Anton Chekhov (Jan. 29, 1860 - 1904) - writer by night, doctor by day - or as he put it: Medicine is my lawful wife and literature my mistress; when I get tired of one, I spend the night with the other...
Chekhov suffered from tuberculosis and despite spending much time at spas and his dacha at Yalta, he died at the early age of 44. The account of his last moments, as told in his wife’s memoirs, has become legend:
“Anton sat up unusually straight and said loudly and clearly (although he knew almost no German): Ich sterbe. The doctor calmed him, took a syringe, gave him an injection of camphor, and ordered champagne. Anton took a full glass, examined it, smiled at me and said: “It’s a long time since I drank champagne.” He drained it, lay quietly on his left side, and I just had time to run to him and lean across the bed and call to him, but he had stopped breathing and was sleeping peacefully as a child…”
No comments:
Post a Comment