YALTA,
September 15, 1903.
... Don’t believe anybody--no living soul has read my play yet; I have
written for you not the part of a “canting hypocrite,” but of a very nice
girl, with which you will, I hope, be satisfied. I have almost finished the
play, but eight or ten days ago I was taken ill, with coughing and
weakness--in fact, last year’s business over again. Now--that is
to-day--it is warmer and I feel better, but still I cannot write, as my
head is aching. Olga will not bring the play; I will send the four acts
together as soon as it is possible for me to set to work for a whole day.
It has turned out not a drama, but a comedy, in parts a farce, indeed, and
I am afraid I shall catch it from Vladimir Ivanitch [Footnote: Nemirovitch
Dantchenko.]....
I can’t come for the opening of your season, I must stay in Yalta till
November. Olga, who has grown fatter and stronger in the summer, will
probably come to Moscow on Sunday. I shall remain alone, and of course
shall take advantage of that. As a writer it is essential for me to observe
women, to study them, and so, I regret to say, I cannot be a faithful
husband. As I observe women chiefly for the sake of my plays, in my opinion
the Art Theatre ought to increase my wife’s salary or give her a pension!
...