Maria Lenormand or do you need to know the future?
A special part of the predictions of the great Mary Lenormand became, surprisingly, the predictions about a night's sleep. And it just so happened, but the most famous "night" predictions concerned exactly the Russian clients of Madame Lenormand. Once, a rich Muscovite VP Pulkova-Krekshina paid a visit to her, who had arrived in Paris, as they used to say, “to have fun”. The Moscow guests had a lot of money, and therefore she was bored, not knowing what to do with herself.
The French Sibyl looked at the rich woman's palm and advised her to "find a business for yourself." Lenormand was also an excellent psychologist. But Pulkova just snorted: “What will you order me to do? I was brought up not for that and I am not able to do anything! " - "But you have a penchant for something!" The fortune teller asked. “Just curiosity! - the rich woman laughed. - Out of curiosity and came to you. Tell me, what will my life be like and what death will be like?"
The fortune teller did not like empty chatter, because people with real misfortunes were waiting for her. Perhaps that is why she replied: "You will die in bed at night!" Was this a formal answer in order to get rid of, or did the French woman actually predict her fate? But the result was this: Pulkova returned to Moscow and stopped sleeping at night. She slept during the day and played preference at night. She also joked: “Lenormand gave me good advice: to find my inclination to any business. So I found it - a preference!"
In the 30s of the XIX century, another rich original appeared in Moscow, who traveled to Paris in his youth and went there to Madame Lenormand's salon. He was a famous person who donated a lot to charity, maybe that's why none of the people talking about him mention his name. So this original also received its prophecy from Lenormand. First, she told him a lot of truthful things about his past, after even more real things about his present. But he was interested in the future. Maria laid out the cards again and said: "Your life will be secured, albeit chaotic." But the secret is important for the Russian person. "How will I die?" Mademoiselle folded the cards: "I can warn you: you will die in your bed!" The Russian original turned pale: “How? When?" - "When you go to bed!" - he heard the answer.
“And since then,” as Mikhail Pyliaev wrote in his legendary book “Remarkable Eccentrics” at the end of the 19th century, “soft featherbeds, pillows of swan and eiderdown down, silk blankets were thrown and taken out of the apartment so that such dear objects he was not seduced. In vain did his friends laugh in his eyes, reproaching him for gullibility … But the words of the fortuneteller sounded in his ears worse than a funeral bell.
His way of life changed beyond recognition: he spent nights in society, because he was bored without society, it was difficult and unbearable to rest in a bent position for more than an hour.
From early in the morning, a carriage was already laid for the Moscow original, in which he rested, falling asleep in the air, or went on visits to houses where everyone knew that he would snooze somewhere in the corner - but only on a chair or on a stool. God forbid, not on the couch or sofa!
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In short, he went to great lengths to avoid his gloomy prediction. And it is worth noting that he lived enough - half a century. But once after another family scandal, he felt bad. Relatives and servants decided to put him to bed. The poor fellow resisted as best he could. The tired servants dispersed. And the master, who was sitting wrapped up in an armchair, felt better by morning. But here's the bad luck: the doctor came and ordered to force him to bed. The patient was transferred by force. But as soon as they put it down, he gave his soul to God. So Lenormand told the truth again.
But there is a special story in the stories about those who do not sleep at night - the legend about the most famous "sleepy" - the St. Petersburg beauty Avdotya Golitsyna, whom her contemporaries called the Princess of the Night.
True, history is silent, Lenormand or someone else prophesied to the brilliant Russian aristocrat that death would find her untidy in bed at night, but Avdotya Golitsyna, returning from Paris, began to lead an absolutely nocturnal lifestyle: she received guests, gave dinners, and arranged balls. In the afternoon, she slept off, rightly believing that she had deceived fate. For this way of life, she became a landmark of foggy Petersburg. The best people of Russia - from brilliant representatives of high society to talented poets, painters and "other geniuses" - were ready to lay down at the feet of the beautiful Princess of the Night at least life, at least honor. And the fate of this woman deserves to be remembered …
Winter nights in St. Petersburg are long. A blizzard swept throughout February 1818. The wind howls through the empty streets. The townspeople early on the side fit. And only a huge house on Bolshaya Millionnaya Street is invitingly lit every night by the reflection of hundreds of candles. The whole of St. Petersburg knows: a mysterious beauty lives here - Princess Avdotya Ivanovna Golitsyna. The best men of both capitals of Russia, and not only Russia, are ready to lay down their hearts at her feet. But they say she is indifferent to everyone - a real Snow Queen.
A strange woman and a strange home! All day long in the mansion on Bolshaya Millionnaya there is silence, gloomy windows are hung with heavy curtains, but by nightfall the house comes to life: the curtains open, chandeliers are lit in all rooms, servants pour out into the street with golden candelabra, so that Big Millionnaya flickers with lights like one huge diamond. At midnight, carriages arrive at the house. Guests are gathering. And at exactly two in the morning the ceremonial dinner begins.
As soon as the gentlemen deign to sit at a huge inlaid table for two hundred people, their servants take their places in the human half, where excellent treats are also waiting for them. But, while eating, the servants fearfully look around, cross themselves, quietly discussing the mistress of the house and the strange order she has established.
One evening in the janitor's room, the experienced coachmen had to calm down the servant, who had brought his master to Millionnaya for the first time.
“Good people sleep at night, some ghouls roam! - the coachman fervently crossed himself. - Maybe your princess is a witch? Are you fascinated by men? God forbid! After all, my master is just a boy - only 18 years old”. Experienced coachmen were interested, laughing: "And who have you brought?" The coachman was baptized again: "Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin!"
The princess entered her boudoir, carefully closing the door. It turned out to be a good day, or rather, a night! It's been a long time since she had such fun: young Alexander Pushkin has thousands of funny stories in his head. And he himself is funny - impatient, hot. He writes good poetry and said to the princess: "You, Eudoxi, are my muse!"
I had to correct the boy: “I am Russian, Alexander. And it does not suit me to "French" like a lapdog! I'm not Eudoxi at all, but an ordinary Evdokia. And if you want to be in friendship with me, call Avdotya."
The princess smiled, remembering. As a five-year-old girl, she announced to her family: "I am Avdotya!"
At first, everyone was amazed. For a whole year they tried to reeducate and rename the stubborn little girl. “You, Eudoxi, have the honor to come from a noble family! - the French governess threw up her hands. - And all young ladies of noble families should be called in French. You are not a country girl, but a young lady! " - "I do not want! - shouted a 5-year-old lady. "I am Avdotya!"
Perhaps they would have reprimanded the girl for such stubbornness, and perhaps they would have punished, but who would raise a hand against an orphan? The parents of tiny Avdotya - the actual privy councilor, Senator Ivan Mikhailovich Izmailov and his wife, nee Alexandra Borisovna Yusupova - had already died by that time, leaving their two daughters, Dunya and her younger sister, full orphans. After the death of their parents, the girls lived in Moscow with their uncle - Mikhail Mikhailovich Izmailov, the Moscow mayor. Later we moved to St. Petersburg with him.
But uncle Mikhail Mikhailovich, having shouted and angry at his eldest niece, who called herself such a colloquial village name, finally resigned himself. Since childhood, Avdotya's stubbornness was not to be occupied - in everything she was used to keeping her upper hand. She decided, for example, at the age of ten that she would study history and mathematics like boys, and she persuaded her uncle to hire teachers. While the younger sister was learning contrasses and quadrille, the older sister was not at all embarrassed to solve mathematical problems. Yes, there was a lot of ambition in her. It is a pity, in the main, I could not override fate …
And all Paul! This extravagant emperor is guilty of all the leapfrog of her life. Burst into power and let's go crazy. He delved into everything: how many buttons to sew on a uniform, how many times the ladies go out to the Summer Garden. He himself began to marry his subjects at his own discretion. So he blessed 19-year-old Dunya - in 1799 he married Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Golitsyn, his favorite. Of course, this Golitsyn is immensely rich, young - only 25 years old. In addition, he is treated kindly by the authorities in every possible way - a real privy councilor, a knight of the highest orders of Russia.
But Dunya Izmailova was not from the street either: her father was also honored, and the rich uncle wrote her half of the fortune. And in high society Avdotya made a huge splash with her beauty and an article in general, she shone at the most significant balls in both capitals. At one of these balls in St. Petersburg, she saw her future husband - she was asleep from her face, dumbfounded. Brainhead! A small sprout, narrowed eyes, twitching hands - a pure spider. How to marry such a person ?! But will you refuse? After all, royal grace, destroy it!
Yes, that's just the wedding was played, the eccentric Pavel lost interest in his favorite. Golitsyn happened to flee abroad. While traveling, the husband fell behind somewhere, and Avdotya herself rushed across Europe. Paris, Berlin, Dresden fell at her feet. No wonder - with her beauty, but with money, and even with intelligence. They said she was sharper than a razor.
The most notorious witches, including Madame de Stael, came to Princess Golitsyna's "Russian receptions". And somehow the "favorite of Europe" the famous Madame Recamier dragged her Russian friend to the fortune-teller. Avdotya still remembers: it is a sunny day in Paris, but in the fortuneteller's salon it is twilight from heavy drawn curtains. The fortune teller, not yet an old woman, but already obese and puffy, laying out the cards, looks at the diamonds of the Russian beauty and says disapprovingly: “Why dress up so much, madam? All the same, death will find you untidy at night in your sleep!"
Avdotya gasped, but found herself: “The uninvited guest will not find me untidy! I will not sleep - I will live forever!"
So she became Princesse Nocturne - Princess of the Night. Well, at night everything is not like during the day: jokes are subtler, people are softer, thought is sharper. Night is a time of secrets and excitement. But Avdotya does not agree to an empty flirtation. She is interested in something else. And therefore, she invites only “smart heads” to her salon - to talk about strange things: the meaning of life, philosophical ideas, discoveries in science. Can an intricate mind game be compared to empty love games ?! One thing, however, is bad: the most enjoyable games will bore you if they are not in your native language!
Liberation came in 1801 - suddenly there was no hated Paul I. Finding a husband in Dresden, Avdotya announced: “Our marriage is invalid! I consider myself free!"
This was an unusually brave and daring act, because under any circumstances the wife was obliged to follow her husband and live in his house, or she was threatened with public obstruction. But the impudent and stubborn Avdotya did not care about the opinions of other people. She returned to Russia without her hateful husband. I bought a mansion on Bolshaya Millionnaya Street, at the same time buying out the land of my neighbors so that no one would interfere with my life. And surprisingly, society turned a blind eye to her insolent behavior. How could it be otherwise? After all, all the color of the Petersburg nobility in the very first month paid their respects to her. The cultural elite in general lifted her courage and beauty on a pedestal. Zhukovsky, Karamzin, Vyazemsky - all at the first call rushed to the salon of the Princess of Night, ready not to sleep until morning, but to talk, play music, read their latest works.
And once the princess heard someone laughing: “My brother does not go anywhere, because he conducts experiments in chemistry and solves problems in mathematics! - This is a young handsome prince Pyotr Dolgorukov, a diplomat and close friend of the new Tsar Alexander I, talking about his younger brother. - Imagine, women do not like the soul in him, and he will not deign to say an extra compliment to them. Josephine herself, Napoleon's wife, having seen him in Paris while he was there on a diplomatic mission, laid eyes on him. Indeed, my brother became a colonel in 1800, when he just turned 20 years old. And what? This dashing soldier is ready to spend any free day at his desk - he draws his own mathematical formulas and laments that our father sent him to the army and did not allow him to study science!"
Avdotya was amazed. Is there really someone else who is interested not in balls and gossip, but in mathematical problems and chemical experiments? Not a scientist or a teacher, but a person of her circle?.. The next day, Mikhail Petrovich Dolgorukov received an invitation to the salon of the Princess of the Night. Exactly at midnight, she saw how a tall, mighty fair-headed handsome man climbs the stairs to her. Her huge dark eyes grew even darker as he stepped closer, leaning towards his hand. He was less handsome than his brother, but more courageous: after all, he is a hero of the Battle of Austerlitz, awarded with a golden sword with an engraving "For Bravery". Throughout dinner, Mikhail sat next to the hostess, talking about how he had attended lectures at the Sorbonne even before Austerlitz. After all, even though his parents sent him to military service, he himself wanted to study chemistry or mathematics. Isn't being a scientist the highest happiness?
In the morning, when the guests had gone, Mikhail and Avdotya were still sitting at a table by the window and writing something in turn on sheets of paper. Later, when Dolgoruky nevertheless ran away to the service, Avdotya realized: together they solved the equation, over which she herself fought for many years. Or was it not an equation, but a formula for love?..
By the end of 1806, Avdotya decided on an official divorce. The hated husband stood by her chair and thoughtfully stroked his own cuffs. “Great, Eudoxy! - he drawled nastily in the French manner. - You cheated on me. But what do you want from me? So that I can hold a candle? " Avdotya gasped: "How it went!" Golitsyn shrugged his shoulders: “And at the age of 26, falling in love has not gone? You're almost an old woman! Remember my word: your lover will soon leave you!"
Never! Of all the campaigns, Mikhail sends passionate letters. Avdotya awaits them with bated breath. After all, letters are a sign: Mikhail is alive. This is the main thing! For many years she did not sleep at night, but now she does not sleep during the day. Fears, memories, anxieties swirl in my head. Michael is at war with Napoleon. In the military department, Avdotya said that his military talents are irreplaceable. 1807 - he became the youngest general in the Russian army. This is, of course, wonderful! But what is Avdotya up to ?! Only fear and insomnia … One military campaign ends, another begins. All that remains is to pray: if only Michael would return! Avdotya is ready to live with him unmarried, let the light speak evil. She is ready to change her nocturnal lifestyle, even if she has to die. If only he came back …
Towards the end of the summer of 1808, the "Swedish campaign" began. Dolgorukov was sent as commander of the Serdobolsk detachment. In the hot days of August, the campaign went sluggishly … St. Petersburg was also hot. Embankments and pavements melted in the sun. Not even the night saved. Everyone who could have left the city. Avdotya stayed - how to leave if you are constantly waiting for news? That day she could not sleep - the heat and a strange premonition choked her. Squinting her eyes, she watched the sun go down. Suddenly it seemed to her: a huge ball of fire cracked and exploded. Or did something explode in Avdotya's mind's eye? She clutched her head and suddenly realized that something terrible had happened!
Meanwhile, on a distant battlefield near Indesalme, a cannon fired. And Mikhail Dolgorukov - a brave man, a merry fellow, a favorite of the whole army - fell on his back: he was torn by a cannonball.
"The handsome prince Dolgorukov was a man of extraordinary mental tact, excellent upbringing, especially versed in history and mathematical science, quick mind, decisive and direct character, kindest heart and noblest soul" - a contemporary wrote about him. And also: "If he was alive, he would become a hero of Russia …".
Ten years have passed since that time. But is time measured in years? Princess Golitsyna sighed: time is measured by suffering! No, no one saw her crying - she did not bring such happiness to spiteful critics. And talk about her sad romance has long died out. Petersburg recognized that the beautiful princess is a free woman, lives an unusual life, avoids girlfriends, preferring male friends. Her nightlife parlor is still the go-to destination, but only a select few are allowed.
Of course, Avdotya will send more than one invitation to the dear tomboy Alexander Pushkin. She has heard a lot about the talent and ardor of the young poet. And yesterday Andrei Karamzin, the son of the great Russian historian, whispered to her: “Pushkin is mortally in love with you! He spends his evenings at your house, lies out of love, gets angry with love, but he still does not write out of love."
Thank God, Karamzin was wrong: Pushkin writes! He has already dedicated the ode "Liberty" to Golitsyna and many more lines. For instance:
I almost hated my fatherland -
But yesterday I saw Golitsyna
And reconciled with my fatherland.
Of course, a poet must be passionate and in love. A black-haired and curly mischievous man, he whispered something about Cupid, Psyche and their magical love all evening tonight. It's great to remember the lovely ancient Greek myths. Although they will have to explain to the mischievous Alexander that they cannot have any "cupid": he is just entering life, and the Princess of the Night has already lived her 38 years. In addition, she simply does not need "cupid".
The princess sat down at the table in front of the bed and opened a navy blue morocco petticoat. The most valuable thing in her life was kept there - sheets covered with writing by Mikhail: equations, formulas, tasks. Some she has not yet decided …
1835 - the mathematical book "Analysis of Force" was published in France. Princess Golitsyna became the first Russian woman mathematician to publish her works. So the championship of the great Sofia Kovalevskaya is just a beautiful legend. Fate presented Avdotya with one more “gift”. Her "faithful husband" fell in love. Now he himself stood in front of his wife in a humiliated position and asked for a divorce. He was babbling something about high feelings … Avdotya just shrugged her shoulders: “Falling in love at the age of six? How did it go, Sergei!"
She turned around and left. Let him suffer!
Golitsyn was tormented. Hiding the impossibility of divorce, he lured the bride and her relatives as best he could. To the bride's brothers he wrote half a million from his personal fortune. But the bride still gave him a turn from the gate. She could have waited, Avdotya agreed to a divorce. True, she herself was no longer interested in this whole story - Golitsyna went abroad. Everyone in her salon was there - from Dumas to Sainte-Beuve. Her books, notes, literary works were published there. But when she became ill, she decided to return to her homeland. She ordered to bury herself in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra next to the grave of Mikhail Dolgorukov. She sighed: "I'll be where my heart is!..".
1850, January 15 - in her St. Petersburg home, the Princess of the Night fell asleep for the last time. Of course, during the day. But it turned out that death is all the same - day or night. The main thing is that the princess is sleeping.
E. Korovina
