Submissive to the natural passion Invite to them, become her friends,
Are kissing, tenderly press hands, They flop her curls up to the fashion,
And all entrust in singing voice The secrets of the maiden’s choice,
XLVII
Of others victories and own The pranks, the hopes and the dreams.
All innocent the talkings flow; With lie they beautify some things,
Then for the babbles due concession To hear of her heart confession
In tender manner they agree.
But Tanya now like in dream
To their talks pays none attention, In them she sees yet nothing smart,
And secrets of her own heart, Her sacred tears, happy tension
Quite mutely for herself she keeps, Of them to nobody speaks.
XLVIII
Tatyana tries to listen better To interests of the common clash;
But in the parlour all are flattered By such a trifle, banal trash;
In talks all’s plain, its all indifferent, Yet slander they without interest;
In fruitless speeches drily fuse inquiries, some gossips, news,
But none a thought for days is flashing; At neither random nor by chance
The languid wit forever smiles; The heart is still, its never dashing,
And even nonsense having joys This idle world each time avoids.
XLIX
From archives coining several youngsters {28} In throng at Tanya stiffly gaze,
By thoughts of her each one another Unfavourably try to daze;
Of them some queer clown dismal Her found almost ideal
And leaning mutely on the door Is writing elegies for her,
At boring aunt’s my Tanya meeting Once Vyasemisky in his good age {29}
Her soul managed to engage; And near him Tatyana seeing
His wig yet smoothing by his hand Of her inquires old man.
L
But where of Melpomen heavy Resounds fine and drawling wail,
While she’s by tinsel gown waving In front of her some throng to hail;
Or where Thalia’s stilly dreaming To friendly claps yet isn’t listening;
Or where Terpsichore one Amazes all the public young
(As well as in the old years In time of mine and time of yours),-
They nowhere turned to her Lornettes of jealous ladies dear
Nor tubes of stylish expert-men From stalls and boxes ever then.
LI
They bring Tatyana to grand meeting {30} The tightness, agitation, heat,
Of music roar, of candles gleaming, The flash, the whirl of couples quick,
Of beauties light and fine attires, Of people variegated choirs,
And semicircle wide of brides,- All that at once one’s feelings strikes.
Enrolled dandies show here The impudence and fine gillette
And unattentive smart lornette.
On leave the gussars hasten here
Themselves to show making booms, To gleam, to charm, to fly to troops.
LII
The night has many stars, all charming; The brightest one at heaven’s blue
Among the friends the moon’s more shining; To Moscow all beauties flew.
But She whom I yet don’t dare To trouble with my lyre fair,
She like the moon to shine has come Among the wives and maids the one.