Letters of Anton Chekhov (Tchekhov) - Penn State University

Anton Chekhov* * *How glad I am when I am forced to stop somewhere for the night!I no sooner roll into bed than I am asleep. Here, travelling and notsleeping at night, one prizes sleep above everything. There is nogreater enjoyment in life than sleep when one is sleepy. In Moscow,in Russia generally, I never was sleepy as I understand the wordnow. I went to bed simply because one had to. But now! Anotherobservation. On a journey one has no desire for spirits. I can’t drink.I smoke a great deal. One’s mind does not work well. I cannot putmy thoughts together. Time flies rapidly, so that one scarcely noticesit, from ten o’clock in the morning to seven o’clock in theevening. Evening comes quickly after morning. It’s just the samewhen one is seriously ill. The wind and the rain have made my faceall scaly, and when I look in the looking-glass I don’t recognize myonce noble features.I am not going to describe Tomsk. All the towns are alike in Russia.Tomsk is a dull and intemperate town. There are absolutely nogood-looking women, and the disregard for justice is Asiatic. Thetown is remarkable for the fact that governors die in it.If my letters are short, careless, or dry, don’t be cross, for one cannotalways be oneself on a journey and write as one wants to. Theink is bad, and there is always a hair or a splodge on one’s pen.167