Letters of Anton Chekhov (Tchekhov) - Penn State University

Anton Chekhovturmoil of the cholera, and the poverty which has kept tight hold ofme all the summer, I have liked the life and wanted to live. Howmany trees I have planted! Thanks to our system of cultivation,Melihovo has become unrecognizable, and seems now extraordinarilysnug and beautiful, though very likely it is good for nothing.Great is the power of habit and the sense of property. And it’s marvelloushow pleasant it is not to have to pay rent. We have madenew acquaintances and formed new relations. Our old terrors infacing the peasants now seem ludicrous. I have served in the Zemstvo,have presided at the Sanitary Council and visited the factories, andI liked all that. They think of me now as one of themselves, and staythe night with me when they pass through Melihovo. Add to that,that we have bought ourselves a new comfortable covered carriage,have made a new road, so that now we don’t drive through the village.We are digging a pond …. Anything else? In fact hitherto everythinghas been new and interesting, but how it will be later on, Idon’t know. There is snow already, it is cold, but I don’t feel drawnto Moscow. So far I have not had any feeling of dulness.* * *The educated people here are very charming and interesting. Whatmatters most, they are honest. Only the police are unattractive.We have seven horses, a broad-faced calf, and puppies, called Muirand Merrilees ….313