Whenever there is someone in a family who has long been ill, and hopelessly ill, there come painful moments when all timidly, secretly, at the bottom of their hearts long for his death.

        --Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), in "The Witch," chapter 4. Translator:  Constance Garnett (1861-1946). Quoted in "What broke my father's heart," article by Katy Butler in the New York Times, 14 June 2010.