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Letters of Anton Chekhov (Tchekhov) - Penn State University

Letters of Anton Chekhov (Tchekhov) - Penn State University

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<strong>Anton</strong> <strong>Chekhov</strong>BOGIMOVO, May 27, 4 o’clock in the Morning.The mongoose has run away into the woods and has not comeback. It is cold. I have no money. But nevertheless, I don’t envy you.One cannot live in town now, it is both dreary and unwholesome. Ishould like you to be sitting from morning till dinner-time in thisverandah, drinking tea and writing something artistic, a play or something;and after dinner till evening, fishing and thinking peacefulthoughts. You have long ago earned the right which is denied younow by all sorts <strong>of</strong> chance circumstances, and it seems to me shamefuland unjust that I should live more peacefully than you. Is itpossible that you will stay all June in town? It’s really terrible ….… By the way, read Grigorovitch’s letter to my enemy AnnaIvanovna. Let her soul rejoice. “<strong>Chekhov</strong> belongs to the generationwhich has perceptibly begun to turn away from the West and concentratemore closely on their own world ….” “Venice and Florenceare nothing else than dull towns for a man <strong>of</strong> any intelligence ….”Merci, but I don’t understand persons <strong>of</strong> such intelligence. One wouldhave to be a bull to “turn away from the West” on arriving for thefirst time in Venice or Florence. There is very little intelligence indoing so. But I should like to know who is taking the trouble toannounce to the whole universe that I did not like foreign parts.Good Lord! I never let drop one word about it. I liked even Bologna.Whatever ought I to have done? Howled with rapture? Brokenthe windows? Embraced Frenchmen? Do they say I gained no ideas?But I fancy I did ….We must see each other—or more correctly, I must see you. I ammissing you already, although to-day I caught two hundred andfifty-two carp and one crayfish.251

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