Oleshkevich by Adam Mickiewicz. Short summary

5 seconds

Late at night, a company was walking over the Neva River. The men go down to the river, where they notice a stranger. The stranger measures something in the water and writes his calculations in a notebook.

1 minute

Late in the evening, a company was walking over the Neva. The streets were empty at this time. Those gathered were conversing in the language of a foreign land and singing foreign songs.

At the point where the descent led down steps to the river, a lonely black figure could be seen. A man with a lantern was standing by the water. He was looking into the river. The stranger pulled a rope from the water and counted the knots on it. After that, he writes down the numbers in his notebook. The man tries to calculate how deep the river is.

The hero is approached by the company. He heard them, but continued his calculations and only waved his hand, asking him not to be distracted. One of the men who came recognizes the stranger as a Polish painter. His palette was now lying idle, as he had taken up science and begun to study the Kabbalah.

Rumor has it that spirits have spoken to him. Suddenly the sorcerer closed his book, stood up and told him that a day of miracles would come with the rising sun. After the second punishment would come a third, which he did not want to see.