N. Leskov. "Lefty": a short story

Who does not know the story of the Russian craftsman, who has proved to the whole world that our masters are the best specialists in their field. The story "Lefty" was written by Nikolai Leskov in 1881 and is included in his collection of works "The Righteous". The events of this work date back to approximately 1815, and there are mixed real and fictional historical episodes. I would like to advise you not only to read the short story of Leskov's "Lefty", but also to pay attention to this story entirely. The work is easy to read, it captures an interesting story about a simple master from Tula. He does not just have a good command of his work, he has unique abilities and love for his profession and his homeland.

N. Leskov. Lefty. Summary of the story: two princes

Russian sovereign Alexander I , after the Vienna council decides to ride through Europe, to see different miracles in foreign countries. Under the emperor is a Cossack Platov, who is not surprised by strange things. He is sure that in Russia you can find no worse. But in England they find a kunstkammer, in which from all around the world "nymphosories" are collected. There the sovereign acquires a mechanical flea. She is not only very small, she also knows how to dance. Soon, from military affairs, Emperor Alexander I has a melancholy, he returns to Russia and dies.

His successor is Emperor Nicholas I. A few years after his accession to the throne, among the things of the late sovereign he finds a flea and can not understand what the meaning of this "nymphosoria" is. And only the Don Cossack Platov could explain that this is a sample of the skill of English mechanics. Nicholas I was always confident in the superiority of his countrymen. He instructs Platov to go on a diplomatic mission to the Don and visit Tula for local factories. The Emperor did not doubt that there could be found masters capable of adequately responding to this challenge.

N. Leskov. Lefty. Summary of the story: Tula craftsmen

Platov takes the flea and goes to the Don via Tula. He shows this product to the Tula craftsmen and gives them a period of two weeks so that they come up with and do something that can be shown to the sovereign and to wipe the nose out to the British. Three masters are taking the case, one of them is Lefty. They gather and go to the county town of Mtsensk to bow to the icon of St. Nicholas that is there. Having done this, the masters come back home and start working. Nobody knows what they are doing. The citizens are very curious about what happens outside the workshop, but the work is a huge secret.

N. Leskov. Lefty. The summary of the story: the return and resentment of Platov

By the established date, Platov is sent to the return route. All the way he drives the Cossacks accompanying him, he can not wait to see the work. Arriving in Tula, he immediately goes to the masters, but they do not open the door, because the work is finished. Only Platov is impatient, he forces the Cossacks to knock out the door with a log. But the masters are adamant and ask to wait a little longer. After a while they go out. Two of them go empty-handed, and the third carries the same "aglick" flea. There is no limit to Platov's indignation, he does not understand what exactly was done. And the masters answer only one thing, that everything is still in sight, and they advise you to take the flea to the sovereign. Nothing remains Platov, only to return to Petersburg, but with him he takes Lefty, so that he for all answered.

N. Leskov. Lefty. Short story: Lefty goes to England

Seeing that the Tula masters of the flea were shod, the sovereign comes to admiration and sends Lefty to take her as a gift to the British. In England, Lefty demonstrates the skill of Russian masters. There he is shown to local factories, they tell how their work is organized, and they propose to stay. Only Left-hander yearns for his homeland, he refuses the offer and goes on a journey, despite the storm.

N. Leskov. Lefty. Summary of the story: Lefty's return to Russia

Returning home, Lefty concludes with a bettick on which of them will drink another. They drink all the way, and it's already getting to the point where the devils seem to be in the sea. In St. Petersburg, a drunken Englishman is taken to the ambassador's house, and Lefty is taken away in a block. There he takes away gifts, demands documents, and then they are sent on open sledges to the hospital for the common people, where all people of an unknown estate are going to die. Before his death, Lefty thinks about his state, asks to tell the emperor that in England guns are not cleaned with a brick and that they do not do this, otherwise they are not fit to shoot. But his instructions remain unreported.

Today, Leskov himself and Lefty are among the things of the past, but people's legends can not be forgotten. The story of Levsha accurately conveys the spirit of that era, and the author himself complains that if the words of the master reached the sovereign, the outcome of the Crimean war would be quite different.