The Bishop and Other StoriesChekhov, Anton Pavlovich
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The Bishop and Other Stories
Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich
Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich, 1860-1904 -- Translations into English; Russia -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
Yegorushka had never in his life seen so much money as was lying
on the table before him. There must have been a great deal of money,
for the roll of seven thousand eight hundred, which Father Christopher
put aside for Varlamov, seemed very small compared with the whole
heap. At any other time such a mass of money would have impressed
Yegorushka, and would have moved him to reflect how many cracknels,
buns and poppy-cakes could be bought for that money. Now he looked
at it listlessly, only conscious of the disgusting smell of kerosene
and rotten apples that came from the heap of notes. He was exhausted
by the jolting ride in the chaise, tired out and sleepy. His head
was heavy, his eyes would hardly keep open and his thoughts were
tangled like threads. If it had been possible he would have been
relieved to lay his head on the table, so as not to see the lamp
and the fingers moving over the heaps of notes, and to have let his
tired sleepy thoughts go still more at random. When he tried to
keep awake, the light of the lamp, the cups and the fingers grew
double, the samovar heaved and the smell of rotten apples seemed
even more acrid and disgusting.
"Ah, money, money!" sighed Father Christopher, smiling. "You bring
trouble! Now I expect my Mihailo is asleep and dreaming that I am
going to bring him a heap of money like this."
"Your Mihailo Timofevitch is a man who doesn't understand business,"
said Kuzmitchov in an undertone; "he undertakes what isn't his work,
but you understand and can judge. You had better hand over your
wool to me, as I have said already, and I would give you half a
rouble above my own price--yes, I would, simply out of regard for
you. . . ."
"No, Ivan Ivanitch." Father Christopher sighed. "I thank you for
your kindness. . . . Of course, if it were for me to decide, I
shouldn't think twice about it; but as it is, the wool is not mine,
as you know. . . ."
Moisey Moisevitch came in on tiptoe. Trying from delicacy not to
look at the heaps of money, he stole up to Yegorushka and pulled
at his shirt from behind.
"Come along, little gentleman," he said in an undertone, "come and
see the little bear I can show you! Such a queer, cross little bear.
Oo-oo!"
The sleepy boy got up and listlessly dragged himself after Moisey
Moisevitch to see the bear. He went into a little room, where,
before he saw anything, he felt he could not breathe from the smell
of something sour and decaying, which was much stronger here than
in the big room and probably spread from this room all over the
house. One part of the room was occupied by a big bed, covered with
a greasy quilt and another by a chest of drawers and heaps of rags
of all kinds from a woman's stiff petticoat to children's little
breeches and braces. A tallow candle stood on the chest of drawers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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