The former Intendant Office1. A civil office managing all kinds of supplies and resources for the military. clerk, retired collegiate secretary Lakhmatov, was sitting at his desk, drinking his sixteenth shot, contemplating on fraternity, equality and freedom2. Liberté, égalité, fraternité, French for ‘liberty, equality, fraternity’, is the national motto of France.. Suddenly a chort3. A mischievous humanoid demon or minor devil in Slavic folklore. Unlike the sly one, the chort is more of a trickster than the embodiment of ultimate evil. He can cause household mishaps, lead travellers astray, or tempt humans into foolish decisions. When Russians exclaim “K chortu!” (To the devil!), they’re invoking this folkloric spirit rather than the big sly one. The chort therefore occupies a supernatural space between serious theological threat and annoying supernatural pest. See also: A Conversation Between A Drunken Man And A Sober Chort, by Chekhov and How Khorya and Borya Trafficked a Chort. · Tulubaikaporia ep.1 looked at him from behind a lamp… But don’t be scared, readeress4. Chekhov precisely refers to a female reader here. It’s important to keep that for context.. Do you know what a chort is? It’s a handsome young man, with a mug as black as his boots and with red expressive eyes. On his head, although he isn’t married5. “Having horns” is an idiom meaning “playing away”, cheating. Chekhov uses it ironically here as if suggesting that many do that in marriage., he has little horns… and a hairdo à la Capoul6. A la Capoule (French à la Capoule, “under Capoule”) is a male hairstyle popular in the late 19th century, named after the famous French tenor Victor Capoule. . His body is covered in green wool and smells like a dog. At the bottom of his back dangles a tail ending with an arrowhead… Instead of fingers he has claws, instead of feet he has horse hooves. Seeing the chort, Lakhmatov became somewhat troubled, but then, remembering that green chorts have a silly habit of appearing to all generally tipsy people, he soon calmed down.
‘To whom do I have the honour of speaking?’ He turned to the uninvited guest.
That confused the chort and his eyes went blank.