In the Coach-house Page #2

"In the Coach-house" is a poignant short story by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov that explores themes of love, longing, and the complexities of human relationships. Set in a rural environment, the narrative revolves around a chance encounter between two characters—a young woman and a man—who find themselves reminiscing about their past and confronting their unfulfilled desires. Chekhov's masterful storytelling captures the subtleties of emotion and the introspective nature of the characters, offering a reflective glimpse into the heart's yearnings and the bittersweet nature of memory. The story illustrates Chekhov's signature style of blending humor and melancholy, revealing the often unspoken tensions that linger beneath the surface of everyday life.

								

"'All this is your fancy, you simple folk have such notions,' she said.
'A dead man cannot howl.' Some time afterwards the watchmen came to her
again, and with them the sacristan. So the sacristan, too, had heard him
howling. The General's lady saw that it was a bad job; she locked
herself in her bedroom with the watchmen. 'Here, my friends, here are
twenty-five roubles for you, and for that go by night in secret, so that
no one should hear or see you, dig up my unhappy son, and bury him,' she
said, 'outside the cemetery.' And I suppose she stood them a glass...
And the watchmen did so. The stone with the inscription on it is there
to this day, but he himself, the General's son, is outside the
cemetery.... O Lord, forgive us our transgressions!" sighed the fish-
hawker. "There is only one day in the year when one may pray for such
people: the Saturday before Trinity.... You mustn't give alms to beggars
for their sake, it is a sin, but you may feed the birds for the rest of
their souls. The General's lady used to go out to the crossroads every
three days to feed the birds. Once at the cross-roads a black dog
suddenly appeared; it ran up to the bread, and was such a... we all know
what that dog was. The General's lady was like a half-crazy creature for
five days afterwards, she neither ate nor drank.... All at once she fell
on her knees in the garden, and prayed and prayed.... Well, good-by,
friends, the blessing of God and the Heavenly Mother be with you. Let us
go, Mihailo, you'll open the gate for me."

The fish-hawker and the porter went out. The coachman and Alyoshka went
out too, so as not to be left in the coach-house.

"The man was living and is dead!" said the coachman, looking towards the
windows where shadows were still flitting to and fro. "Only this morning
he was walking about the yard, and now he is lying dead."

"The time will come and we shall die too," said the porter, walking away
with the fish-hawker, and at once they both vanished from sight in the
darkness.

The coachman, and Alyoshka after him, somewhat timidly went up to the
lighted windows. A very pale lady with large tear stained eyes, and a
fine-looking gray headed man were moving two card-tables into the middle
of the room, probably with the intention of laying the dead man upon
them, and on the green cloth of the table numbers could still be seen
written in chalk. The cook who had run about the yard wailing in the
morning was now standing on a chair, stretching up to try and cover the
looking glass with a towel.

"Grandfather what are they doing?" asked Alyoshka in a whisper.

"They are just going to lay him on the tables," answered his
grandfather. "Let us go, child, it is bedtime."

The coachman and Alyoshka went back to the coach-house. They said their
prayers, and took off their boots. Stepan lay down in a corner on the
floor, Alyoshka in a sledge. The doors of the coach house were shut,
there was a horrible stench from the extinguished lantern. A little
later Alyoshka sat up and looked about him; through the crack of the
door he could still see a light from those lighted windows.

"Grandfather, I am frightened!" he said.

"Come, go to sleep, go to sleep!..."

"I tell you I am frightened!"

"What are you frightened of? What a baby!"

They were silent.

Alyoshka suddenly jumped out of the sledge and, loudly weeping, ran to
his grandfather.

"What is it? What's the matter?" cried the coachman in a fright, getting
up also.

"He's howling!"

"Who is howling?"

"I am frightened, grandfather, do you hear?"

The coachman listened.

"It's their crying," he said. "Come! there, little silly! They are sad,
so they are crying."

"I want to go home,..." his grandson went on sobbing and trembling all
over. "Grandfather, let us go back to the village, to mammy; come,
grandfather dear, God will give you the heavenly kingdom for it...."

"What a silly, ah! Come, be quiet, be quiet! Be quiet, I will light the
lantern,... silly!"

The coachman fumbled for the matches and lighted the lantern. But the
light did not comfort Alyoshka.

"Grandfather Stepan, let's go to the village!" he besought him, weeping.
"I am frightened here; oh, oh, how frightened I am! And why did you
bring me from the village, accursed man?"

"Who's an accursed man? You mustn't use such disrespectable words to
your lawful grandfather. I shall whip you."

"Do whip me, grandfather, do; beat me like Sidor's goat, but only take
me to mammy, for God's mercy!..."

"Come, come, grandson, come!" the coachman said kindly. "It's all right,
don't be frightened....I am frightened myself.... Say your prayers!"

The door creaked and the porter's head appeared. "Aren't you asleep,
Stepan?" he asked. "I shan't get any sleep all night," he said, coming
in. "I shall be opening and shutting the gates all night.... What are
you crying for, Alyoshka?"

"He is frightened," the coachman answered for his grandson.

Again there was the sound of a wailing voice in the air. The porter
said:

"They are crying. The mother can't believe her eyes.... It's dreadful
how upset she is."

"And is the father there?"

"Yes.... The father is all right. He sits in the corner and says
nothing. They have taken the children to relations.... Well, Stepan,
shall we have a game of trumps?"

"Yes," the coachman agreed, scratching himself, "and you, Alyoshka, go
to sleep. Almost big enough to be married, and blubbering, you rascal.
Come, go along, grandson, go along...."

The presence of the porter reassured Alyoshka. He went, not very
resolutely, towards the sledge and lay down. And while he was falling
asleep he heard a half-whisper.

"I beat and cover," said his grandfather.

"I beat and cover," repeated the porter.

The bell rang in the yard, the door creaked and seemed also saying: "I
beat and cover." When Alyoshka dreamed of the gentleman and, frightened
by his eyes, jumped up and burst out crying, it was morning, his
grandfather was snoring, and the coach-house no longer seemed terrible.
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