To A. S. Kiselev, 15 May 1888. Sumy.
А. С. КИСЕЛЕВУ, 15 мая 1888 г. Сумы.
Headnote
1 Written from Sumy on 15 May 1888 to Aleksey Kiselev, the owner of the Babkino estate, shortly after Chekhov’s arrival at the Lintvaryov estate for the summer. Addressed with the same mock-formal "Squire!" as their other correspondence.
2 Chekhov gives a comic account of the local weather (a week of rain, fierce mosquitoes, fever-breeding swamps) alongside praise for the scenery and fishing, previews summer travel plans to the Crimea and Caucasus, and proposes a joking arrangement to trade travel accounts for payment by the line. He closes with well-wishes and bows to the Babkino household, then adds a postscript and a mock-formal address on the reverse.
15 May.
15 май.
Greetings, dear squire! A whole week now it’s poured rain without stopping. The mosquitoes are red and vicious; the swamps and ponds breathe fever – in a word, Asia! I am suffering for my own money. Still, the scenery is grand, the river is wide, there are plenty of fish, and at the mill there lives such a Mukha that a man could simply cry for help from sheer longing. In early June I mean to leave for the Crimea, and from there to the Caucasus. I shall keep writing you accounts of my life here and of my travels, and you shall pay me 15 kopecks a line and write to me in turn. There is much that is funny and curious. For now, keep well and prosper. My bow to everyone at Babkino.
Здравствуйте, милый барин! Вот уж неделя прошла, как жарит сплошной дождь. Комары рыжие, злющие; от болот и прудов веет лихорадкой, одним словом – Азия! Страдаю за свои же деньги. Впрочем, природа величественна, река широка, рыбы много, но на мельнице живет такая Муха, что просто хоть караул кричи от вожделения. В начале июня хочу уехать в Крым, а оттуда на Кавказ. Я буду описывать Вам свое здешнее житье-бытье и свое путешествие, а Вы будете платить мне по 15 коп. за строчку и тоже писать. Смешного и курьезного много. А пока будьте здравы и благополучны. Поклон всем бабкинцам.
Yours, A. Chekhov.
Ваш А. Чехов.
Mukha is plump, like a kulich studded with raisins. Our Mishka, off on his travels, has turned into a sickly-sweet Manilov. It’s sickening to read his letters.
Муха полненькая, похожая на кулич с изюмом. Наш Мишка, путешествуя, обратился в кисло-сладкого Манилова. Тошно письма читать.
On the reverse:
На обороте:
No admittance to outsiders.
Посторонним лицам вход запрещается.