work
"The Nightmare"
also: Кошмар, Koshmar
A somber 1886 Chekhov story about a well-meaning official's disillusioning encounter with an impoverished village priest, Father Yakov; Chekhov repeatedly and firmly resists Leikin's wish to include it in the forthcoming book collection "Motley Stories," judging its dark tone incompatible with the lighter "The Swedish Match" and the collection's overall mottled variety.