The Daughter of the Commandant

The Daughter of the
Commandant, by Alexksandr

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Alexksandr Sergeevich Pushkin, Translated by Mrs. Milne Home
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Title: The Daughter of the Commandant
Author: Alexksandr Sergeevich Pushkin
Release Date: September 22, 2004 [eBook #13511] [Date last updated:
September 13, 2006]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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DAUGHTER OF THE COMMANDANT***
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THE DAUGHTER OF THE COMMANDANT

A Russian Romance
by
ALEXKSANDR POUSHKIN
Translated by Mrs. Milne Home
Authoress of "Mamma's Black Nurse Stories," "West Indian Folklore"

PREFACE.
ALEXKSANDR POUSHKIN, the Poet, was born at Petersburg in 1799
of good family, and died before he was forty, in the prime of his genius.
The novel here offered to the public is considered by Russians his best
prose work. Others are Boris Godúnof, a dramatic sketch, but never
intended to be put on the stage, and The Prisoner of the Caucasus.
Among his poems are "The Gipsies," "Rúslan and Ludmilla," "The
Fountain of Tears," and "Evgeni Onéghin." The last, if I mistake not,
was translated into English some years ago. Some of Poushkin's
writings having drawn suspicion on him he was banished to a distant
part of the Empire, where he filled sundry administrative posts. The
Tzar Nicholai, on his accession in 1825, recalled him to Petersburg and
made him Historiographer. The works of the poet were much admired
in society, but he was not happy in his domestic life. His outspoken
language made him many enemies, and disgraceful reports were
purposely spread abroad concerning him, which resulted in a duel in
which he was mortally wounded by his brother-in-law, George Danthès.
His death was mourned publicly by all Russia.
M.P.M.H.
April, 1891.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER
I.
Sergeant of the Guards II. The Guide III. The Little Fort IV. The Duel
V. Love VI. Pugatchéf VII. The Assault VIII. The Unexpected Visit IX.
The Parting X. The Siege XI. The Rebel Camp XII. The Orphan XIII.
The Arrest XIV. The Trial
CHAPTER I.
SERGEANT OF THE GUARDS.
My father, Andréj Petróvitch Grineff, after serving in his youth under
Count Münich,[1] had retired in 17--with the rank of senior major.
Since that time he had always lived on his estate in the district of
Simbirsk, where he married Avdotia, the eldest daughter of a poor
gentleman in the neighbourhood. Of the nine children born of this
union I alone survived; all my brothers and sisters died young. I had
been enrolled as sergeant in the Séménofsky regiment by favour of the
major of the Guard, Prince Banojik, our near relation. I was supposed
to be away on leave till my education was finished. At that time we
were brought up in another manner than is usual now.
From five years old I was given over to the care of the huntsman,
Savéliitch,[2] who from his steadiness and sobriety was considered
worthy of becoming my attendant. Thanks to his care, at twelve years
old I could read and write, and was considered a good judge of the
points of a greyhound. At this time, to complete my education, my
father hired a Frenchman, M. Beaupré, who was imported from
Moscow at the same time as the annual provision of wine and Provence
oil. His arrival displeased Savéliitch very much.
"It seems to me, thank heaven," murmured he, "the child was washed,
combed, and fed. What was the good of spending money and hiring a
'moussié,' as if there were not enough servants in the house?"
Beaupré, in his native country, had been a hairdresser, then a soldier in

Prussia, and then had come to Russia to be "outchitel," without very
well knowing the meaning of this word.[3] He was a good creature, but
wonderfully absent and hare-brained. His greatest weakness was a love
of the fair sex. Neither, as he said himself, was he averse to the bottle,
that is, as we say in Russia, that his passion was drink. But, as in our
house the wine only appeared at table, and then only in liqueur glasses,
and as on these occasions it somehow never came to the turn of the
"outchitel" to be served at all, my Beaupré soon accustomed himself to
the Russian brandy, and ended by even preferring it to all the wines of
his native country as much better for the stomach. We became great
friends, and though, according to the contract, he had engaged himself