75 лучших рассказов / 75 Best Short Stories

Tyrian scarlet – a natural dye of darkred colour widely used in antiquity

508

Kipling – Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), an English writer, poet and novelist, the Nobel Prize winner in Literature in 1907

509

Tuscany – a region in westcentral Italy

510

Darwin – Charles Darwin (1809–1882), an English naturalist, the author of the theory of evolution by natural selection

511

Austin – Alfred Austin (1840–1921), a British poet and journalist, a Poet Laureate

512

halma – a board game, like checkers, invented in 1880

513

Boxing Day – December 26, the day after Christmas; traditionally boxes of gifts were given to servants, employees and the poor on this day.

514

Titian (1488–1576) – a great Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian schoo

515

Maeterlinck – Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949), a famous Belgian poet and playwright, the Nobel Prize winner in Literature in 1911

516

Sicily – the largest island in Italy, in the Mediterranean Sea

517

Bacchanalian procession – a procession of drunken people

518

Bacchus – in Roman mythology and religion, the god of wine and ecstasy

519

Lord Cornwallis – Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquis Cornwallis (1738–1805), a British soldier and statesman known for his defeat at Yorktown during the American Revolution

520

Yorktown – a historic town in southeastern Virginia, USA, noted for the siege of 1781 during the American Revolutionary War

521

the wars of York and Lancaster – also known as the Wars of the Roses, civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster for the English throne in 1455–1485

522

Elizabeth – Elizabeth I (1533–1603), queen of England in 1558–1603; her reign is traditionally called the Elizabethan Age.

523

bizarrerie = peculiarity ( German )

524

Diogenes (the 4th century BC) – an ancient Greek philosopher known for his rejection of luxury and original way of life

525

Saint Germain(s) – a western suburb of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine, with park and palace built for Louis XIV in 1673

526

William – William IV (1765–1837), king of Great Britain and Ireland (1789–1830) who accepted the Reform Act of 1832 which reduced the power of the crown over the parliament and the government

527

Whig and Tory – two main political parties of the 18th century; the term ‘Whig’, of Scottish origin, was applied to non-conformists who insisted on reducing the power of the king, and the Irish term ‘Tory’ was applied to those who supported hereditary rights to the throne.

528

Debenham – a town in Suffolk, a historic county in eastern England

529

Edinburgh – the capital of Scotland, located in southeastern Scotland

530

bon vivant – a merry man who enjoys life ( French )

531

wynd = lane, side street

532

quid pro quo = this for that ( Latin )

533

gig – a light, open, two-wheeled one-horse carriage, first appeared in the 17th century in Paris

534

cras tibi – the second part of the expression ‘Hodie mihi cras tibi’ – ‘Today for me, tomorrow for you.’ ( Latin )

535

the Jacobean style – the style in literature, art and architecture of the Jacobean age, the time of the reign of James I of England (1603–1625); the Jacobean age followed the Elizabethan age, and the two had very much in common.

536

Assizes – court sessions held in every county of England to try civil and criminal cases before High Court Judges

537

Mathematical Tripos – a highly competitive mathematical contest at the University of Cambridge

538

Senior Wrangler – a student who takes first-class honours in Mathematical Tripos

539

Saint Anthony (251–356) – a Christian monk who lived in Egypt, practiced ascetic life and withstood many temptations in his legendary combat against the Devil; Saint Anthony is considered the founder of monasticism.

540

divertissement – here: distraction from work ( French )

541

Conic Sections, Cycloid Oscillations, Principia, Quaternions, Thermodynamics – famous scientific and philosophical works on mathematics and physics

542

Dracula – a fictional character, a villain with supernatural powers and vampire, invented by Bram Stoker in his famous novel; the character is based on Vlad III Dracula, prince of Wallachia, known for his cruelty.

543

Munich – the capital of Bavaria, the land in southern Germany, founded in 1157

544

maitre d’hotel = hotel manager ( French )

545

Ja, mein Herr = Yes, sir ( German )

546

Walpurgis nacht – Walpurgis Night, a holiday on April 30, celebrated in northern Europe and Scandinavia; people light fires, sing and make loud noise to keep off the evil forces; on this day the witches are said to gather on Brocken, the mountain in Harz, Germany.

547

copse = poet. coppice

548