The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories

  5. “The joy of Rus’ is to drink”: The Primary Chronicle, compiled in Kiev around 1113, attributes these words to Prince Vladimir, who supposedly rejected Islam because it prohibits alcohol.

  6. Princess Yusupov … Gorgibus: Princess Tatyana Vasilievna Yusupov (1769–1848) indeed had a famous collection of precious gems, but the “pearl of Gorgibus,” a 126-carat pear-shaped pearl, was brought from the Indies by Gorgibus of Calais and sold to King Philip IV of Spain (1605–65).

  7. a prosphora: A small, round bread especially blessed for holy communion.

  8. ‘Bourguignon’: The firm of Bourguignon, on the boulevard des Capucines in Paris, specialized in making imitation jewelry.

  9. Rurik and Gediminas: That is, the ancient ruling dynasties of Russia and Lithuania, respectively.

The Spook

(1885)

  1. the kikimora: A female house spirit in Slavic folklore, sometimes married to the house demon (domovoi).

  2. “of Catherine’s planting”: That is, planted in the time of Catherine the Great (see note 1 to “Singlemind”).

  3. Baba Yaga: A wicked witch in Russian folklore, who lives in the forest in a hut on chicken’s legs and rides around in an enormous mortar, steering it with a broom.

  4. the class of rhetoric in the seminary: Seminaries were the only educational institutions open to children of the peasant and merchant classes in Russia. Their students were not necessarily preparing for the priesthood.

  5. white Nezhin roots …: That is, crude local tobacco. Nezhin, in Chernigov province to the west of Orel, was a center of the tobacco industry.

  6. the Python, Cerberus, and their ilk: In Greek mythology, the Python was the gigantic serpent that guarded the oracle at Delphi and Cerberus was the three-headed hound that guarded the entrance to the underworld.

  7. Varus … Teutoburg: Publius Quintilius Varus (46 BC–9 AD), a Roman patrician and general under Augustus Caesar (63 BC–19 AD), was defeated by a confederation of Germanic troops under the general Arminius at the battle of Teutoburg in Germany, where his three legions were annihilated.

  8. the schismatic village of Kolchevo: That is, a village inhabited by Old Believers (see note 6 to “Lady Macbeth”).

  9. the Orel priest Ostromyslenny: Father Efim Ostromyslenny (or Ostromyslensky) was a priest in Orel and taught religion in the Orel high school. Leskov was one of his grateful students and mentions him a number of times in his work.

10. because your eye was dark: See Matthew 6:22–23: “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Revised Standard Version). Also Luke 11:34.

The Man on Watch

(1887)

  1. Nikolai Ivanovich Miller …: Lieutenant General Nikolai Ivanovich Miller (d. 1889), after retiring from the army, was first an inspector then the director of the Alexandrovsky Lycée, founded by Alexander I for the education of the elite of the nobility.

  2. Nikolai Pavlovich: See note 8 to “Lefty.” The emperor Nicholas I was known for the military strictness of his rule.

  3. the Jordan entrance: The entrance to the imperial palace from the Neva embankment, where the “Jordan” ice hole was located, cut in the ice for the blessing of the waters on the feast of Theophany (see note 19 to “Singlemind”).

  4. Kokoshkin … Svinyin: Sergei Alexandrovich Kokoshkin (1795–1861), formerly an infantry general, served as superintendent of police in Petersburg from 1830 to 1847. He was a favorite of Nicholas I. By 1839 Nikita Petrovich Svinyin had already been a lieutenant colonel in the Izmailovsky Regiment for six years.

  5. the grand duke Mikhail Pavlovich: Mikhail Pavlovich Romanov (1798–1849), the fourth son of the emperor Paul I (see note 23 to “Singlemind”), was at that time a colonel of the guards.

  6. in Gogol’s comedy: See note 9 to “Singlemind.” The reference is to act 3, scene 6, where the number of messengers is actually thirty-five thousand.

  7. Peter’s Little House: The oldest building in Petersburg, a small wooden house on the Petrovskaya Embankment, built for Peter the Great in 1703 and now a museum. During the reign of Nicholas I, the dining room was turned into a chapel and the icon of the Savior that Peter the Great used to take with him on campaign was placed in it.

  8. the Peter-and-Paul Fortress: See note 14 to “Lefty.”