Chapter 9 St. Peter's Day

St. Peter's Day① Chekhov The long awaited day, which has been dreamed of for so long, is finally dawning, the twenty-ninth of June has come at last, long live the hunters! ! ... The day of forgetting about debts, insects, expensive meals, mothers-in-law and even young wives, the day when Mr. Country Police, who forbids hunting, can make twenty faces of contempt, has come at last. ... the stars in the sky, whitish in color, began to dim. ... Voices sounded in some places. ...the acrid blue-gray smoke rising from the country chimneys. ...A church worker who was not fully awake appeared on the gray-white bell tower, and rang the big bell, calling people to go to mass. ...the night watchman lay under a tree, sprawled, and snoring.The sparrows woke up one after another, hopping and flying from one end of the garden to the other, uttering a tiresome chirp that no one could stand. ... the oriole sang in the bushes of the black thorns. . . . starlings and hoopoe twittered above the servants' quarters.A free early morning concert begins. ... Two troikas drove up to the porch of the house of Yegor Yegorech Obatempiransky, a retired Second Lieutenant of Guards cavalry.The porch leaned back and forth, lined with stinging nettles, just like in a painting.There was an uproar in the house and in the yard.All the living people were walking and running about Yegor Yegorich, and there was a sound of footsteps on all the stairs, in the barns, and in the stables. ... A shaft horse was replaced from the cart.The coachmen's hats fell from their heads.The footman Katykin held up to his nose the red-lighting lantern.The cooks are called "dead corpses".The names of the devil and his imps were flying all over the place.

. . . In less than five minutes, the two wagons were loaded with blankets, cart blankets, grocery bags, gun holsters, etc. "Ready is over, sir!" Avakumu called in a bass voice. "Please! The preparations are over!" cried Yegor Yegorich in a melodious voice.Then a large group of people appeared on the porch.The first to jump into the car was the young doctor.Afterwards, Kuzma Bolva, a small citizen of Arkhangelsk, boarded the car. He was a little old man wearing flat leather boots, a brown-red top hat on his head, and carrying a twenty-five-pound Heavy double-barreled gun with yellow-green spots on its neck.Bulva is a commoner, but the landowners respect his age (he was born at the end of the last century②), admire his strength, and can hit a twenty-copeck silver coin thrown into the air with one shot, so they don't dislike him. As a civilian, I took him to hunt together.

"Please, Your Excellency!" said Yegor Yegorich to a short, gray-haired man in a white military uniform with shiny buttons and the Anna Cross around his neck. "Move a little bit, doctor!" The retired general cleared his throat, put his foot on the running board, and Yegor Yegoritch helped him into the carriage.He pushed the doctor with his belly, and sat down heavily beside Borva.The general's dog Vain and Yegor Yegorich's hound the musician jumped into the car after the general. "Well . . . that, boy . . . Vanya!" said the general to his nephew, a young schoolboy with a long single-barreled gun slung across his back. "You can sit here, next to me. You come up here! Yes. . . . right here.

Don't be naughty, my friend!Horses can be frightened too! " Vanya once more breathed his smoke into the nose of the workhorse, jumped into the carriage, pushed Bolva away from the general, turned around, and sat down.Yegor Yegorich, crossing himself, sat down next to the doctor.Mr. Manger, the tall and thin teacher of mathematics and science in Vanya's secondary school, got into the driver's seat and sat with Avakum. The first traveling carriage was full.The second wagon was loaded with people. "Everyone is seated!" cried Yegor Yegorich, seeing the eight remaining men and the three dogs finally get into the carriage after a long quarrel and running around and around the second carriage.

"All seated!" cried the guests. "Is that all right? So, that is to say, it's time to start, my lord? Please bless me, Lord. Drive, Avakumu!" The first carriage shook and left its spot.The second carriage, filled with the most enthusiastic hunters, shook and squeaked desperately... After turning a corner, he grabbed ahead of the first carriage and drove towards the gate.The hunters smiled in unison and clapped their hands happily.Everyone felt as if they were in the seventh heaven, but... vicious fate! ... Before they had time to get out of the yard, there was trouble. ... "Stop! Wait a minute! Stop!!!" came a shrill tenor voice from behind the two troikas.

When the hunters looked back, their faces turned pale.It turned out that one of the most difficult people in the world, a well-known troublemaker in the whole province, was chasing after the carriage, Yegor Yegolych's brother, retired lieutenant colonel Mihai Yegolych. ...he waved his arms wildly.The carriage stopped. "What are you going to do?" asked Yegor Yegorich. Mihai Yegooritch ran up to the carriage, got on the step, and shook his fist at Yegor Yegooritch.The hunters shouted. "What's the matter?" asked Yegor Yegorich, blushing. "That's right," cried Mihai Yegorich, "you're Judas, you're a beast, you're a pig! . . . He's a pig, my lord! Why didn't you wake me up? Why didn't you wake me up , jackass, I ask you, rotten bastard? Excuse me, gentlemen.  … I’m fine.  … I just want to teach him a lesson! Why didn’t you wake me up? You wouldn’t take me? I’m in your way He deliberately poured me a lot of wine yesterday evening, thinking that I would sleep until twelve o'clock today! Good boy! I'm sorry, my lord....I just want to give him... a mouth....I'm sorry!"

"What are you doing here?" cried the General, spreading his hands. "Don't you see that there is no room here? You are too... sorry..." "You don't have to curse, Mihai!" said Yegor Yegorich. "I didn't wake you up because you didn't have to come with us. . . . You can't shoot a gun. What are you going to do then?To make trouble?You can't shoot a gun anyway. " "I can't? I can't fire a gun?" Mihai Yegooritch shouted so loudly that even Bolva covered his ears. "However, since this is the case, what is the doctor doing? He can't shoot a gun either! Is he better than me?"

"He's right, gentlemen!" said the doctor. "I can't shoot a gun, I can't even hold a gun. . . . I can't stand the sound of a gun. . . . I don't know why you took me. . . . Why bother? Let him sit in my seat." I'm not going. There's room here, Mihai Yegooritch!" "Did you hear? Did you hear? Why did you take him?" The doctor stood up, clearly intending to get out of the car.Yegor Yegorich seized the doctor by the skirt and made him sit down. "But . . . don't tear my coat! It costs thirty rubles. ...you let me go!In short, gentlemen, I beg you not to talk to me today. ... I'm in a bad mood, and I'll do things I don't like to do.Let me go, Yegor Yegorich!Sit in my place, Mihai Yegorech!I'm going to sleep! "

"You must go, doctor!" said Yegor Yegorich, without letting go of his coat. "You promised you would go!" "That's a promise made only when you are forced to do so. Why do you want me to go, why bother?" "There's a reason for that," cried Mihai Yegoritch, "he wants you not to stay with his wife! That's why! He's jealous of you, doctor! You Don't go, my friend! You won't go! He's jealous, really jealous!" Yegor Yegorich blushed and clenched his fists. "Hey, I'm telling you!" cried someone from another carriage. "Mihai Yegooritch, you've had enough nonsense! Come here, there's a place!"

Mihai Yegooritch sneered. "Well, Shark?" he said. "Who's winning? Did you hear that? There's a seat! I'm going!I'm just going to make trouble!I guarantee on my reputation, I will make trouble!Anyway, you can't do anything to me!And you, doctor, don't go.It would be better to let his vinegar jar explode alive. " Yegor Yegorich got up and shook his fist.His eyes were red. "Bad guy!" he said to his brother. "You can't be considered my elder brother! No wonder your dead mother cursed you! Dad was so mad at you for such immoral behavior in his prime!"

"Gentlemen..." the general intervened. "I think... enough trouble is enough. You are brothers, brothers!" "He's a donkey, my lord, not a brother! Don't go, doctor! do not go! " "It's time for the car to go. To hell with you. ... Hey, hey. ... The devil knows what's going on! Let's go!" the general shouted, thumping Awakumu's back with his fist. "Hurry up!" Awakumu whipped the horse, and the three-horse carriage moved forward.In the second wagon there was a writer, Captain Kardamonov, and he took the two dogs, put them on his knees, and made an angry Mikhai Yegoritch sit down in their places. . "Lucky for him, there's a seat!" said Mihai Yegoritch, sitting down in the carriage. "Otherwise, I'll give him some color. . . . Describe the robber, Kardamonov!" Last year Kardamonov sent an article to the "Field" magazine entitled "Anecdotes about Multiple Births Among the Peasant Population", and after reading in the mailbox a rather unpleasant reply to the author's pride, he sent it to his neighbors. Grumble, he has been known as a writer ever since. According to the plan of action that had been drawn up in advance, it was decided to go to the farmer's mowing field seven versts away from the Yegor Yegoritch estate to shoot quail.The hunters came to the mowing field, got out of their wagons, and divided into two parties.One group was led by the general and Yegor Yegorech to the right, the other by Kardamonov to the left.Bolva stayed and went alone.He likes quiet and silence when hunting. The musician barked and ran forward, and after a minute, the quail flew up in fright. Vanya fired, but missed. "I'm holding the gun high, hell!" he muttered. Puppy in vain is to bring "practice hunting".Hearing the gunshot for the first time in his life, he barked, and ran to the carriage with his tail between his legs.Manger shoots the lark and hits it. "That's the kind of bird I like!" he said, showing the doctor the lark. "Go away, . . . " said the doctor. "Anyway, I beg you not to talk to me. ... "You are a skeptic, doctor." "Me? Oh . . . But what do you mean by skeptic?" Mange thought for a moment. "A skeptic is someone who ... doesn't like anything," he said. "Nonsense. Don't use words that you don't understand yourself. Please stay away from me! I'll do things I don't want to do. . . . I'm in a bad mood. . . . " the musician Standing still, assume the posture of spotting prey.The general and Yegor Yegorich turned pale and held their breath. "I'll shoot!" the general whispered. "I... I... I'm sorry! You've already fired once..." But the musician's gesture of finding his prey is broken.The doctor, in a hurry because he had nothing to do, picked up a small stone and threw it at the musician, hitting him between the ears. ...the musician screamed and jumped up. The general and Yegor Yegorich looked around.There was a rustling sound in the grass, and a fat prairie bustard flew up.The second group shouted and shouted, pointing at the steppe bustard.The General, Manger, and Vanya all aimed their guns.Vanya fired, but Manger's gun failed. ... It's too late!The steppe bustard flew over the hill and landed in the rye field. "I see, doctor, . . . now is not the time for joking!" said the general, turning to the doctor. "This is not the time, sir!" "what?" "Now is not the time to joke!" "I'm not kidding" "You shouldn't, doctor!" said Yegor Yegorich. "You shouldn't have brought me here....Who asked you to bring me here? But...I don't want to explain....I'm in a bad mood today..." Mange killed another lark.Vanya started a young rook and fired a shot that missed. "I'm holding the gun high, hell!" he muttered. There was the sound of two shots in succession in the air: it turned out that Borva had killed two quail with a heavy double-barreled gun behind the hill and put them in his pocket.Yegor Yegorich started a quail and fired.The female quail was injured and fell into the grass. The triumphant Yegor Yegorich picked it up and brought it to the general. "I hit its little wing, my lord! It's alive!" "Well, yes... it's still alive. ... Then tell it to die quickly." After the general finished speaking, he took the female quail to his mouth and bit her throat with his canine teeth.Manger kills the third lark.The musician puts on the stance of spotting his prey again.The general took off his military cap and raised his gun to take aim. ... "Catch it!" ④A big quail flew up, but...the nasty doctor happened to be standing within the shooting range, almost blocking the gun. "Go away!" cried the general. The doctor jumped aside and the general fired, but, of course, the shot from the shotgun was too late. "That's simply despicable, young man!" cried the general. "What's wrong?" the doctor asked. "You are making trouble! The ghost invited you to make trouble! Thank you for your help, I missed it! Who the hell knows what happened, it sucks! " "But what are you shouting about? Well, . "What a queer man! Walking up and down, making a mess, walking up and down, making a mess, even an angel can't stand it!" "Don't yell, please, General! If you want to yell, yell at Manger! By the way, he is afraid of the General. A good hunter can't mess with anyone. You might as well say that you can't shoot! " "That's enough, sir! I told you one thing, and you said ten. . . . Vanya, bring the ammunition box here!" said the general, turning to Vanya. "Why did you ask the old man to go hunting?" asked the doctor to Yegor Yegorich. "It can't be done, old man!" replied Yegor Yegorich. "I can't come here without him. You know, I owe him... eight thousand dollars. . . . Hey, man! If it weren't for these damned debts . . . " Yegor Yegorich left off. , shake your hand. "Are you really jealous?" Yegor Yegorich turned his back and aimed his gun at a hawk flying high above. "You lost it, sucking baby!" At this moment the general's thunderous voice sounded. "You lost it! It's worth a hundred rubles, Piggy!" Yegor Yegorich went up to the general and asked what was the matter.It turned out that Vanya had lost the general's ammunition box.Everyone started looking for ammo boxes, and the hunt broke down.The search lasted an hour and a quarter of an hour, and at last it was found.After the hunters found the ammunition box, they sat down to rest. The second group did not go so well in hunting quail.In this group Mihai Yegorich played the same role as the physician in the first group, if not worse.He knocked down guns, cursed people, beat dogs, dropped gunpowder, in a word, did some things that the devil knows. …Kardamonov shot quail, and after some trouble shooting, he took his dog after a small hawk.Harrier Eagle was shot, but he couldn't find it.The lieutenant colonel stoned a chinchilla to death. "Gentlemen, let's dissect this chinchilla!" suggested Neklych Khvostov, chief clerk of the nobility. The hunters sat down on the grass, took out their pocket knives, and began to dissect. "I found nothing on this chinchilla," said Neklychkhvostov, seeing that the chinchilla had been cut into many small pieces. "Not even a heart. We have guts. Listen, gentlemen! Let's go over to the swamp! What have we got to hunt here? Quail is not much game. If we can shoot woodcock and field The snipe will be fine... huh? Let's go!" The hunters stood up and walked lazily towards the carriage.When they came near the carriage, they saw a flock of pigeons, and they shot together, and killed one of them. "Your Excellency... Yegor Yegorich! Great... Yego..." cried the second group, seeing that the first group was resting. "Hey, hello!" The general and Yegor Yegorich looked back.The second group shook their hats. "What for?" cried Yegor Yegorich. "Something! We killed a wild goose! Come here!" The first party did not believe that the wild goose had been killed, but they went on to the wagon.The hunters got into the carriage, decided not to hunt quail, and drove another five versts to the swamp as planned. "I'm very irritable when I'm hunting," the general said to the doctor when the carriage had driven two versts from the mowing field. "Extremely irritable! I will show no mercy even to my own father. You must...forgive me, an old man!" "Ok.……" "What a kind man he has become, bad boy!" whispered Yegor Yegorich in the doctor's ear. "It's because it's a popular trend nowadays that everyone is willing to marry their daughters to doctors! This lord is really cunning! Hee hee hee. ..." "The car looks a little empty!" said Vanya. "Yes" "What's the reason? It's so empty." "Gentlemen, where is Paulva?" said Manger, noticing that Paulva was not there. The hunters looked at each other. "Where is Borva?" repeated Manger. "It must be in the carriage. Gentlemen," cried Yegor Yegorich, "is Bulva with you?" "No, no!" Kardamonov cried. The hunters fell silent. "Hey, fuck it!" the general decided. "Don't go back and find him!" "Go back, my lord. He's weak. He'll die without water. He can't walk home." "As long as he has the heart, he will always come." "The little old man will die. You know he's ninety years old!" "It doesn't matter." Our hunter came near the swamp by car, and his face suddenly became long. ...It turned out that the swamp was already full of hunters, so there was no need to get out of the car.The hunters thought about it for a while, and decided to drive another five versts to the official forest. "What can we do there?" asked the doctor. "The thrush, the hawk. . . . Here, and the black-bone." "Oh. Well, what are my unfortunate patients to do now? Why did you bring me here, Yegor Yegorich? Alas!" The doctor sighed and scratched the back of his head.When the hunters saw the first grove, they drove over, got out, and began to discuss: who should go to the right and who should go to the left? "What do you think, gentlemen?" suggested Neklychkhvostov. "Because there is a law, which may in a way be called a law of nature, that if the wild fowl cannot escape, we will catch them anyway. . . . . . . Refresh yourself with something to eat! Drink some wine, some vodka, some fish roe, . I know it clearly: you are a doctor. Shouldn't you eat something to refresh yourself?" Neklychkhvostov's proposal was accepted.Avakumu and Phils spread out two blankets and put some bags around them. Inside the bags were paper bags and wine bottles.Yegor Yegorich cut the sausages, cheese, and sturgeon with his hands, Neklitch Khvostov uncorked the wine bottles, and Man eagerly cut the bread. ...the hunters licked their lips and sat down lazily. "Well, my lord! Have a little glass. . . . " The hunters began to drink and eat vegetables.The doctor immediately filled himself another glass of wine and drank it.Vanya followed his lead and took a drink too. "But you know, there seem to be wolves in this place," said Kardamonov thoughtfully, squinting at the trees. The hunters thought about it, discussed for a while, and after about ten minutes, they all agreed that there were probably no wolves here. "How about it? Another drink? Let's drink! Yegor Yegooritch, why are you in a daze?" Everyone has another drink. "Young man!" Yegor Yegorich said to Vanya. "What are you thinking?" Vanya shook his head. "But you might as well have a drink in my presence," said the general. "Don't drink it behind my back. You can drink it in front of me.... Drink a little!" Vanya filled a glass of wine and drank it. "How is it? A third cup? My lord,..." Everyone drank the third cup.The doctor has had six drinks. "young people!" Vanya shook his head. "Drink, Amphitheater!" said Manger in a loving tone. "You can drink it in front of my face, but don't drink it behind my back.... Let's drink a little more!" Vanya drank it. "Why is the sky so blue today?" asked Kardamonov. The hunters pondered and discussed for a while, and after a quarter of an hour, they unanimously concluded that the reason why the sky is so blue today is unknown. "Rabbit,...rabbit...rabbit!!! Catch it!!!" A rabbit appeared behind the hill.Two watchdogs gave chase.The hunters jumped up and took up their guns.The rabbit ran over like flying, and ran into the woods, attracting two watchdogs, and the musician and other dogs chased after them.think in vain Next, he looked at the general suspiciously, and ran up to chase the rabbit. "What a big rabbit! . . . as long as it can be caught. . . . why did we just . . . let it go?" "It's a cup of wine, but why is there so much wine in this bottle... Maybe you didn't drink it, my lord? Hey hey... So you are like this? No way." Everyone drank the fourth glass.The doctor had already drank nine cups, coughed hard, and walked into the woods.He chose the largest shade tree, lay down on the grass, put his coat under his head, and snored loudly.Vanya grew sluggish.He drank another glass of white wine, and then began to drink beer, which only cheered him up.On his knees he recited twenty lines of Ovid's poem. The general commented that Latin was very similar to French. ... Yegor Yegorich agreed with him, and added that to study French it is necessary to know Latin, which is very much like French.Manger disagreed with Yegor Yegorich, saying that this was not the place to discuss languages, because there were teachers of mathematics and science sitting here, and there were so many wine bottles.He also added that his guns used to be expensive, and now he can't find a good one. ... "Drink the eighth cup, gentlemen?" "Did you drink too much?" "Come on! What are you talking about? Eight glasses is too much?! It can be seen that you have never drank alcohol!" They drank the eighth cup. "young people!" Vanya shook his head. "Come on! Come on, be a soldier! You're a good shot. . . . " "Drink, Amphitheater!" said Manger. "Drink it in front of my face, but don't drink it behind my back.... Drink a little more!" Vanya put the beer aside and drank another glass of white wine. "It's time for the ninth cup, gentlemen, huh? What do you think? I can't stand the number eight. My father Fyodor... no, Ivan... died on the eighth, Yego Rye Yegorich! Pour the wine!" Everyone drank the ninth cup. "It's so hot." "Yes, it's hot, but that doesn't stop us from drinking our tenth cup!" "But……" "Hot or not! Let us, gentlemen, show to the forces of nature that we are not afraid of it! Young man! Be an example. . . . Let your uncle down, let him down! What the hell! We are not afraid of hot and cold weather. ..." Vanya took a drink.The hunters shouted "Hello" and followed his example, and they also drank a cup. "So there's a good chance of heatstroke," said the general. "Will not." "In our climatic conditions . ? Will you suffer from heat stroke in our climatic conditions... huh? Doctor!" No one answered. "Have you ever been treated for something like this before, huh? We're talking about sunstroke. . . . Doctor! Hey, where did the doctor go? " "Where is the doctor? Doctor!" The hunters looked around: the doctor was gone. "Where did the doctor go? He disappeared without a trace? It's like burning wax when it meets fire! Hahaha……" "He's off to look for Yegor's wife!" said Mihai Yegoritch, dumbfounded. Yegor Yegorich turned pale and dropped the bottle from his hand. "He's gone to see his wife!" continued Mihai Yegooritch, eating the sturgeon. "What nonsense are you talking about?" asked Manger. "Did you see it?" "I see. A farmer was passing here just now with his cart, . Yegor Yegorich stood up, shaking his fists. "I asked him: where are you going?" continued Mikhai Yegooritch. "He said: go and have a good time, go and sharpen those horns⑥. He said: I have already installed the horns, now go and sharpen them. He said: Good-bye, dear Mihai Ye Gorech! He also said: Please greet my in-law Yegor Yegorech for me! After saying this, he winked his eyes like that. Let's have a drink. . . . "Hails!!!" cried Yegor Yegorich, staggering to the carriage. "Hurry up, or we'll be too late!" cried Mihai Yegorich. Yegor Yegorich dragged Avakum to the driver's seat, jumped into the carriage himself, shook his fist menacingly at the hunters, and drove home. ... "What do you mean, gentlemen?" asked the general, waiting until Yegor Yegorich's white cap had disappeared. "He's gone. . . . But, what the hell am I going back in? He's gone in my carriage! No, not my carriage, but the one I'm supposed to be returning in. . . . It's strange. . . . well . . . he was too disrespectful. . . . " Vanya was dizzy.Liquor mixed with beer made him vomit. ...and that would have to send Vanya home.After drinking the fifteenth cup, the hunters decided to let the general go back in another carriage, but on one condition: as soon as the general arrived home, another carriage should be sent to fetch the rest of them. The general began to say goodbye. "Tell him, gentlemen," he said, "that . . . only a pig can do such a thing." "You, my lord, can sue him for payment!" Mihai Yegorich suggested. "Ah? A lawsuit? Well, yes...he should pay it back too....You have to be sensible....I'm really tired of waiting....Then you tell him that if you want him Paying off the debt is.... Good-bye, gentlemen! Come and play at my house! He's a pig!" The hunters bade the general good-bye, and put him in the carriage beside the unwell Vanya. "Hurry up!" The general and Vanya were gone. When the hunters had drunk their eighteen glasses, they set out into the woods, fired a few shots at their targets, and then lay down to sleep.Near dusk, the general's carriage came to pick them up.Fiers handed Mikhai Yegorech a letter asking him to forward it to "his brother".The letter made a demand, and threatened that if the demand was not carried out, the bailiff of the court would come to the door.After the hunters drank their third glass of wine (they started counting again when they woke up), the general's coachman helped them into the carriage and drove them off to their respective homes. As soon as Yegor Yegorich returned home, he met the musician and Vanessa, who turned out to be chasing the rabbit just to find an excuse to come home.Yegor Yegorich looked at his wife viciously, and began to search.All the storerooms, cupboards, chests, and chests of drawers were searched, but Yegor Yegorich failed to find the doctor.Instead he found someone else: Fortunatov, the chaplain, was caught under his wife's bed. ...When the doctor woke up, it was already dark. ... He wandered in the woods for a while, and then he remembered that he had come to hunt, so he cursed and began to call the hunter.His calls, needless to say, were not answered.He decided to walk home.The road is fine, there is no danger, and the moonlight is bright.It took him about four hours to walk the twenty-four versts, and he reached the Zemstvo hospital in the early hours of the morning.He quarreled with doctors, midwives, and patients, and then began to write a very long letter to Yegor Yegorich.In it he demanded "an explanation for this disgraceful act," scolded all jealous husbands, and vowed never to go hunting again, not even on the 29th of June! *********** ①Christian holiday, on June 29 of the Russian lunar calendar.According to Russian customs, the hunting season begins on this day. ②This novel was written in 1880, so he is said to be ninety years old. ③It means that the editor-in-chief of the magazine notifies the contributor in the "Mailbox" column set up by the magazine: "The respected manuscript is not intended to be published." I'm in a bad mood today.Please stay away from me! " ④The term used by hunters to call dogs to catch prey. ⑤Ovid (before 43-after 17), the ancient Roman poet, authored etc. ⑥ "Horns" means "green hat", hereinafter "put horns on someone" means "put a green hat on someone".