The Cherry Orchard

epub:type="z3998:persona">Gaev, Varya and Yasha remain. Gaev Sister hasn’t got out of the habit of flinging away her money. To Yasha. Get away, my good fellow, you smell of the henhouse. Yasha With a grin. And you, Leonid Andreyevitch, are just the same as ever. Gaev What’s that? To Varya. What did he say? Varya To Yasha. Your mother has come from the village; she has been sitting in the servants’ room since yesterday, waiting to see you. Yasha Oh, bother her! Varya For shame! Yasha What’s the hurry? She might just as have come tomorrow goes out. Varya Mamma’s just the same as ever, she hasn’t changed a bit. If she had her own way, she’d give away everything. Gaev Yes a pause. If a great many remedies are suggested for some disease, it means that the disease is incurable. I keep thinking and racking my brains; I have many schemes, a great many, and that really means none. If we could only come in for a legacy from somebody, or marry our Anya to a very rich man, or we might go to Yaroslavl and try our luck with our old aunt, the Countess. She’s very, very rich, you know. Varya Weeps. If God would help us. Gaev Don’t blubber. Aunt’s very rich, but she doesn’t like us. First, sister married a lawyer instead of a nobleman.⁠ ⁠… Anya appears in the doorway. Gaev And then her conduct, one can’t call it virtuous. She is good, and kind, and nice, and I love her, but, however one allows for extenuating circumstances, there’s no denying that she’s an immoral woman. One feels it in her slightest gesture. Varya In a whisper. Anya’s in the doorway. Gaev What do you say? A pause. It’s queer, there seems to be something wrong with my right eye. I don’t see as well as I did. And on Thursday when I was in the district Court⁠ ⁠… Enter Anya. Varya Why aren’t you asleep, Anya? Anya I can’t get to sleep. Gaev My pet kisses Anya’s face and hands. My child weeps. You are not my niece, you are my angel, you are everything to me. Believe me, believe⁠ ⁠… Anya I believe you, uncle. Everyone loves you and respects you⁠ ⁠… but, uncle dear, you must be silent⁠ ⁠… simply be silent. What were you saying just now about my mother, about your own sister? What made you say that? Gaev Yes, yes⁠ ⁠… puts his hand over his face. Really, that was awful! My God, save me! And today I made a speech to the bookcase⁠ ⁠… so stupid! And only when I had finished, I saw how stupid it was. Varya It’s true, uncle, you ought to keep quiet. Don’t talk, that’s all. Anya If you could keep from talking, it would make things easier for you, too. Gaev I won’t speak kisses Anya’s and Varya’s hands. I’ll be silent. Only this is about business. On Thursday I was in the district Court; well, there was a large party of us there and we began talking of one thing and another, and this and that, and do you know, I believe that it will be possible to raise a loan on an I.O.U. to pay the arrears on the mortgage. Varya If the Lord would help us! Gaev I’m going on Tuesday; I’ll talk of it again. To Varya. Don’t blubber. To Anya. Your mamma will talk to Lopahin; of course, he won’t refuse her. And as soon as you’re rested you shall go to Yaroslavl to the Countess, your great-aunt. So we shall all set to work in three directions at once, and the business is done. We shall pay off arrears, I’m convinced of it puts a caramel in his mouth. I swear on my honour, I swear by anything you like, the estate shan’t be sold excitedly. By my own happiness, I swear it! Here’s my hand on it, call me the basest, vilest of men, if I let it come to an auction! Upon my soul I swear it! Anya Her equanimity has returned, she is quite happy. How good you are, uncle, and how clever! Embraces her uncle. I’m at peace now! Quite at peace! I’m happy! Enter Firs. Firs Reproachfully. Leonid Andreyevitch, have you no fear of God? When are you going to bed? Gaev Directly, directly. You can go, Firs. I’ll⁠ ⁠… yes, I will undress myself. Come, children, bye-bye. We’ll go into details tomorrow, but now go to bed kisses Anya and Varya. I’m a man of the eighties. They run down that period, but still I can say I have had to suffer not a little for my convictions in my life. It’s not for nothing that the peasant loves me. One must know the peasant! One must know how⁠ ⁠… Anya At it again, uncle! Varya Uncle dear, you’d better be quiet! Firs Angrily. Leonid Andreyevitch! Gaev I’m coming. I’m coming. Go to bed. Potted the shot⁠—there’s a shot for you! A beauty! Goes out, Firs hobbling after him. Anya My mind’s at rest now. I don’t want to go to Yaroslavl, I don’t like my great-aunt, but still my mind’s at rest. Thanks to uncle sits down. Varya We must go to bed. I’m going. Something unpleasant happened while you were away. In the old servants’ quarters there are only the old servants, as you know⁠—Efimyushka, Polya and Yevstigney⁠—and Karp too. They began letting stray people in to spend the night⁠—I said nothing. But all at once I heard they had been spreading a report that I gave them nothing but pease pudding to eat. Out of stinginess, you know.⁠ ⁠… And it was all Yevstigney’s doing.⁠ ⁠… Very well, I said to myself.⁠ ⁠… If that’s how it is, I thought, wait a bit. I sent for Yevstigney⁠ ⁠… yawns. He comes. “How’s this, Yevstigney,” I said, “you could be such a fool as to?⁠ ⁠…” Looking at Anya. Anitchka! A