person
V. S. Mamyshev
Mamyshev
also: В. С. Мамышев, the Zvenigorod Lecocq, звенигородский Лекок
V. S. Mamyshev, an acquaintance from Zvenigorod nicknamed "the Zvenigorod Lecocq" (after Gaboriau's flamboyant fictional detective, or possibly a namesake composer -- the local nickname's exact origin is not given); Chekhov reports his declining health with clinical directness -- thinning, aging, leg pain, suspected spinal disease -- consistent with Chekhov's own medical training. Distinct from (Suvorin's son-in-law).
Reading notes
- To A. S. Suvorin, 28 October 1889. Moskva/. §6 V. S. Mamyshev, the Zvenigorod Lecocq, came to see me. He has grown very thin, aged, and somehow bent. His legs ache and are slightly paralyzed; it seems something bad is happening in his spinal cord.
CLINICAL CONTENT -- FAITHFULLY RENDERED, NOT SOFTENED. Chekhov, writing as a trained physician, gives a blunt clinical assessment of V. S. Mamyshev's physical decline: marked weight loss, aging, a stooped posture, leg pain with incipient paralysis, and suspicion of spinal cord disease ("что-то скверное творится в спинном мозгу" -- literally "something bad is brewing/happening in the spinal cord"). The translation preserves this directness rather than euphemizing the described paralysis or the suspected diagnosis; per corpus policy, period-typical clinical bluntness is documented, not cushioned. "The Zvenigorod Lecocq" is a local nickname, likely after Émile Gaboriau's flamboyant fictional detective Monsieur Lecoq, though the letter gives no further gloss on the joke's origin.
- To A. S. Suvorin, 15 November 1889. Moscow. §2 On the back of this you will find a letter I received from V. S. Mamyshev.
V. S. Mamyshev, the acquaintance from Zvenigorod nicknamed "the Zvenigorod Lecocq," already established in this corpus (first attested, where Chekhov describes his declining health). Here Mamyshev has apparently written to Chekhov about some unspecified "machine" -- likely a medical device or apparatus recommended by a doctor for his condition -- and Chekhov, unable to help directly, forwards the letter to Suvorin and asks him to lean on whoever purchased the machine to see Mamyshev's request fulfilled. Not to be confused with, Suvorin's son-in-law, a distinct individual in this corpus.
- To A. S. Suvorin, 20 February 1890. Moscow. §5 воротник с ручательством на 30 лет
A "collar with a thirty-year guarantee" -- a stiff detachable collar sold with an implausibly long durability warranty, a small comic exaggeration typical of period advertising -- was misdirected to Mamyshev in Zvenigorod instead of his actual home in Volokolamsk; Chekhov mock-seriously pins the blame on Suvorin. The two towns are both west of Moscow but distinct, and the mix-up is presented as a trivial but genuine irritant to Mamyshev.