The Schoolmaster by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
page 134 of 233 (57%)
page 134 of 233 (57%)
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of the first match lights up for one instant a bit of the avenue
on the right, a white tombstone with an angel, and a dark cross; the light of the second match, flaring up brightly and extinguished by the wind, flashes like lightning on the left side, and from the darkness nothing stands out but the angle of some sort of trellis; the third match throws light to right and to left, revealing the white tombstone, the dark cross, and the trellis round a child's grave. "The departed sleep; the dear ones sleep!" the stranger mutters, sighing loudly. "They all sleep alike, rich and poor, wise and foolish, good and wicked. They are of the same value now. And they will sleep till the last trump. The Kingdom of Heaven and peace eternal be theirs." "Here we are walking along now, but the time will come when we shall be lying here ourselves," says the watchman. "To be sure, to be sure, we shall all. There is no man who will not die. O-o-oh. Our doings are wicked, our thoughts are deceitful! Sins, sins! My soul accursed, ever covetous, my belly greedy and lustful! I have angered the Lord and there is no salvation for me in this world and the next. I am deep in sins like a worm in the earth." "Yes, and you have to die." "You are right there." "Death is easier for a pilgrim than for fellows like us," says the |
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