To Madame Avilov

To F. D. Batyushkov.

MOSCOW, January 19, 1904.

... At the first performance of “The Cherry Orchard” on the 17th of January, they gave me an ovation, so lavish, warm, and really so unexpected, that I can’t get over it even now....

MOSCOW, February 14, 1904.

... All good wishes. Above all, be cheerful; don’t look at life so much as a problem—it is, most likely, far simpler. And whether it—life, of which we know nothing—is worth all the agonizing reflections which wear out our Russian wits, is a question.