Authors, Russian -- 19th century -- Biography; Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich, 1860-1904
Chekhov's study in his Yalta house was not big, about twelve strides
long and six wide, modest, but breathing a peculiar charm. Just opposite
the entrance was a large square window in a frame of yellow colored
glass. To the left of the entrance, by the window, stood a writing
table, and behind it was a small niche, lighted from the ceiling, by a
tiny window. In the niche was a Turkish divan. To the right, in the
middle of the wall was a brown fireplace of Dutch tiles. On the top of
the fireplace there is a small hole where a tile is missing, and in this
is a carelessly painted but lovely landscape of an evening field with
hayricks in the distance; the work of Levitan. Further, in the corner,
there is a door, through which is seen Anton Pavlovitch's bachelor
bedroom, a bright, gay room, shining with a certain virgin cleanliness,
whiteness and innocence. The walls of the study are covered with dark
and gold papers, and by the writing table hangs a printed placard: "You
are requested not to smoke." Immediately by the entrance door, to the
right, there is a book-case with books. On the mantelpiece there are
some bric-a-brac and among them a beautifully made model of a sailing
ship. There are many pretty things made of ivory and wood on the writing
table; models of elephants being in the majority. On the walls hang
portraits of Tolstoy, Grigorovitch, and Turgenev. On a little table with
a fan-like stand are a number of photographs of actors and authors.
Heavy dark curtains fall on both sides of the window. On the floor is a
large carpet of oriental design. This softens all the outlines and
darkens the study; yet the light from the window falls evenly and
pleasantly on the writing table. The room smells of very fine scents of
which A. Pavlovitch was very fond. From the window is seen an open
horseshoe-shaped hollow, running down to the sea, and the sea itself,
surrounded by an amphitheatre of houses. On the left, on the right, and
behind, rise mountains in a semi-circle. In the evenings, when the
lights are lit in the hilly environs of Yalta and the lights and the
stars over them are so mixed that you cannot distinguish one from the
other,--then the place reminds one of certain spots in the Caucasus.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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