In Canto Two of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) describes a TV program that he and his wife Sybil saw on the eve of their daughter's tragic death and mentions Frost (the poet):
I was in time to overhear brief fame
And have a cup of tea with you: my name
Was mentioned twice, as usual just behind
(one oozy footstep) Frost.
"Sure you don't mind?
I'll catch the Exton plane, because you know
If I don't come by midnight with the dough -" (ll. 423-428)
The parenthetical "one oozy footstep" and the four cantos of Shade's poem bring to mind chetyre smertnye stupeni (four paces, four mortal stairs) mentioned by Pushkin when he describes Onegin's pistol duel with Lenski (Eugene Onegin: Six: XXX):
"Теперь сходитесь».
Хладнокровно,
Еще не целя, два врага
Походкой твердой, тихо, ровно
Четыре перешли шага,
Четыре смертные ступени.
Свой пистолет тогда Евгений,
Не преставая наступать,
Стал первый тихо подымать.
Вот пять шагов еще ступили,
И Ленский, жмуря левый глаз,
Стал также целить — но как раз
Онегин выстрелил... Пробили
Часы урочные: поэт
Роняет молча пистолет.
“Now march.” The two foes, coolly,
not aiming yet,
with firm tread, slowly, steadily
traversed four paces,
four mortal stairs.
His pistol Eugene then,
not ceasing to advance,
gently the first began to raise.
Now they have stepped five paces more,
and Lenski, closing his left eye,
started to level also — but right then
Onegin fired.... The clock of fate
has struck: the poet
in silence drops his pistol.