we
shall see presently, that question seems to have been settled, and in
part by Korolenko's friendly aid, in favor of quite another person.

Anton Pavlovitch Tchekoff (pseudonym "Tchekhonte," 1860) is the
descendant of a serf father and grandfather. His volumes of short
stories, "Humorous Tales," "In the Gloaming," "Surly People," are full
of humor and of brilliant wit. His more ambitious efforts, as to length
and artistic qualities, the productions of his matured talent, are "The
Steppe," "Fires," "A Tiresome History," "Notes of an Unknown," "The
Peasant," and so forth.

Still another extremely talented writer, who, unfortunately, has begun
to produce too rapidly for his own interest, is Ignaty Nikolaevitch
Potapenko (1856), the son of an officer in a Uhlan regiment, and of a
Little Russian peasant mother. His father afterwards became a priest--a
very unusual change of vocation and class--and the future writer
acquired intimate knowledge of views and customs in ecclesiastical
circles, which he put to brilliant use later on. A delicate humor is the
characteristic feature of his work, as can be seen in his best writings,
such as "On Active Service"[49] and "The Secretary of His Grace (the
Bishop)."

The former is the story of a talented and devoted young priest, who
might have obtained an easy position in the town, among the bishop's
officials, with certain prospect of swift promotion. He resolutely
declines this position, and requests that he may be assigned to a
village parish, where he can be "on active service." Every one regards
the request as a sign of an unsettled mind. After much argument he
prevails on his betrothed bride's parents to permit the marriage (he
cannot be ordained until he is married), and hopes to find a helpmeet
in her. The rest of the story deals with his experiences in the
unenviable position of a village priest, where he has to contend not
only with the displeasure of his young wife, but with the avarice of his
church staff, the defects of the peasants, the excess of attention of
the local gentlewoman, and financial problems of the most trying
description. It ends in his wife abandoning him, and returning with her
child to her father's house, while he insists on remaining at his post,
where, as events have abundantly proved, the ministrations of a truly
disinterested, devout priest are most sadly needed. It is impossible to
convey by description the charm and gentle humor of this book.