Royal54-07-2843Queen Of Spades

Transcribed. Orson has chosen a famous story by Alexander Pushkin, which you may know.

It is a tale of excitement and suspense which I think you like. Here he is then, Orson Wells, in the role of Herman in the Queen of Spades. Three, seven, ace, Three, seven, ace, Three, seven, ace, Three, seven, queen, queen.

So they say I'm mad to the... They say I'm out of my mind hearing the Book of Hospital Rule number 17, just as though I word out of my mind. Listen my friends, listen, I'm no more insane than you are.

No more insane than I was. That evening, that evening at Naramos. Naramos of the Horse Gods, the night of the card party. And how did you make out for him? Did you win? No, no, I lost. Just as I always do.

I always have been unlucky at cards. I play carefully. Never raised the stakes. Keep my head. Never let myself be put out. Yes, I always lose. And you've never been tempted into putting your winnings back onto a sequence?

All on one card, double on the second, double again on the third. Not me, I'm afraid. You surprised me. I wish I'd got your temperament. What about Herman here? He's never had a card in his hand in his life.

Yet he sits here till five in the morning, just watching us play. Why not play fascinates me, just to watch. And you never want to join in and try your luck? No, no, no. I'm in no position to throw away what I've got in the hope of winning more than I need.

Well, if you never start gambling, I suppose you never acquire a taste for it. But you know, there's one person I can't understand. What was that? My grandmother, the Countess, and the Fido Tofma. She never touches a Count.