Tsehhov daam koeraga Chekov Lady and the Lapdog
Among the assembled guests is a young officer of engineers, Hermann, who
is of German origin, and who never gambles, but observes the play keenly. Tomsky, another member of the
company, remarks that his octogenarian grandmother, the Countess Anna Fedotovna, also does not "punt"
despite the circumstances of an anecdote, which (summarised as follows) he then proceeds to narrate:
Sixty years before (i.e. about 1770) the Countess was the rage of Paris, known there as la Vénus
moscovite. Having lost a considerable sum at cards (at the game of faro) to the Duke of Orleans,
Literary Encyclopedia: Pikovaia dama 10/20/2007 07:09 PM
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moscovite. Having lost a considerable sum at cards (at the game of faro) to the Duke of Orleans,
which her husband refused to cover, she faced financial and social ruin. In desperation, she turned to
annaabi.ee 
