‘In all the world its most badly To see in family the wife
Who’s waiting for her husband sadly Alone daily all her life.
That she is good, dull husband knows But at has fate he curses throws,
He’s always frowned, taciturn, He’s chilly, jealous, angry turned!
That’s what I am.
Indeed, you won’t With all your pure flaming heart
Be glad with such a man… You smart With rare wit your letter wrote!
Indeed, d’you have this kind of mate Destined to your severe. fate?
XVI
‘My dreams and years won’t rather Return to make me new a bit,
I love you, but with love of brother And may be tenderer indeed.
You listen but without anger: With time young girl will change her temper,
Her easy dreams by other dreams; As well as trees can change the leaves
In early spring of every year.
You see, by skies its predestined:
You’ll fall in love once more and find… You learn to rule yourself: I fear
Not any man can grasp such things; Ignorance many troubles brings’
XVII
This way my Eugene was her teaching.
Through tears never seeing him,
Without breath, with timid feeling Tatyana listened then to him.
He gave his hard; in all her grievance (As they would say, it was unwitnessed)
Tatyana silently curl lean, Her languid head she bent to him;
Through kitchen-garden they went home; They came together; no one
Did try to make of that some fun: The country’s freedom has its own
And happy rights for own self Like haughty Moscow itself.
XVIII
And you agree, my dear reader: This time like real gentleman
With dear Tanya he was eager Himself to show honest man,
Revealed his own soul simple, Meanwhile malevolance of people
With him was always on the bends: His enemies as well as friends
(It is the same for people simple) To curse him tried this way and that.
Each man has enemies, but yet From friends defend us God a little
Ah, many friends were near then!
With reason I remembered them.
XIX
And what?
It’s right.
I simply wrote Of idle, blackish dreams of mine;
In brackets I would like to note: You haven’t more insulting lie,
By liars secretly prepared, By worldly mob in chorus favoured,
And no nonsense in the world Or epigram with brutal word
Which friend of yours with smile of terror In circles decent, so right,
Without purpose or a spite Would not repeat for days in error;
With might and main he’ll you defend With love of kinsman, not of friend!
XX
H’m, h’m! You, generous my readers, Are all your kinsfolk o’key?
You let me now my ideas To tell you all this very day.
What does the kinsfolk mean namely?
It means the following thing mainly: