In this collection by Nikolay Alexandrovich Leykin, a classic satirist of the late 19th century, as always there is an abundance of everyday details and signs of the time, and the themes of the stories remain relevant in every era. The arbitrariness of the rich, emotional blackmail to extort money (both by children of their parents and by “gentlemen” preying on naive ladies), the frivolity of young girls, and excessive loquaciousness. The author also does not bypass such issues that are still burning today: strange passengers on a train, behavior in queues, a passionate desire to go on a spree, and ubiquitous drunkenness. The phenomena touched upon are hardly something you could call “funny,” but that is precisely the power of a talented humorist: not only to expose society’s vices, but to do so in a way that’s entertaining. The collection is concluded by a substantial story interspersed with hilarious parodies of Leykin’s contemporary figures.