, “there will be rain, there will be fungi; and if there are fungi, there will be a body. And now (here he blinked again) put the ax behind your back: the forester is walking. Your honor! For your health!" - With these words, he took the glass, crossed himself and drank in one breath. Then he bowed to me and returned to the floor.

I couldn’t understand anything from this thieves’ conversation at the time; but later I realized that it was about the affairs of the Yaitsky army, which at that time had just been pacified after the riot of 1772. Savelich listened with an air of great displeasure. He looked with suspicion first at the owner, then at the counselor. Inn, or, in the local language, able, was located on the side, in the steppe, far from any settlement, and very much looked like a robber's haven. But there was nothing to do. It was impossible to even think about continuing the journey. Savelich's anxiety amused me very much. Meanwhile, I settled down for the night and lay down on a bench. Savelich decided to go to the stove; the owner lay down on the floor. Soon the whole hut was snoring, and I fell asleep like the dead.

Waking up quite late in the morning, I saw that the storm had subsided. The sun was shining. The snow lay in a dazzling veil on the vast steppe. The horses were harnessed. I paid the owner, who took such a reasonable payment from us that even Savelich did not argue with him and did not bargain as usual, and yesterday’s suspicions were completely erased from his head. I called the counselor, thanked him for his help and told Savelich to give him half a ruble for vodka. Savelich frowned. “Half a ruble for vodka! - he said, - what is this for? Because you deigned to give him a ride to the inn? It's your choice, sir: we don't have any extra fifty. If you give everyone vodka, you’ll soon have to starve.” I couldn't argue with Savelich. The money, according to my promise, was at his complete disposal. I was annoyed, however, that I could not thank the person who rescued me, if not from trouble, then at least from a very unpleasant situation. “Okay,” I said coolly, “if you don’t want to give half a rouble, then take him something from my dress. He is dressed too lightly. Give him my rabbit sheepskin coat."

- Have mercy, Father Pyotr Andreich! - said Savelich. - Why does he need your hare sheepskin coat? He will drink it, the dog, in the first tavern.

“This, old lady, is not your sadness,” said my tramp, “whether I drink or not.” His nobility grants me a fur coat from his shoulder: it is his lordly will, and it is your servant’s business not to argue and obey.

- You are not afraid of God, robber! - Savelich answered him in an angry voice. “You see that the child doesn’t understand yet, and you’re glad to rob him, for the sake of his simplicity.” Why do you need a master's sheepskin coat? You won’t even put it on your damned shoulders.

“Please don’t be smart,” I told my uncle, “now bring the sheepskin coat here.”

- Lord, master! - my Savelich groaned. – The hare sheepskin coat is almost brand new! and it would be good for anyone, otherwise it’s a naked drunkard!

However, the hare sheepskin coat appeared. The man immediately began trying it on. In fact, the sheepskin coat that I had grown out of was a little narrow for him. However, he somehow managed to put it on, tearing it apart at the seams. Savelich almost howled when he heard the threads crackle. The tramp was extremely pleased with my gift. He walked me to the tent and said with a low bow: “Thank you, your honor! God reward you for your virtue. I will never forget your mercies." - He went in his direction, and I went further, not paying attention to Savelich’s annoyance, and soon forgot about yesterday’s blizzard, about my counselor and about the hare’s sheepskin coat.

Arriving in Orenburg, I went straight to the general. I saw a man who was tall, but already hunched over with old age. His long hair was completely white. The old, faded uniform resembled a warrior from the time of Anna Ioannovna, and his speech was strongly reminiscent of a German accent. I gave him a letter from my father. At his name, he looked at me quickly: “My dear!” - he said. - How long ago, it seems, Andrei Petrovich was even younger than your age, and now he has such a hammer ear! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!” He opened the letter and began to read it in a low voice, making his comments. “Dear Sir Andrei Karlovich, I hope that your Excellency”... What kind of ceremony is this? Ugh, how inappropriate he is! Of course: discipline is the first thing, but is this how they write to the old comrade?.. “Your Excellency has not forgotten”... um... “and... when... the late Field Marshal Min... campaign... also... Karolinka”... Ehe, brooder! So he still remembers our old pranks? “Now about the matter... I’ll bring my rake to you”... um... “keep a tight rein”... What are mittens? This must be a Russian proverb... What does “handle with gloves” mean?” – he repeated, turning to me.

“This means,” I answered him with an air as innocent as possible, “to treat him kindly, not too strictly, to give him more freedom, to keep a tight rein.”

“Hm, I understand... “and don’t give him free rein” - no, apparently, Yesha’s mittens mean the wrong thing... “At the same time... his passport”... Where is he? And, here... “write off to Semyonovsky”... Okay, okay: everything will be done... “Allow yourself to be embraced without rank and... by an old comrade and friend” - ah! finally I guessed... and so on and so forth... Well, father,” he said, having read the letter and putting my passport aside, “everything will be done: you will be transferred as an officer to the *** regiment, and so as not to waste time, then tomorrow go to the Belogorsk fortress, where you will be on the team of Captain Mironov, a kind and honest man. There you will be in real service, you will learn discipline. There is nothing for you to do in Orenburg; distraction is harmful to a young person. And today you are welcome to dine with me.”

“It’s not getting any easier hour by hour! - I thought to myself, - what did it serve me that even in my mother’s womb I was already a guard sergeant! Where has this got me? To the *** regiment and to a remote fortress on the border of the Kyrgyz-Kaisak steppes!..” I dined with Andrei Karlovich, the three of us with his old adjutant. Strict German economy reigned at his table, and I think that the fear of sometimes seeing an extra guest at his single meal was partly the reason for my hasty removal to the garrison. The next day I said goodbye to the general and went to my destination.

Guard - special selected troops. The first guards regiments (Semenovsky, Preobrazhensky) appeared in Russia under Peter I. Unlike the rest of the army, they enjoyed advantages.

3

And the steward of money, and linen, and my affairs - a quote from the poem by D. I. Fonvizin “Message to my servants.” Caregiver (bookish, outdated) – a person who takes care of something, is in charge of something.