“Prince Silver” summary of Tolstoy’s novel - read the retelling online

Other characters

Malyuta Skuratov is the favorite guardsman and assistant of Ivan the Terrible.

Maxim Skuratov is the 17-year-old son of Malyuta, an opponent of the oprichnina.

Fyodor Basmanov is a guardsman, a favorite of Ivan the Terrible.

Boris Fedorovich Godunov - boyar, confidant of Ivan the Terrible.

Afanasy Ivanovich Vyazemsky is the head of the guardsmen, the tsar’s favorite.

Ring is a brave chieftain of robbers.

Korshun is an old robber chieftain.

Mikheich is Prince Serebryany’s groom and his tutor.

The miller is a local healer and sorcerer.

Onufrevna is the old mother of Ivan the Terrible.

Reviews from contemporaries

Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin accepted the novel with enthusiasm:

However, in his review, Saltykov-Shchedrin not only praises the novel, but also caustically criticizes:

Analyzing the novel in detail, Saltykov-Shchedrin pays special attention to the description of the feast (in Chapter 8) and compares it with the descriptions in Flaubert’s novel “Salammbô”, with which he generally sees many parallels:

Summary

Preface

The author sees his task as depicting in the novel “an entire era and the reproduction of concepts, beliefs, morals and the degree of education of Russian society in the second half of the 16th century.”

Chapter 1. Oprichniki

In the summer of 1565, the “young boyar Prince Nikita Romanovich Serebryany” returned to his native village of Medvedevka after a five-year stay in Lithuania, where he tried in vain to “sign peace for many years” with King Zhigimont.

Suddenly the village is attacked by guardsmen, whom the prince mistakes for robbers. He manages to repel the attack, and from local residents he learns that the oprichniki are “the tsar’s people”, whom the tsar himself allowed to “rob and fleece” the common people.

Chapter 2. New comrades

The prince gives orders to his soldiers to take the captive guardsmen to the governor, and he himself, together with the stirrup Mikheich, continues on his way. In the forest they are attacked by real robbers, but the prince and his companion are saved from certain death by Vanyukha Ring and Korshun - prisoners of the guardsmen, whom the prince set free.

Chapter 3. Witchcraft

Prince Silver stops for the night with a miller. At night, the head of the guardsmen, Prince Afanasy Vyazemsky, comes to the owner and demands from the “sorcerer” a love potion for his sweetheart.

Chapter 4. Druzhina Andreevich and his wife

The wife of the boyar Druzhina Andreevich Moroz was the first Moscow beauty - “twenty-year-old Elena Dmitrievna.” The girl was forced to marry an old but kind boyar, because she was afraid of Prince Vyazemsky, who was persistent in his passion. Elena herself loved Prince Serebryany, and even promised to become his wife, but he stayed in Lithuania for a long time.

Chapter 5. Meeting

Elena is sitting in the garden with the girls. Suddenly, a dashing horseman appears behind the palisade - Prince Serebryany. Noticing “the pearl kokoshnik on Elena’s head,” Nikita Romanovich turns pale - his beloved is married.

Chapter 6. Reception

Prince Serebryany enters Morozov's chambers. He “knew the prince as a child, but they had long lost sight of each other.” Meanwhile, Elena Dmitrievna enters, but at the sight of her lover she is unable to control herself, and her husband notices her excitement.

The boyar tells the guest about denunciations, oprichnina and terrible executions. Having learned that Serebryany is heading to the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda to see the Tsar, Morozov dissuades him from this trip, which promises death for the young prince. However, Nikita Romanovich sets off on a journey.

Chapter 7. Alexandrova Sloboda

On the way to Sloboda, the prince observes a picture of terrible changes. In place of churches and luxurious mansions, there are now gallows and scaffolds everywhere, poverty and robbery are rampant, and honest people have no life at all from the guardsmen.

At the royal court, Nikita becomes the victim of a bear, which, for the sake of fun, was set on him by the favorite of Ivan IV, young Fyodor Basmanov. The prince is saved from certain death by young Maxim Skuratov, the son of Malyuta.

Before meeting with the Tsar, Serebryany “prepared for everything and mentally read a prayer.”

Chapter 8. Feast

Nikita Romanovich expects the tsar’s wrath for tying up his guardsmen in his native village. However, he shows his mercy to the prince, since he does not yet know about his outrage.

At the table, Ivan the Terrible tells Vyazemsky a fairy tale, thereby hinting at his permission to take Elena from Morozov by force.

Chapter 9. Court

Meanwhile, the tsar is informed about the events in Medvedevka. Having learned about Serebryany’s arbitrariness, the angry Ivan IV is going to immediately execute him. And only one guardsman - Maxim Skuratov - stands up for the prince. The Tsar calms down and, remembering that Nikita has always shown himself to be a “good servant,” cancels the execution.

Chapter 10. Father and son

Impressed by the act of Serebryany, who “defeated the Tsar’s guardsmen for murder and did not lock himself up in front of the Tsar in his rightful cause,” Maxim Skuratov decides to leave his father and go “wherever his eyes look.”

Chapter 11. Night procession

The Tsar’s mother, Onufrevna, was still alive, and she was “almost in her twenties.” Due to her age and special position, she fearlessly reproaches the king for the sins he has committed. Ivan the Terrible sees “a picture of future retribution” before his eyes and is frightened by his fate. After getting all his servants out of bed, he goes to church to serve matins.

Chapter 12. Slander

The next morning, the king is ashamed of his nightly fears, and decides to “continue to punish the traitors and put to death his villains, although there would be thousands of them.”

Meanwhile, Malyuta, who is no longer able to endure the endless bullying from the cruel Tsarevich John, decides to take revenge on him for all the insults. He slanderes his son to Ivan the Terrible, and he orders him to be killed during a hunt.

Chapter 13. Vanyukha Ring and his comrades

A gang of robbers gathers in the forest, among them Kite and Ring. They accept into their ranks a man whose family was massacred by the guardsmen, and the young, clumsy strongman Mitka, from whom the guardsmen “took his bride.”

Chapter 14. Slap

In a conversation with Godunov, Serebryany does not understand how he, seeing all the injustice of the tsar’s rule, will not tell him about it. To which Godunov replies that “it’s good to stand for the truth, but one in the field is not a governor.”

Mikheich comes running and says that Malyuta and the guardsmen are taking the captive prince somewhere. Silver immediately gives chase. Having caught up with Malyuta, he slaps him in the face and enters into battle. Soon robbers come to his aid. Together they manage to defeat the guardsmen and save the prince from death, but Malyuta manages to escape.

Chapter 15. Kissing ritual

Vyazemsky and his retinue appear at the Morozov house under a plausible pretext. Morozov arranges a feast. He suspects Elena of treason, but does not know exactly who his rival is. To confirm his guess, Morozov starts a “kiss ritual.” When the prince kissed Elena, “she trembled as if in a fever, her legs gave way under her.”

Chapter 16. Kidnapping

At the end of the feast, Morozov reproaches Elena for treason and reminds her “of the punishment for adultery.” Suddenly, Vyazemsky bursts into the bedchamber with his faithful guardsmen and kidnaps Elena, and then sets fire to all the “roofs of human services.” However, Serebryany manages to seriously wound Vyazemsky, but he himself is captured by his guardsmen.

Chapter 17. Blood Plot

Vyazemsky tirelessly gallops all night to have time to “transport Elena to his Ryazan patrimony.” From the wounds inflicted, he loses consciousness and falls to the ground, and the horse carries the frightened Elena to the miller.

He quickly “realized what was going on”: recognizing Vyazemsky’s horse, he realized who the girl was too. He barely has time to hide Elena when horsemen with the wounded Vyazemsky appear near his house. The miller manages to stop the blood from the prince’s terrible wounds and direct the uninvited guests to the inn.

Chapter 18. Old acquaintance

The next morning, Mikheich appears at the miller and asks him for advice on how to free Serebryany, who stood up for the truth. The miller shows him the way to the robber's den, and hints at a certain firebird, for which the “proceeds” will need to be divided in half.

Chapter 19. Russian people remember good things

Having found the refuge of the robbers, Mikheich asks Ring and Korshun for help. Mitka joins them, and together they go to Sloboda to rescue Serebryany from prison.

Chapter 20. Merry people

While falconry, the king comes across blind storytellers who manage to amuse the king. He orders them to go to the royal chambers and wait for his return, while he continues the hunt.

Chapter 21. Fairy tale

When meeting with the king, Onufrevna says that the storytellers he sent are very suspicious. It seems to her “that they are up to no good,” and the king should be very careful with them.

Listening to the tales of blind men, Ivan the Terrible pretends to be asleep. Korshun decides to take advantage of this and take the prison keys that were lying near the king.

At this moment the king opens his eyes and calls the guards. The guardsmen grab Korshun, but Ring manages to escape. He hurries to the prison and takes the prince away by force.

Chapter 22. Monastery

Maxim Skuratov, having left his father's house, comes to the monastery. He confesses and asks the Lord for forgiveness for his dislike for the king and disrespect for his own father.

Chapter 23. The Road

After staying briefly in the monastery with the good abbot, Maxim sets off on his journey. His road lies through the forest, where he is soon attacked by robbers.

Chapter 24. The revolt of the villagers

The robbers, having learned that their favorite Kite was in the royal captivity, rebelled. They demand that Ring transfer his atamanship to Prince Serebryany, and he leads them to Sloboda for robbery.

Seeing Maxim tied up, the prince convinces the robbers to let the young man go, since he is “the same enemy of the oprichnina” as all of them. Instead of going to Sloboda, he convinces the villagers to go against the Tatars - to destroy the “Basurman tribe.”

Chapter 25. Preparing for battle

Ring shares with Serebryany his cunning plan on how to cut off the Tatars. Knowing the resourcefulness of the robber leader, the prince “let him act according to his thoughts.”

Chapter 26. Twinning

Maxim thanks Prince Nikita for saving him and confesses his sincere sympathy for him. Before the battle with the Tatars, he asks the prince to fraternize “according to the ancient Christian custom,” and the brothers exchange pectoral crosses.

Thanks to Ring’s cunning invention, the robbers initially manage to kill a lot of Tatars, but the forces are too unequal. Only thanks to Fyodor Basmanov’s army, who came to the rescue in time, is it possible to defeat the enemy. Maxim dies on the battlefield.

Chapter 27. Basmanov

In honor of the victory over the Tatars, Basmanov organizes a feast. He himself is “a strange mixture of guile, arrogance, unpampered debauchery and careless prowess.” He is surprised to learn that Silver decides to return to the king and throw himself at his mercy.

Chapter 28. Parting

Some of the robbers also go to Sloboda with Serebryany, while the rest, led by Ring and Mitka, decide to join Ermak.

Chapter 29. Confrontation

“A week after the defeat of the Tatars,” the tsar receives Basmanov, who wants to appropriate all the laurels of the winner to himself. Wanting to slander the tsar’s favorite, Prince Vyazemsky, Basmanov accuses him of witchcraft.

Morozov comes to the Tsar and asks to call Vyazemsky, and he agrees to a confrontation. Ivan the Terrible decides - let the opponents be tried “by the court of God” and fight in Sloboda in front of witnesses. Whoever loses will be executed.

Chapter 30. Conspiracy for iron

Fearing that victory will fall to the still strong Morozov, Vyazemsky goes to the miller to make “his blows irresistible through witchcraft.”

Approaching the mill, he, unnoticed by anyone, finds Basmanov. He asks the miller for grass in order to enter “again into the royal favor.”

Having spoken with the saber, at the request of Vyazemsky, the miller begins to cast a spell and sees pictures of terrible executions.

Chapter 31. God's Judgment

On the day of the fight, two opponents meet on the square - Vyazemsky and Morozov. Weakened by recent wounds, Vyazemsky falls from his horse and asks to be replaced by another warrior. This is against the rules, but Ivan the Terrible allows him to nominate Matvey Khomyak in his place. Morozov refuses to fight with the hireling. Mitka emerges from the crowd to “stand up for the truth.” He refuses to fight with sabers and kills Hamster with his shafts.

Chapter 32. Vyazemsky's amulet

The Tsar accuses Vyazemsky of witchcraft against himself. He orders that his former favorite be thrown into prison and the miller brought to testify.

Chapter 33. Basmanov's amulet

During the terrible interrogation, Vyazemsky does not utter a word “out of pride, out of contempt, or because life disgusts him.” Basmanov is glad that his main rival is in disgrace. He doesn’t yet know that the caught miller, under torture, spoke about Basmanov’s desire to “spoil the state’s health.”

Chapter 34. Jester's caftan

Morozov receives an invitation to come to the royal table, where Ivan the Terrible invites him to sit below Godunov. Morozov angrily refuses. Those present are waiting to see how the royal wrath will manifest itself.

The Tsar orders Morozov to be dressed in a jester's caftan and thereby publicly humiliate him. In accordance with the legal rights of the jester, he expresses to his face everything that he thinks about him and the methods of his rule.

Ivan the Terrible orders Morozov to be thrown into prison and “not to be tortured, lest he die before his time.”

Chapter 35. Execution

On the day of the general execution, people gather “in a large shopping area inside Kitai-Gorod” and terrible torture instruments are built. The Tsar presents to the public Morozov, Vyazemsky, Basmanov, the miller, Korshun - terrible criminals “who wanted to betray the state to the enemies.” All convicts are tortured and executed.

Chapter 36. Return to Sloboda

Having horrified Moscow with cruel executions, “the tsar wanted to appear merciful and magnanimous” and released all those convicted.

Meanwhile, Serebryany appears at Godunov’s place - “the disgrace of the sovereigns, condemned to death.” He has no choice but to announce to the king the return of the disgraced prince.

Chapter 37. Forgiveness

Nikita Romanovich explains to the Tsar that he was taken from prison against his will. He also talks about the victory over the Tatars and asks for mercy for the robbers who now want to serve the Tsar, but not in the ranks of the guardsmen.

Silver, despite the tsar’s tempting offer, also refuses to serve him among the guardsmen. Then Ivan the Terrible appoints him commander of a guard regiment, to which all his robbers are assigned.

Chapter 38. Departure from Sloboda

Faithful Mikheich tells the prince how he found Elena Dmitrievna at the mill. The girl refused to go to Morozov’s estate, and Mikheich, at her request, “left her in the hands of the abbess” of the convent.

Having learned about this, Silver asks the servant to gallop at full speed to the monastery and beg Elena not to take monastic vows before meeting him.

Chapter 39. Last date

The prince is already looking forward to a happy life next to his beloved, but the returning Mikheich reports that Elena Dmitrievna is no more, and “there is only sister Evdokia” - Elena managed to become a nun.

In deep sadness, the prince goes to the monastery to say goodbye to Elena. His only consolation is “the knowledge that he has fulfilled his duty in life” and has not committed a single meanness.

Chapter 40. Ermak's Embassy

After many years, Ivan the Terrible still continues to execute “the best, most famous citizens.” However, his power is weakening: on the borders the tsar increasingly suffers defeats, and only in the east does his domain expand thanks to the efforts of Ermak and Ivan Kolts, a former robber chieftain nicknamed Ring.

Godunov, who became the “brother-in-law of Tsarevich Fyodor,” is gaining strength at court every year. But the unprecedented royal mercy did not give Godunov “neither arrogance nor arrogance.”

Prince Serebryany seventeen years ago was “killed by the Tatars, and his entire squad died along with him.”

Prince Silver

Chapter 4

Druzhina Andreevich and his wife

If the reader could travel back three hundred years and look from a high bell tower at the Moscow of that time, he would find in it little resemblance to the present one. The banks of the Moscow River, Yauza and Neglinnaya were covered with many wooden houses with plank or thatched roofs, most of them blackened by time. Among these dark roofs, the walls of the Kremlin, Kitai-Gorod and other fortifications that arose over the last two centuries stood out sharply white and red. Many churches and bell towers raised their gilded heads to the sky. Like large green and yellow spots, dense groves and fields covered with grain could be seen between the houses. Unsteady living bridges ran across the Moscow River, shaking violently and becoming covered with water when carts or horsemen passed over them. On Yauza and Neglinnaya, dozens of mill wheels turned, one next to the other. These groves, fields and mills in the middle of the city itself gave the Moscow of that time a lot of picturesqueness. It was especially fun to look at the monasteries, which, with white fences and motley heaps of colored and gilded heads, seemed like separate cities.

Above all this confusion of churches, houses, groves and monasteries proudly rose the Kremlin churches and the recently decorated Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, which John founded several years ago in memory of the capture of Kazan and which we now know under the name of St. Basil. Great was the joy of the Muscovites when the forests that covered this church finally fell, and it appeared in all its bizarre splendor, sparkling with gold and colors and surprising the eye with a variety of decorations. For a long time the people did not stop marveling at the skillful architect, thanking God and praising the king, who gave the Orthodox a spectacle never seen before. Other Moscow churches were also good. The Muscovites did not spare either rubles or labor to decorate the houses of God. Expensive colors, gilding and large external icons of full human height were visible everywhere. The Orthodox loved to decorate the houses of God, but they cared little about the appearance of their houses; Almost all of their dwellings were built firmly and simply, from pine or oak beams, not even covered with planks, according to the old Russian proverb: a hut is not red in its corners, but red in its pies.

One house of the boyar Druzhina Andreevich Morozov, on the banks of the Moscow River, was distinguished by its special beauty. The oak logs were round and even; all the corners were cut into a claw, the house rose into three dwellings, not counting the light room. The suspended roof over the steep porch was supported by pot-bellied, ornate pillars and sported fine carvings. The shutters were skillfully painted with flowers and birds, and the windows let in the light of God not through dull bull bubbles, as in most Moscow houses, but through pure, transparent mica. In the wide courtyard there were services, storerooms, drying rooms, a dovecote and the boyar's summer bedchamber. The courtyard was adjoined on one side by a house stone church, on the other by a spacious garden, surrounded by an oak palisade, from behind which rose a beautiful swing, also with patterns and paintings. In a word, the house was built to perfection. And there was someone to build on!

Boyarin Druzhina Andreevich, portly in body, tough in character, despite his advanced years, recently married the first Moscow beauty. Everyone was amazed when twenty-year-old Elena Dmitrievna, the daughter of the okolnichy Pleshcheev-Ochin, who was killed near Kazan, married him. This is not the kind of groom the Moscow matchmakers predicted for her. But Elena was of marriageable age, without a father or mother; and the beauty of the girl, given the wicked morals of the new royal favorites, was more often to her misfortune than to her joy.

Morozov, having married Elena, became her patron, and everyone in Moscow knew that it was not easy to offend the one whom the boyar Druzhina Andreevich took under his protection!

Before Elena’s marriage, many of the royal favorites tried to please her, but no one tried as hard as Prince Afanasy Ivanovich Vyazemsky. And he sent expensive gifts to her, and stood opposite her in churches, and rode past the gates on a mad horse, and walked alone against the wall in a fist fight. Afanasy Ivanovich had no luck! The matchmakers brought him back his gifts, and when meeting him, Elena turned away. Was it because she didn’t like Afanasy Ivanovich that she turned away, or was there another sweetheart in the girl’s heart, but no matter how hard Prince Vyazemsky fought, he kept getting refusals. Finally, Afanasy Ivanovich became angry and went to blame Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich for his failure. The Tsar himself promised to send a matchmaker to Elena Dmitrievna. Upon learning of this, Elena burst into tears. I went to church with my mother, knelt before the Mother of God, cried and bowed to the ground.

There were no people in the church; but when Elena stood up and looked around, boyar Morozov stood behind her in a green velvet caftan and an open brocade terlik.

- What are you crying about, Elena Dmitrievna? - asked Morozov.

Recognizing the boyar, Elena was delighted.

He had once been friends with her parents, and even now he visited her and loved her like his own. Elena revered him as if she were a father and confided all her thoughts to him; I just didn’t believe one; she only buried one from the boyar; buried it on the mountain, to his destruction!

And now, in response to Morozov’s question, she did not tell him that cherished thought, but only said that I was crying because the royal matchmakers would come and force me for Vyazemsky!

“Elena Dmitrievna,” said the boyar, “come on, don’t you really love Vyazemsky?” Think carefully. I know that until now he was not to your heart; But I guess you don’t have anyone else on your mind, and until then a girl’s heart is like wax: will she endure it, will she fall in love?

“I will never,” answered Elena, “I will never love him.” I'll go to my grave soon!

The boyar looked at her with sympathy.

“Elena Dmitrievna,” he said after a pause, “there is a way to save you.” Listen. I am old and grey, but I love you like my daughter. Think about it, Elena, do you agree to marry me, an old man?

- Agree! - Elena cried joyfully and fell at Morozov’s feet.

The boyar was touched by an unexpected word, he was delighted at Elena’s delight, he did not guess, old man, that it was the delight of a drowning man who grabs a thorn bush. He gently picked up Elena and kissed her forehead.

“Child,” he said, “kiss my cross, so that you will not dishonor my gray head!” Swear here, before the savior!

- I swear, I swear! - Elena whispered.

The boyar ordered to call the priest, and soon the betrothal ceremony took place; when the royal matchmakers came to Elena, she was already the bride of Andreevich Morozov’s squad.

Elena did not marry Morozov out of love; but she kissed the cross to be faithful to him and firmly decided to keep her oath, not to sin against her master either in word or thought.

And why shouldn’t she love Druzhin Andreevich? True, the boyar was not young; but the Lord blessed him with health, and prowess, and military glory, and a strong will, and villages, and villages, and wide lands beyond the Moscow River, and storerooms full of gold, brocade and expensive furs. There was only one thing that God did not bless Andreevich’s squad: he did not bless him with royal mercy. When Ivan Vasilyevich found out that his matchmakers were late, he became angry with Morozov and decided to punish the boyar; ordered him to be called to his table and seated him not only below Vyazemsky, but also below Godunov, Boris Fedorovich, who had not yet been honored and did not have any rank.

The boyar could not bear such dishonor; got up from the table: it’s inappropriate for Morozov to be smaller than Godunov! Then the tsar was burned with bitter anger and handed Morozov over to Boris Fedorovich. The boyar confessed to the enemy, but cursed Godunov cruelly and called him a puppy.

And, having learned about this, the king went into a great rage, ordered Morozov to move away from his eyes and let his gray hair grow until the opprobrium was washed away from him. And the boyar left the courtyard; and now he walks in humble clothes, with an unkempt beard, gray hair falling on his steep forehead. It is sad for the boyar not to see the eyes of the sovereign, but he did not disgrace his family, he did not sit lower than Godunov!

Morozov's house was full. The servants feared and loved the boyar. Everyone who came to him was received with cordiality. Both friends and strangers boasted of his affection; He gave everyone greetings, rich clothes, and wise advice. But he never caressed anyone like that, he didn’t give anyone such gifts as his young wife, Elena Dmitrievna. And the wife returned the affection with affection, and every morning and every evening she knelt for a long time in her image and fervently prayed for his health.

Was it Elena Dmitrievna’s fault that, among the friendly speeches of Andreevich’s Druzhina, among the warm prayer in front of the icons, her young knight suddenly appeared in her imagination, flying on a horse with a raised pole, and in front of him the Lithuanian regiments running in disarray?

Was it Elena Dmitrievna’s fault that the image of this knight haunted her everywhere, at home, in church, day and night, and said to her reproachfully: “Elena! You didn’t keep your word, you didn’t wait for my return, you deceived me!..”

One thousand five hundred and sixty-five, June twenty-four, on the day of Ivan Kupala, all the Moscow bells swayed in the morning and rang incessantly. All the churches were full. At the end of the mass, the people scattered into the streets. Young and old, poor and rich, carried home green branches, flowers, birch trees, decorated with ribbons. Everything was colorful, lively and fun. However, by midday the streets began to empty. Little by little the people began to disperse, and soon it would be impossible to meet a single person in Moscow. Dead silence reigned. The Orthodox rested in their bedchambers, and there was no one who would anger God by walking the streets, for God ordered both man and every creature to rest at midday; but it is a sin to go against the will of God, unless urgent matters force it.

So everyone was asleep; Moscow seemed like an uninhabited city. Only on Balchug, in the newly built circle courtyard, or tavern, were screams, quarrels and songs heard. There, despite the midday, the warriors, almost all young, in rich attire, were feasting. They were located inside the house, in the yard, and on the street. Everyone was drunk; another, lying on the bare ground, spilled a glass of wine on his dress, another tried in a hoarse voice to encourage his comrades, but made only dull, indistinct sounds. Saddled horses stood at the gate. Each saddle had a broom and a dog's head tied to it.

At this time, two horsemen appeared on the street. One of them, in a crimson caftan with gold tassels and a white brocade hat, from under which thick brown curls hung, turned to another rider.

“Mikheich,” he said, “do you see these drunken people?”

- I see, boyar, their aunt is a chicken! Look, hawk moths, how they dispersed!

- Do you see what the horses have behind their saddles?

“I see: brooms and dog faces, like that robber.” It became, indeed, royal people, since they walk in Moscow! We've done our job, boyar, we've made some porridge!

Silver frowned.

- Go and ask them where boyar Morozov lives!

- Hey, good people, honest gentlemen! - Mikheich shouted, driving up to the crowd. - Where does the boyar Druzhina Andreich Morozov live?

- What do you need to know where this dog lives?

- My boyar, Prince Serebryany, has a letter to Morozov from the governor Prince Pronsky, from a large regiment.

- Give me the certificate!

- What are you, what are you, your aunt under... what are you? Is it in your mind? How can I give you the prince’s letter?

- Give me the certificate, old owl, give it! Let's see if this Morozov has started treason, if he really wants to ruin the sovereign!

- Oh, you swindler! - Mikheich cried, forgetting the caution with which he began to speak. - But does my master know traitors?

- And so you still swear! Get him off the horse, guys, get him in the whip!

Here Serebryany himself galloped up to the guardsmen.

- Back! - he shouted so menacingly that they involuntarily stopped.

“If any of you,” the prince continued, “so much as lays a finger on this man, I will chop off his head, and the rest will answer to the sovereign!”

The guardsmen were embarrassed; but new comrades approached from neighboring streets and surrounded the prince. Daring words rained down from the crowd; Many took out their sabers, and Nikita Romanovich would have been in trouble if at that time a voice had not been heard nearby singing a psalm and stopped the guardsmen as if by magic. Everyone looked back in the direction where the voice came from. A man of about forty, wearing only a linen shirt, was walking down the street. Iron crosses and chains rang on his chest, and in his hands were wooden rosaries. His pale face expressed extraordinary kindness, a smile played on his lips, shaded by a sparse beard, but his eyes looked dull and vague.

Seeing Silver, he interrupted his singing, hurriedly approached him and looked him straight in the face.

- You, you! - he said, as if surprised. - Why are you here, between them? - And, without waiting for an answer, he began to sing: “Blessed is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked!”

The guardsmen stepped aside with an air of respect, but he, not paying attention to them, again began to look into Serebryany’s eyes.

- Mikitka, Mikitka! - he said, shaking his head. -Where did you go?

Silver had never seen this man and was surprised that he called him by name.

- Do you know me? - he asked.

The blessed one laughed.

- You are my brother! - he answered. - I recognized you immediately. You are as blessed as I am. And you don’t have more intelligence than mine, otherwise you wouldn’t have come here. I see your whole heart. You have it pure, pure, just the naked truth; You and I are both holy fools! And these,” he continued, pointing to the armed crowd, “these are not our relatives!” Uh!

“Vasya,” said one of the guardsmen, “would you like anything?” Don't you need money?

- No no no! - answered the blessed one. - I don’t want anything from you! Vasya won’t take anything from you, but give Mikitka what he asks for!

“Man of God,” said Serebryany, “I asked where boyar Morozov lives?”

- A friend? This one is ours! This righteous man! Only his head is unbowed! Wow, how unbowed! And soon he will bow, soon he will bow, but he won’t rise!

- Where does he live? - Silver repeated affectionately.

- I will not say! - answered the blessed one, as if angry. - I won’t tell you, let others tell you. I don’t want to send you to do something bad!

And he hastily departed, starting again his interrupted psalm.

Not understanding his words and without wasting time on guesses, Serebryany again turned to the guardsmen.

“Well,” he asked, “will you finally tell me how to find Morozov’s house?”

“Everyone go straight,” one of them answered rudely. - There, when you turn left, there will be an old raven’s nest.

As the prince moved away, the guardsmen, pacified by the appearance of the holy fool, again began to riot.

- Hey! - one shouted. - Give Morozov a bow from us and tell him to get ready to go to the gallows soon; painfully healed!

- Yes, and save the rope for yourself! - another shouted after him.

But the prince did not pay attention to their curses.

“What did the blessed one want to tell me? - he thought, lowering his head. “Why didn’t he show me Morozov’s house, and even add that he didn’t want to send me to do something bad?”

Continuing to travel further, the prince and Mikheich met many more guardsmen. Some were already drunk, others were just going to the tavern. Everyone looked insolently and impudently, and some even made such rude remarks about the riders out loud that one could easily see how accustomed they were to impunity.