An excerpt characterizing Ryndin, Lidia Dmitrievna. Condition: good, slightly bent corners

In 1913, she began acting in films - first with Ermolyev, where her partners were Mozzhukhin and Strizhevsky, and then at Khanzhonkov’s studio, where with her different paintings played by Polonsky, Radin.

Even before the revolution, during her trips to Paris, Lydia Ryndina met the famous doctor Papus (Gerard Encausse), the head of the then French Martinism and author large quantity books on occult matters. Dr. Papus was introduced to the Russian Imperial Couple by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, and then three times in , and at the invitation of Emperor Nicholas II, he was in Russia, where he founded his Martinist lodge in St. Petersburg, of which the emperor at one time was a member. Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich with his wife and other members of the imperial family. Doctor Papus thought very highly of Lydia Ryndina and gave her great attention; he introduced her to a number of interesting people in the French esoteric environment and gave her a special initiation into the inner circle of his organization.

Lidia Dmitrievna Ryndina, despite her constant employment as a theater and then cinema artist, always found time to engage in spiritual issues and esotericism. She and her husband, poet Sergei Krechetov (S. A. Sokolov), owner of the Grif publishing house, constantly gathered in their apartment with representatives of the Moscow literary community, including Andrei Bely, Valery Bryusov and others. In Moscow in 1913, she became friends with the Indian musician and mystic Inayat Khan, she writes about this in her memoirs.

Andrei Bely, who at that time was interested in Martinism (as he later was in anthroposophy), interested Lydia Ryndina and Sergei Krechetov in it. In Moscow at that time, the ancient center of Russian Martinism continued to exist, preserved from the times of Nikolai Novikov and Lopukhin, famous figures of Russian enlightenment of Catherine’s time.

She was an active member of the “St. John” lodge (founded by G. O. Moebes in 1910, and moved in 1913 to Moscow under the leadership of the P. M. Kaznacheev family), being the wife of the famous political freemason S. A. Sokolov-Krechetov. The Martinists in Moscow met privately in the apartments of one of their members. The apartment of S. Krechetov and L. Ryndina in Moscow, on Pimenovsky Lane, served as a meeting place for a number of years.

She retained her interest in spiritual issues even when she was in exile. She continued to be keenly interested in all new books in this field and maintained contact with a number of occultists in France and with Russian mystics scattered throughout the world, and was a correspondent for the magazine “Occultism and Yoga”, published by Dr. Aseev.

Lidia Dmitrievna was not only an artist: she was also a writer and journalist. While still in Moscow, she published her first book: a translation of stories by Marcel Schwob. Her book “Favorites of Rock” was published in Berlin, and then in Riga - the comic crime novel “Living Masks”. No one had written comic crime novels then... She wrote a number of stories - all of them were published in various periodicals. Some recent years was a Paris correspondent for the New Dawn newspaper in San Francisco.

Filmography

- “Lula Bek” - Director: Evgeniy Bauer. Actors: Lydia Ryndina ( Lyulya Beck), Mikhail Salarov ( Witold). - Psychological drama about love and self-sacrifice.
- “Nikolai Stavrogin” / “Demons” - Director: Yakov Protazanov. - Screen adaptation of F. Dostoevsky’s novel “Demons”.
- “Petersburg slums” - Director: Vladimir Gardin. Actors: Olga Preobrazhenskaya, Lydia Ryndina, Lyudmila Sycheva, Ivan Mozzhukhin (in the 4th episode), Vladimir Maximov ( Veresov).
- “Retribution.” - Director: Evgeniy Bauer. Actors: Vera Caralli (two roles: Masha Belskaya; Lady Hermione), Witold Polonsky ( Prince Chelsky), Lydia Ryndina ( Princess Mary, Masha's cousin), Ivan Perestiani ( Count Zapolsky), Vladimir Strizhevsky ( Andrey Pavlovich), Marfa Kassatskaya ( Princess Zavarskaya), Alexander Kheruvimov ( Ilmenev). - Drama based on a plot borrowed from novel of the same name Matilda Serao.
- "Life, defeated by death" - Director: Evgeniy Bauer. Actors: Lydia Ryndina ( Kitty), Ivan Perestiani ( Alexei), T. Maksimova ( Elena, Alexei's wife), Alexander Kheruvimov ( doctor). - Psychological drama. - The film has not survived.
- “The Witch” - Director: Evgeniy Bauer. Actors: Lina Bauer ( Countess Dzhevulskaya, "sorceress"), Ivan Perestiani ( Kazimir Tysnyansky, count forester), Witold Polonsky ( Vladislav, brother of Casimir), Lydia Ryndina ( Maria of Tours, Casimir's bride), Alexander Kheruvimov ( Maria's father
- “Broken Chains” / “Song of Love and Suffering” - Director: Evgeniy Bauer. Actors: Witold Polonsky ( Kartsev, composer), Lydia Ryndina ( Kartsev's wife), Lina Bauer ( Beatrice Bionconi, Italian singer ), Alexander Kheruvimov ( Beatrice's father, naval captain 1). - Based on the plot of the novel of the same name by E. Werner. - The film has not survived.
- “Lies” / “Storms of Life” - Director: Evgeniy Bauer. Actors: Vyacheslav Svoboda ( Lieutenant Luchinin), Lydia Ryndina ( Irina Nikolaevna Ivanova), Alexandra Rebikova ( Olga, daughter of Irina Nikolaevna), Tasya Borman ( Nadya, Olga's sister), Mikhail Stalsky ( Gorelov, family friend), Andrey Gromov ( Colonel Strict). - Drama. - The film has not survived.
- “Der Unbekannte aus Russland” (Germany) - Director: Hans Otto.
- “Der Mann auf dem Kometen” (Germany) - Director: Alfred Halm.

Essays

Poetry of our time and the woman poet // Women's life. 1916. № 3
Favorites of rock (Nel Gwin. Marquise Pompadour. Princess Dashkova. Lady Hamilton, etc.). - Berlin, 1923. - Reprint. in Riga under the title (1930).
Living masks: A novel. - Riga, 1936.
From the diaries of L. D. Ryndina / Publ. N. Bogomolova // Faces. Biographical almanac. Vol. 10. - St. Petersburg. , 2004.
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An excerpt characterizing Ryndin, Lidia Dmitrievna

No matter how cramped and no one needed and no matter how difficult his life now seemed to Prince Andrei, he, just like seven years ago at Austerlitz on the eve of the battle, felt agitated and irritated.
Orders for tomorrow's battle were given and received by him. There was nothing else he could do. But the simplest, clearest thoughts and therefore terrible thoughts did not leave him alone. He knew that tomorrow's battle was going to be the most terrible of all those in which he participated, and the possibility of death for the first time in his life, without any regard to everyday life, without consideration of how it would affect others, but only according to in relation to himself, to his soul, with vividness, almost with certainty, simply and horribly, it presented itself to him. And from the height of this idea, everything that had previously tormented and occupied him was suddenly illuminated by a cold white light, without shadows, without perspective, without distinction of outlines. His whole life seemed to him magic lantern, into which he looked for a long time through glass and under artificial lighting. Now he suddenly saw, without glass, in bright daylight, these poorly painted pictures. “Yes, yes, these are the false images that worried and delighted and tormented me,” he said to himself, turning over in his imagination the main pictures of his magic lantern of life, now looking at them in this cold white light of day - a clear thought of death. “Here they are, these crudely painted figures that seemed to be something beautiful and mysterious. Glory, the public good, love for a woman, the fatherland itself - how great these pictures seemed to me, what deep meaning they seemed fulfilled! And all this is so simple, pale and rough in the cold white light of that morning, which I feel is rising for me. Three major sorrows of his life in particular occupied his attention. His love for a woman, the death of his father and the French invasion that captured half of Russia. “Love!.. This girl, who seemed to me full of mysterious powers. How I loved her! I made poetic plans about love, about happiness with it. Oh dear boy! – he said out loud angrily. - Of course! I believed in something perfect love, who had to keep her faithful to me for whole year my absence! Like the tender dove of a fable, she was to wither away from me. And all this is much simpler... All this is terribly simple, disgusting!
My father also built in Bald Mountains and thought that this was his place, his land, his air, his men; but Napoleon came and, not knowing about his existence, pushed him off the road like a piece of wood, and his Bald Mountains and his whole life fell apart. And Princess Marya says that this is a test sent from above. What is the purpose of the test when it no longer exists and will not exist? will never happen again! He's gone! So who is this test for? Fatherland, death of Moscow! And tomorrow he will kill me - and not even a Frenchman, but one of his own, as yesterday a soldier emptied a gun near my ear, and the French will come, take me by the legs and head and throw me into a hole so that I don’t stink under their noses, and new conditions will arise lives that will also be familiar to others, and I will not know about them, and I will not exist.”
He looked at the strip of birch trees with their motionless yellow, green and white bark, glistening in the sun. “To die, so that they would kill me tomorrow, so that I wouldn’t exist... so that all this would happen, but I wouldn’t exist.” He vividly imagined the absence of himself in this life. And these birches with their light and shadow, and these curly clouds, and this smoke from the fires - everything around was transformed for him and seemed something terrible and threatening. A chill ran down his spine. Quickly getting up, he left the barn and began to walk.
Voices were heard behind the barn.
- Who's there? – Prince Andrei called out.
The red-nosed captain Timokhin, the former company commander of Dolokhov, now, due to the decline of officers, a battalion commander, timidly entered the barn. He was followed by the adjutant and the regimental treasurer.
Prince Andrei hastily stood up, listened to what the officers had to convey to him, gave them some more orders and was about to let them go, when a familiar, whispering voice was heard from behind the barn.
- Que diable! [Damn it!] - said the voice of a man who bumped into something.
Prince Andrei, looking out of the barn, saw Pierre approaching him, who tripped on a lying pole and almost fell. It was generally unpleasant for Prince Andrei to see people from his world, especially Pierre, who reminded him of all those difficult moments that he experienced on his last visit to Moscow.
- That's how! - he said. - What destinies? I didn't wait.
While he was saying this, in his eyes and the expression of his whole face there was more than dryness - there was hostility, which Pierre immediately noticed. He approached the barn in the most animated state of mind, but when he saw the expression on Prince Andrei’s face, he felt constrained and awkward.
“I arrived... so... you know... I arrived... I’m interested,” said Pierre, who had already senselessly repeated this word “interesting” so many times that day. “I wanted to see the battle.”
- Yes, yes, what do the Masonic brothers say about the war? How to prevent it? - said Prince Andrei mockingly. - Well, what about Moscow? What are mine? Have you finally arrived in Moscow? – he asked seriously.
- We've arrived. Julie Drubetskaya told me. I went to see them and didn’t find them. They left for the Moscow region.

The officers wanted to take their leave, but Prince Andrei, as if not wanting to remain face to face with his friend, invited them to sit and drink tea. Benches and tea were served. The officers, not without surprise, looked at the thick, huge figure of Pierre and listened to his stories about Moscow and the disposition of our troops, which he managed to travel around. Prince Andrei was silent, and his face was so unpleasant that Pierre addressed himself more to the good-natured battalion commander Timokhin than to Bolkonsky.
- So, did you understand the entire disposition of the troops? - Prince Andrei interrupted him.
- Yes, that is, how? - said Pierre. “As a non-military person, I can’t say that I completely, but I still understood the general arrangement.”
“Eh bien, vous etes plus avance que qui cela soit, [Well, you know more than anyone else.],” said Prince Andrei.
- A! - Pierre said in bewilderment, looking through his glasses at Prince Andrei. - Well, what do you say about the appointment of Kutuzov? - he said.
“I was very happy about this appointment, that’s all I know,” said Prince Andrei.
- Well, tell me, what is your opinion about Barclay de Tolly? In Moscow, God knows what they said about him. How do you judge him?
“Ask them,” said Prince Andrei, pointing to the officers.
Pierre looked at him with a condescendingly questioning smile, with which everyone involuntarily turned to Timokhin.
“They saw the light, your Excellency, as your Serene Highness did,” Timokhin said, timidly and constantly looking back at his regimental commander.
- Why is this so? asked Pierre.
- Yes, at least about firewood or feed, I’ll report to you. After all, we were retreating from the Sventsyans, don’t you dare touch a twig, or some hay, or anything. After all, we are leaving, he gets it, isn’t it, your Excellency? - he turned to his prince, - don’t you dare. In our regiment, two officers were put on trial for such matters. Well, as His Serene Highness did, it just became so about this. We saw the light...
- So why did he forbid it?
Timokhin looked around in confusion, not understanding how or what to answer such a question. Pierre turned to Prince Andrei with the same question.
“And so as not to ruin the region that we left to the enemy,” said Prince Andrei with malicious mockery. – This is very thorough; The region must not be allowed to be plundered and the troops must not be accustomed to looting. Well, in Smolensk he also correctly judged that the French could get around us and that they had more strength. But he couldn’t understand that,” Prince Andrei suddenly shouted in a thin voice, as if breaking out, “but he couldn’t understand that we fought there for the first time for Russian land, that there was such a spirit in the troops that I had never seen, that We fought off the French for two days in a row and that this success increased our strength tenfold. He ordered a retreat, and all efforts and losses were in vain. He didn’t think about betrayal, he tried to do everything as best as possible, he thought it over; but that’s why it’s no good. He is no good now precisely because he thinks everything over very thoroughly and carefully, as every German should. How can I tell you... Well, your father has a German footman, and he is an excellent footman and will satisfy all his needs better than you, and let him serve; but if your father is sick at the point of death, you will drive away the footman and with your unusual, clumsy hands you will begin to follow your father and calm him down better than a skilled but stranger. That's what they did with Barclay. While Russia was healthy, a stranger could serve her, and she had an excellent minister, but as soon as she was in danger; I need my own dear person. And in your club they made up the idea that he was a traitor! The only thing they will do by slandering him as a traitor is that later, ashamed of their false accusation, they will suddenly make a hero or a genius out of the traitors, which will be even more unfair. He is an honest and very neat German...
“However, they say he is a skilled commander,” said Pierre.
“I don’t understand what a skilled commander means,” said Prince Andrey with mockery.
“A skillful commander,” said Pierre, “well, the one who foresaw all the contingencies... well, guessed the thoughts of the enemy.”
“Yes, this is impossible,” said Prince Andrei, as if about a long-decided matter.
Pierre looked at him in surprise.
“However,” he said, “they say that war is like a chess game.”
“Yes,” said Prince Andrei, “only with this small difference that in chess you can think about every step as much as you like, that you are there outside the conditions of time, and with this difference that a knight is always stronger than a pawn and two pawns are always stronger.” one, and in war one battalion is sometimes stronger than a division, and sometimes weaker than a company. The relative strength of the troops cannot be known to anyone. Believe me,” he said, “if anything depended on the orders of the headquarters, I would have been there and made the orders, but instead I have the honor of serving here, in the regiment with these gentlemen, and I think that we really tomorrow will depend, not on them... Success has never depended and will not depend on position, weapons, or even numbers; and least of all from the position.

Ryndina Lydia. Priestesses of love. - M.: Dikop, 1990. - 112 p.

ANNOTATION: The book, written 60 years ago, contains short biographies of famous women XVII - XIX centuries, daughters of their countries and peoples. They were accompanied by luck, love, happiness, fame, disappointments. Their names - forgotten and half-forgotten - remained in history. Contents: Nell Gwyn. Marquise Pompadour. Princess Dashkova. Lady Hamilton. Angelica Kaufman. Countess Du Barry. Lady Sarah Lenox. Madame Recamier.

Paperback, regular format.

Condition: good, slightly bent corners.

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Lydia Ryndina
Priestesses of love

In loving memory of the one who passed away early,
my wonderful friend
Olga Ivanovna Neverova,
whose image invisibly overshadowed my work,
With tender love I dedicate this Book

Preface

"How short is the life of mortals!
How much fate is unknown!
Today he lies dead.
Who was lovely yesterday"
From an old grave inscription
at the cemetery of the Novo-Devichiy Convent in Moscow

Artificial ponds of Versailles, shady alleys Sans Souci, the toy chambers of Trianon, the palaces of St. Petersburg, miraculously emerging over the swamps, the silver peacocks of St. James's Park - all this brilliant Second Renaissance belongs to a woman. This entire capricious, refined, scent-intoxicated era was created either by the inspiration of a woman or for her sake. Over painting, architecture, science, politics - over everything, publicly or secretly, her spirit, her will reigned. It must have been fate. Having brought a woman out of the eternal Inquisition in the West, and from prison in the East, he announced to the world that she was his favorite. And everything bowed down. Shadows of sadness lie on the woman’s face; her eyes speak of torment and slavery in medieval portraits. Precisely anticipating her victory, but not yet believing it, she smiles timidly from the portraits of the 17th century. But she looks boldly, flirtatiously and proudly from the 18th century portrait. Wherever she reigned - in her estate in England, in the salon of France, in the palace of Vienna or St. Petersburg, everywhere there was a victorious smile on her face. She knows that she is alive and that she, no matter for a moment, for a part or for the rest of her life, is Rock’s favorite. What if she was born not in a palace, but in a basement, in a rooming house or in a provincial wilderness. She will find her everywhere and mark her with her sadness. There are many of them, marked. My choice is purely personal, and I am talking about those who, in my opinion, express their time more clearly than others and in whose images it appears clearer and more complete for me. In giving these eight portraits, I know well that my book is far from exhausting everything that has been preserved about them from the past. Perhaps I left a lot of very important things in the shadows. I’ve probably brought up a lot of things that may seem like insignificant details to others. I am a woman and I wrote about women.

Lydia Ryndina

Nel Gwin.
1650-1687

“All theatrical galleries, seats, boxes must be destroyed,” says the English law of 1647. “Henceforth all actors shall be subject to public flogging, and any spectator of theatrical performances caught shall pay five shillings for each such offence.” This law was not a dead letter. An actor caught in the act was not only beaten, but often subjected to torture, such as having his tongue burned with a hot iron. Plin wrote in his Puritan proclamations even before Cromwell's victory: " Theater performances- these are sinful, pagan, shameful, godless spectacles and very destructive debauchery, condemned in all centuries as an intolerable sin against church and state." Even if Cromwell wanted to look at the theater more leniently, he could not do it, because that his soldiers destroyed theaters, it seemed, with even greater ferocity than Catholic churches. The Puritans destroyed the theater - it was no longer in England and was not for 15 years. With the accession of Charles II to the throne, the right of existence was returned to the theater. The crowd, which once destroyed theaters, rushed at them with hungry greed. Having just been a symbol of debauchery and lawlessness, the theater became a bearer of lofty ideas and talent. The revival of the theater was marked by two very large reforms in it. Firstly, the former inscriptions “Forest” - "The palace" was replaced by luxurious scenery more or less suitable for the play. The costumes were very rich, but still were not made appropriate to the era. The actor who played the Mongol king dressed in the costume of Charles II (and often these were clothes presented to the actor from the royal shoulder), and the Roman matron - along the very latest fashion Restorations. The second important reform of the theater was the appearance of women in it. Everything before that female roles performed by men. In France, women have long appeared on the stage, but in England this has only just come. The first woman on the English stage was Marguerite Hughes. At this moment of heightened attention to the theater, Nell Gwyn appeared on his horizon.

II.

Who she is and where she comes from has been talked about and written about a lot, but her entire life before appearing on stage is known only more or less reliably. The more accurate information that has reached us about her past before the stage is as follows. She was born on 2 February 1650 in Hereford and was brought to London as a child by her parents. Her father was a retired soldier who died in a debtor's prison when she was still a little girl. The family could not have a beneficial influence on her at all. Her sister, Rose Gwyn, was tried for theft in 1663. Nell Gwyn lived with her mother in a poor area crowded with shelters - Coll Yard. Dirty, in torn dress, Nell fussed all day long on the street, in the dust or in puddles, with her equally ragged peers. This time left its mark on her entire life. No matter how fate elevated her later, she always remained the same street girl from Coll Yard both in her manners and in her far from refined way of expressing her thoughts. At that time, a certain Mrs. Ross, the owner of a low-class brothel, lived near the Coll Yard. Thirteen-year-old Nell’s mother placed her in this livestock trading house to pour and serve strong drinks to visitors. The most amazing thing is that, having stayed in this den for more than a year, Nell remained as before a lively girl, clean and healthy in body and soul. Mrs. Ross had a habit of forcing her girls to earn money through petty street trading until she saw a more profitable income for them. For this purpose, she sent Nell to sell oranges in Royal Theater. The little traders who appeared during intermissions with their oranges in the theater stalls enjoyed great success! It was considered rude not to give them the price they asked for, so they made good money. Nelle was 15 years old at the time. Her pretty, mocking face, framed by magnificent red curls, her witty and lively conversation amused the audience, and she quickly took a leading place among her friends. During this period of her life, she had her first lover, a young theater lamp maker. Nell always spoke of his love for her with tenderness. She was especially touched by the memory of how one day, stuttering and blushing, he brought her his first gift, a pair of woolen stockings. Were very coldy, and Nell’s legs suffered greatly from the cold. The little lamp maker worked twice as hard, bought woolen stockings and was happier than all the lords in the world because he brought joy to his beloved.

III.

Nelle attracted attention in the theater and more significant persons than a small lamp maker. Carl Hart, the largest actor of that time, began to take a closer look at her conversation, moving face and graceful figure. He soon decided that Nelle had great comedic talent and planned to make her an actress. Despite the statements of some people, there is every reason to believe that the relationship between Nelle and Hart was only friendly. He was the first to discover her true calling, and her artistic instinct did not deceive him. Nelle soon became one of London's most beloved actresses. Nell Gwyn's talent, exclusively comedic, suited the tastes of the public of that time perfectly, according to which Shakespeare's "The Tempest" was remade into an opera, and to "Romeo and Juliet", in addition to the sad ending, they added a funny one and played one day as a tragedy, and the next like a comedy. Nell hated tragic roles and, according to contemporary reviews, played them very poorly. But she had no equal in funny comedy. Nell's financial affairs were now very good, and her former beggar's closet was replaced by a beautiful apartment in the city center, near the theater. Nell was a tremendous success among the public and the press, and the rudeness of the theatrical mores of that time could not confuse and amaze yesterday's street girl. It was, in fact, the most cloudless and happy time her life.

IV.

At this time, in London, among the golden youth, Lord Bock-hurst, Earl Dorsey, was making a lot of noise with his mischievous amusements, a constant terror of the policemen and the police. No one except his friend Carl Sedley could equal him in wild, unbridled adventures. Some of his actions could seem simply insane. It was easy for him and his friend to run naked at night through the streets of London or, in the same suit, to make a frivolous speech in the Cook Tavern in front of a large select audience. Bockhurst was tried many times for his antics. But despite his ugly behavior, he was very loved. He had a lot of personal charm and, oddly enough, good taste and knowledge. He loved art and literature no less than women and wine, and was one of major philanthropists of its time. Few of the poets, writers and artists of contemporary England did not owe something to him. a strange man fell madly in love with Nell Gwyn. Rich, smart, handsome, cheerful Could Nell resist? This was her “Charles the First,” as she called him later. Lord Bockhurst wanted Nell to belong entirely to him. She leaves the stage and goes with him to Epsom. He and his friend Sedley settled in this resort. Of course, not only mineral waters were drunk in the house of Lord Bockhurst. In general, the trio, apparently, lived very cheerfully. Nell spent more than a year in Epsom. Whether the reason was a quarrel with Bockhurst or longing for the stage, it’s difficult to say, but some more than a year later Nell returned to the stage. Since then, there was never a previous relationship with Bockhurst, but as a critic, he continued to treat her well, and she always remained a sincere friend of her “Charles the First.” When Nell returned to the stage, she had to experience the first time a lot of unpleasant things Her teacher, Karl Hart, in whose hands the Royal Theater was in his hands, could not forgive her for leaving the stage and took revenge by giving tragic roles that she was not at all successful at. love" Dryden, Nell took her former position. During one of the performances of "Secret Love" Nell was called to the royal box, and her fate was decided

That Nell captivated Charles II was not surprising. London society at that time greatly valued wit. It was refined and cultivated. Charles II valued him more than others and was himself considered the wittiest person England Pretty Nell had exceptional fluency of speech and natural sharpness of mind. Behind the scenes of the theater they soon began to talk about Nell’s connection with the king. But she herself worked a lot and behaved the same as before, without changing in anything and without changing her way of life. In the spring of 1670 she gave birth to a son in whom the blood of a former orange seller merged with the blue blood of the Stuarts. Soon after the birth of her son, Nelle performs in “Victory over Grenada,” new play Dryden She plays brilliantly, with unprecedented success But this is her farewell role. After this victory, she leaves the stage forever and becomes the official favorite of the king. Nelle was not the first; who won the heart of Charles II. But she alone knew how to hold him until the end of his life. Before her, all the favorites of Charles II tried to take on one or another appearance that was not typical for them. The king, knowing the insincerity of the courtiers, clearly saw his mistresses in relation to him, too, only as a well or poorly played role. Nelle was a good actress on stage, but in life she couldn’t and didn’t want to be anything other than herself. She was a child of the people, with vulgar manners, a harsh, coarse tongue, and a penchant for very strong swearing. She never tried to remake herself and with her expressions horrified all the courtiers and delighted the king. Without redoing yours appearance, she remained the same internally. She loved the king sincerely and behaved with him as she would generally behave with a loved one, not for a single minute taking into account the fact that he was a king. She did not disguise her illegal position with him and called herself simply a “kept woman” or an even harsher word. One day her coachman got into a fight with some man because he called her a “wench.” When Nell found out this, she laughed very much and told the coachman not to dare to fight for it, because she really was a “girl.” But the coachman was offended and said: “They can call you that, but I don’t want to be called the “girl’s” coachman.” In her ridicule of her position, of course, a certain bitterness was felt. In the presence of the king, she called her son batard and apologized for she does not know what to call him otherwise. After one such incident, the king gave him the title of Duke of Albany. Even if Nell had grief associated with the king, she still did not lose her natural gaiety and wit. Now the king settled her in a beautiful house near St. James's Park. In the mornings, walking through the park, surrounded by his dogs and peacocks, he could talk to her through the fence. Passers-by could often observe the scene - Nell hanging over the fence and the king below. Nell was neither greedy nor wasteful She had only an exceptional passion for silver jewelry. Her accounts for silver orders were actually relatively large. She was also an incorrigible gambler. In her house there was always a big gambling, in which she did not always win. Just like when she was an actress, her house was a lot of fun. She loved her former comrades in art and they answered her in kind. Often, with their singing, playing and recitation, they gave her home even more animation and variety. Nell enjoyed the love of the people, rare for a royal favorite. When she was an actress, everyone in London called her "our Nell", and this name remains to this day. She was very generous. Her character is developed very well in the next episode. While riding, she saw that a priest was being led to a debtor's prison. She stopped her carriage and, without asking anything, paid his debts. At her request, the king built the Celsi Hospital for sick and incapacitated soldiers. This hospital still exists today. That this was done at her insistence is, of course, not clear from official data, but this is confirmed by the fact that in Celsi itself there was a custom for more than a hundred years to drink a solemn toast in honor of her as their benefactress. The inscription in a small hotel near Celsi, named after her, speaks of the same thing. In 1679, Nell's mother drowned. Apparently, she fell into one of the canals not entirely sober. Despite the fact that her mother was not at all exemplary towards her, Nell was saddened by her death and gave her a magnificent funeral. In general, in Nell’s soul there was always a longing for family life, and sparingly given to her by fate family joys and sorrows were more important to her than the splendor of the royal chambers.

VI.

Nell was not the only lover of Charles P. When the king fell in love with Nell, Varvala Palmer was also with him. The king gave her the title of duchess and removed her from himself. But Nell had a more dangerous rival, whom the king did not want to remove. This was Louise de Caruail or, as the English called her, “Madame Caruail.” A Frenchwoman, gentle, with a beautiful childish face and slow graceful movements, she appeared near the king when Nell was already his favorite. Louise Kerouail was from an old aristocratic family and was very proud of it. Mocking and harsh Nell, of course, did not miss the opportunity to laugh at her weakness. So one day, after the death of the Prince of Rouen, Louise appeared at court in mourning, declaring that it was her relative. The next day, Nell also appeared in mourning and, when asked about the reason, answered that her relative, Khan of Tatar, had died. Despite mutual ridicule and frequent quarrels, Nelle and Louise were outwardly in good spirits. good relations. They often visited each other and played cards together, borrowing money from each other on occasion. But at the same time, in relation to Louise, Nell behaved very independently and definitely. "This duchess pretends that she is a noble lady, everyone at the French court is her relatives. She dresses in mourning if one of the great persons dies. Good! If this is so, why is she the king's mistress? She should die of shame. What concerns me, I do not pretend to be other than I am. The king took me as his mistress and I am faithful to him. He gave me a child, he must recognize him and he recognizes him, because he loves me no less than his Portsmouth" So conveys m- me Sevigne's words to Nell in his letters. Nell's position was, in general, much better than Louise's. The people loved Nell. She was English and Protestant, and Louise was French and Catholic. People suspected her of being a spy and Catholic influence on the king. The people always attributed all the king’s undesirable actions to the influence of “Madame Caruel” and hated her as ardently as they loved Nell. In 1681, the king took both mistresses with him to parliament sessions in Oxford. One day, when Nell was riding in a royal carriage, she was stopped by a crowd who, thinking that “Madame Caruel” was riding, roared and showered the carriage with stones. Nell knew the people and was not afraid. She stuck her red head out of the carriage and screamed: “Please good people, be polite! I am a Protestant b..." There was general laughter, and the people, with shouts of welcome, made way for her. In addition to the fact that she was a Protestant and an Englishwoman, the people appreciated the fact that she did not interfere in politics and did not seek titles. Other lovers of Charles II received the titles: Varvara Palmer - Duchess of Cleveland, Louise de Kerouail - Duchess of Portsmouth-Nelle was simply Madame Nell Gwyn - an actress, a girl from the people, a former orange saleswoman.

VII.

In 1685, on February 2, Charles II was dying, still sharp even over his terrible torment and impending death. It was Nelle's birthday. Her son, the Duke of Albany, was brought to say goodbye to the king, but she was not allowed. But Charles II remembered Nell. His tongue no longer obeyed him, but his brother, the future King James II, heard clearly last words dying king: “Don’t let poor Nell starve.” King James did not forget this covenant. When Nell was threatened with debtor's prison, in response to her request addressed to him, he paid her debts, gave her a permanent good maintenance and gave her the estate of Betsut Park - near Nottingham. Nell was not destined to live long. She died of apoplexy. Neither her memoirs nor her letters have survived. Only her will has survived, where, just as in her actions, the soul of Nell Gwyn is clearly revealed with her real understanding of poverty and reasonable charity. Apparently, she did not forget the debtor's prison in which her father died and which, like an eternal threat, hung over many close to her in her youth. It seems that no one else thought of leaving such a sum in their will to pay debts for those languishing in debtors' prisons, as Nelle Gwyn did. She died on November 14, 1687. She was buried at his own expense by King James II. The funeral was not very solemn. But London did not forget “its Nell,” and a crying crowd filled the church. If Nell had never lived in the world, the map of Europe would have remained the same, but one interesting and colorful figure from the 17th century would have been missing. If in the 17th century kings no longer married shepherdesses, then in the example of Nell we see that they were still capable of loving orange sellers.