Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov

Reading notes

• To K. S. Barantsevich, 15 December 1887. Petersburg. §3 Shcheglov

  Pen name of Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, a close friend of Chekhov's among the Petersburg literary circle in the 1880s-90s.

• I. L. Leontyev (Shcheglov), Between 16 and 20 December 1887. Moscow. §2 Captain

  Chekhov's affectionate nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who wrote under the pen name Shcheglov and had served as a reserve naval officer -- hence "Captain."

• To Al. P. Chekhov, 25 December 1887. Moscow. §15 Shcheglov's laugh

  Ivan Shcheglov (pen name of Ivan Leontyev), a close literary friend of Chekhov's in this period; the comparison of his laugh to a wild bird's cry is an affectionate, purely comic aside.

• N. A. Leikin, 27 December 1887. Moscow. §7 Shcheglov

  Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov (pen name of Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev), a close friend of Chekhov's in the 1880s-90s and a contributor to the humor press; Chekhov recommends his Christmas-number story in \textit{Novoye Vremya} to Leikin as proof of his genuine comic talent.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 1 January 1888. Moscow. §3 Alba

  Chekhov's running nickname for Ivan Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov), teasing him about his notoriously difficult handwriting -- "the last word in inquisition."

• To I. L. Leontyev, 10 January 1888. Moscow. §3 Dear Alba

  Chekhov's running nickname for Ivan Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov), here again teased for his illegible handwriting -- a running joke between the two friends across several letters.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 22 January 1888. Moscow. §3 Dear Alba

  Chekhov's running nickname for Ivan Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov), used consistently across their 1887-88 correspondence.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 23 January 1888. Moscow. §6 Leontiev

  Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who wrote under the pen name Shcheglov; Chekhov uses his real surname here rather than the pseudonym.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 23 January 1888. Moscow. §6 Alba

  Chekhov's answering nickname for Shcheglov, after the Duke of Alba, Egmont's historical persecutor in Goethe's play -- a running joke between the two correspondents, also used in Chekhov's other early-1888 letters to Shcheglov.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 23 January 1888. Moscow. §9 Shcheglov

  Chekhov asks Pleshcheev to bring Shcheglov along for the Shrovetide visit.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 3 February 1888. Moscow. §11 Shcheglov

  Ivan Shcheglov (pen name of I. L. Leontyev), a close literary friend of Chekhov's, to whom he sends his regards via Pleshcheev.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 4 February 1888. Moscow. §3 Dear captain!

  One of Chekhov's running nicknames for Ivan Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov), used alongside "Alba" elsewhere in their correspondence.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 5 February 1888. Moscow. §5 Leontyev

  Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who wrote under the pen name Shcheglov; Chekhov calls him warmer and gentler than Korolenko but faults him for the same narrowness of subject, confining his fiction to junior officers.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 9 February 1888. Moscow. §13 Shcheglov

  Ivan Shcheglov, a close literary friend of Chekhov's; Chekhov proposes bringing him along on the imagined Volga excursion, since Shcheglov has grown gloomy about his literary prospects and needs, in Chekhov's words, to "breathe some fresh air."

• To I. L. Leontyev, 10 February 1888. Moscow. §3 Captain

  Chekhov's habitual nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov), a close literary friend; the mock-scolding, teasing register here is typical of their correspondence.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 10 February 1888. Moscow. §6 Captain Alba

  "Alba" is itself Chekhov's running nickname for Shcheglov (from an earlier joke about his illegible handwriting -- "the last word in inquisition"); the promised talk of "Captain Alba" is a wink at Shcheglov himself, not a third party.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 22 February 1888. Moscow. §3 Dear Captain

  Chekhov's habitual nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov), a close literary friend, opening a long letter of sustained, candid literary criticism.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 23 February 1888. Moscow. §5 вручите его при свидании Щеглову

  Failing Severny Vestnik, Chekhov proposes the manuscript be relayed through Ivan Shcheglov, a mutual friend, as an intermediary.

• To N. A. Leikin, 26 February 1888. Moscow. §7 Why has Shcheglov stopped writing for you?

  Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov (pen name of Ivan Leontyev), a close literary friend of Chekhov's who also wrote for the humor press; Chekhov asks Leikin why his contributions to "Oskolki" have lapsed.

• Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev (Shcheglov), February 28, 1888. Moscow. §2 brave captain

  Chekhov's habitual nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov), a close literary friend; the teasing military address recalls Leontyev's earlier service.

• Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev (Shcheglov), February 28, 1888. Moscow. §4 Albov, Barantsevich, you, Fofanov, Yasinsky, Garshin, Korolenko, Chekhov

  The roster of writers proposed for a group photograph (or individual "medallion" portraits): Vasily Albov, Kazimir Barantsevich, Shcheglov himself (addressed here as "you"), Konstantin Fofanov, Ieronim Yasinsky (Maxim Belinsky), Vsevolod Garshin, Vladimir Korolenko, and Chekhov.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 31 March 1888. Moscow. §14 Shcheglov

  Ivan Shcheglov (pen name of Ivan Leontyev), writer and friend of Chekhov's, invited here to join the planned Psyol summer party.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 4 April 1888. Moscow. §3 Dear Jean, and country husband!

  Chekhov's habitual joking address for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, pen name Shcheglov, playing on Shcheglov's own comedy "The Summer Husband" and casting him as a Frenchified "Jean."

• To I. L. Leontyev, 15 April 1888. Moscow. §3 My dearest Captain!

  Chekhov's habitual affectionate address for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, pen name Shcheglov --.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 17 April 1888. Moscow. §9 Shcheglov

  Ivan Shcheglov (pen name of Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev), whom Chekhov had tried and failed to talk into taking a dacha near the Lintvaryov estate for the summer; see also, written to Shcheglov two days earlier on the same subject.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 18 April 1888. Moscow. §3 Dear Captain

  Chekhov's habitual affectionate address for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, pen name Shcheglov --.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 3 May 1888. Moscow. §3 Dear Alba!

  One of Chekhov's nicknames for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who wrote under the pen name I. Shcheglov; elsewhere in this same letter Chekhov also calls him "dear Zhean" (loc 5), a play on "Jean."

• To I. L. Leontyev, 3 May 1888. Moscow. §5 dear Zhean

  A second nickname for Shcheglov used within this same letter, alongside "Alba" in section 3; a play on the French "Jean."

• To I. L. Leontyev, 10 May 1888. Sumy. §3 Captain!

  Chekhov's habitual joking form of address for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, pen name Shcheglov, here used instead of naming him outright.

• To K. S. Barantsevich, 17 May 1888. Sumy. §6 I invited Shcheglov

  Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov (pen name of Leontyev), Chekhov's friend and fellow writer, invited to the Lintvaryov estate along with Barantsevich, though Chekhov doubts he will come.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 30 May 1888. Sumy. §19 Shcheglov-Leontiev holds it against me

  Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov (pen name of Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev), a close literary friend of Chekhov's, here named by the compound of his pen name and real surname.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 14 August 1888. Sumy. §3 dear Jean

  Chekhov's running nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev (Shcheglov), used throughout their correspondence alongside "dear captain."

• To I. L. Leontyev, 14 September 1888. Moscow. §3 dear Jean

  Chekhov's affectionate nickname for Ivan Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov, "Жан"/"Jean"), here teasing him yet again over his notoriously illegible hand -- the same running joke as the "dear Alba" opening of the 1 January 1888 letter.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 15 September 1888. Moscow. §12 Леонтьеву

  "Leontyev" in the closing regards is Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, the writer already mentioned by his pen name "Shcheglov" in section 6 -- kept as a separate, named referent from "Zhorzhik" (Georgy Lintvaryov) in the preceding section, who is not related to Leontyev.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 30 September 1888. Moscow. §5 Жан

  "Jean" is Chekhov's habitual French-flavored nickname for Ivan Leontyev, who wrote under the pen name Ivan Shcheglov -- one person, addressed here by the affectionate diminutive rather than by either of his two "real" names.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 30 September 1888. Moscow. §48 И. Л. Леонтьевым (Щегловым)

  The afterword uses the full disambiguating form "I. L. Leontyev (Shcheglov)" -- real surname followed by parenthetical pen name -- for the same Ivan Shcheglov addressed familiarly as "Jean" in the letter portion of this same document (section 5) and named by pen name alone in the redating table (section 86).

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 30 September 1888. Moscow. §86 И. Л. Леонтьеву

  I. L. Leontyev (Shcheglov) -- the redating table's entry for the same correspondent addressed as "Jean" in the letter (section 5) and named with full disambiguation in the afterword (section 48); the date of this particular letter was corrected from 28 January to 28 February 1888.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 4 October 1888. Moscow. §7 Жан Щеглов

  "Jean" is Chekhov's habitual nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov (pen name of Ivan Leontyev), discussed here in the third person as a visitor to Moscow -- NOT the addressee of this letter, who remains Pleshcheyev throughout. Do not mistake this section for direct Chekhov-to-Shcheglov correspondence (compare the genuine addressed letters to Shcheglov, e.g.).

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 20 October 1888. Moscow. §3 Жан Щеглов

  "Jean Shcheglov" is Chekhov's habitual French-styled nickname for his friend the writer Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who published under the pen name "Shcheglov." Here noted only in passing as having already left Moscow, in contrast to the fuller account of his visit and his play "The Summer Husband" in the earlier letter.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 17 October 1888. Moscow. §3 Jean Shcheglov will drag over to you

  "Jean Shcheglov" is Chekhov's habitual French-styled nickname for his friend the writer Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who published under the pen name "Shcheglov" -- the established corpus entity, consistent with his other appearances in this correspondence (cf. letters 490, 497, 499).

• To I. L. Leontyev, 2 November 1888. Moscow. §3 Dear Jean

  "Милая Жанушка," an affectionate diminutive of "Жан"/"Jean," the French-style nickname Chekhov used for Ivan Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov) throughout their correspondence -- compare the plain "Милый Жан"/"dear Jean" salutation in the 14 September 1888 letter. Rendered simply as "Dear Jean" here to keep the established English form, since the diminutive's extra tenderness has no natural English equivalent.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 7 November 1888. Moscow. §3 Dear Jean

  "Милый Жанчик," a further diminutive of "Жан"/"Jean," the affectionate nickname Chekhov used for Ivan Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov) throughout their correspondence -- compare the plain "Милый Жан" of and the "Милая Жанушка" of. Rendered simply as "Jean" per the established convention noted in this letter's headnote.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 10 November 1888. Moscow. §9 Jean Shcheglov

  "Жан Щеглов," the French-flavored nickname Chekhov's circle used for Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov (pen name of Ivan Leontyev), already established in this corpus (first appearance); the same figure here, not a separate person.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 11 November 1888. Moscow. §3 Mein lieber Johann!

  Chekhov's own German-joking variant of his usual nickname for Ivan Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov, addressed elsewhere in this run of correspondence as "Жан"/"Jean"); kept in German with a bracketed gloss per the convention already used for foreign-language asides in this correspondence. Same addressee throughout this letter, not a separate person.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 11 November 1888. Moscow. §7 sparrow-nerves

  "щеглиные нервы," literally "Shcheglov-nerves" -- a pun on "щегол" (goldfinch), the root of Shcheglov's own surname/pen name -- rendered "sparrow-nerves" to match the established rendering of the same pun in ("Успокойте свои щеглиные нервы" / "Calm your sparrow-nerves"), keeping the wordplay consistent across this run of letters even though "sparrow" is an approximation rather than a literal translation of "щегол" (goldfinch).

• To I. L. Leontyev, 16–17 November 1888. Moscow. §2 Johannes Leonis filius!

  A mock-Latin patronymic joke on the addressee's real name and patronymic, Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov): "Leo" glosses "Leontyevich"/"Leontyev," so "Johannes Leonis filius" literally renders "Ivan, son of Leontius." Kept in Latin with a bracketed gloss per the established convention for this correspondence's foreign-language salutations. Addresses the same correspondent throughout this letter, not a separate person.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 31 December 1888. Moscow. §3 Happy New Year and new happiness, dear Jean!

  "Jean" is Chekhov's habitual affectionate nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who wrote under the pen name "Shcheglov"; not a separate person from the addressee named in the letter's title.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 2 January 1889. Moscow. §5 Shcheglov, too, told me

  Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, writing under the pen name "Shcheglov," previously established in this corpus (see, where he is the addressee) as a frequent correspondent and friend.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 4 January 1889. Moscow. §7 the theater draws you and me, and wore Shcheglov to a thread, because it is one of the forms of sport.

  Refers to Ivan Shcheglov, pen name of Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, Chekhov's close friend and frequent theatrical correspondent, already well established elsewhere in this corpus; here said to have been exhausted ("worn to a thread") by his own theatrical involvement, and imagined again among the anxious opening-night friends in \S8.

• To M. M. Dyukovsky, 7 January 1889. Moscow. §4 Shcheglov

  Pen name of Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev (1856-1911), playwright and close friend of Chekhov's in the 1880s-90s; already established elsewhere in this corpus.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 15 January 1889. Moscow. §4 No, I do not envy Jean Shcheglov. I understand now why he laughs so tragically.

  Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov (pen name of I. L. Leontyev, called "Jean" here in Chekhov's affectionate diminutive), a fellow playwright and close theatrical confidant whose own struggles rewriting a weak play for the stage give Chekhov a point of comparison for his week revising "Ivanov."

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 23–24 January 1889. Petersburg. §3 I shall put all the blame on Shcheglov

  Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, writing under the pen name "Shcheglov," previously established in this corpus as a frequent correspondent and friend; here the intended fall guy for Chekhov's planned excuse, and in \S4 his companion for the following day's visit to Pleshcheyev.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 23–24 January 1889. Petersburg. §4 Tomorrow Shcheglov and I will be at your place

  Same Ivan Shcheglov as in \S3; Chekhov's planned companion for the next day's visit to Pleshcheyev, following the excuse-story he has just outlined.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 14 February 1889. Moscow. §10 Shcheglov

  Pen name of Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, a close friend of Chekhov's frequently teased in his letters for excessive devotion to the theater ("theater-madness"); see also.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 18 February 1889. Moscow. §3 Jean

  Affectionate nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov, pen name of Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, the letter's addressee; the same figure appears as "Shcheglov" in the 10 February 1889 letter to Tikhonov.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 18 February 1889. Moscow. §7 "On Methods of Inoculating Ivan Shcheglov with a Hatred of the Theater."

  A mock dissertation title continuing the letter's running joke that Shcheglov should abandon the stage for fiction, developed seriously in \S9.

• To V. A. Tikhonov, 7 March 1889. Moscow. §8 Shcheglov

  Pen name of Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, a close friend of Chekhov's in the 1880s-90s, listed among the generation's writers.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 11 March 1889. Moscow. §3 Jean

  Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who published under the pen name I. Shcheglov; Chekhov's habitual affectionate nickname for him, as elsewhere in this corpus.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 16 March 1889. Moscow. §4 Open a "Shcheglov Theater" in Peter.

  The joking proposal that Shcheglov open a "Театр И. Щеглова" ("Theater of I. Shcheglov") in "Peter" -- colloquial short form for Petersburg -- is pure banter, not a real proposal, playing on the Korsh Theater's model of a theater named for its founder.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 21–22 March 1889. Moscow. §2 your fizziness, dear Jean

  "Fizziness" translates шипучесть (lit. "effervescence," as of a sparkling drink) -- Chekhov's teasing coinage for Shcheglov's restless habit of juggling several ventures at once. "Jean" is the French form of Ivan used as a family nickname for Shcheglov among the Chekhov circle.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 12 April 1889. Moscow. §3 captain

  Chekhov's regular joking nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev (pen name Ivan Shcheglov), a nod to Shcheglov's earlier career as a professional army officer.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 6 May 1889. Sumy. §3 Jean

  Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, writing under the pen name Ivan Shcheglov, addressed here by his private nickname "Jean"; a close friend and frequent subject of Chekhov's theatrical teasing, already established elsewhere in this corpus.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 6 May 1889. Sumy. §7 captains

  Chekhov puns on Shcheglov's own nickname "captain" (a play on his background as a former army officer) to pivot into the paragraph's theatrical business, addressing Shcheglov himself rather than introducing a new figure.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 14 May 1889. Sumy. §5 Shcheglov is no rival to me.

  Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov (pen name of I. L. Leontyev), playwright and friend of Chekhov's, already established elsewhere in this corpus; his unnamed five-act drama referenced here as a supposed "rival" to Chekhov's own new play is not otherwise identified.

• To V. A. Tikhonov, 31 May 1889. Sumy. §8 Jean Shcheglov

  Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who published as I. Shcheglov, addressed by this nickname throughout Chekhov's correspondence with and about him.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 3 August 1889. Yalta. §12 Jean Shcheglov

  Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, pen name Ivan Shcheglov (1856-1911), playwright and close friend of Chekhov's; "Jean" is the Gallicized form of "Ivan" used between the two as an in-joke.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 29 August 1889. Sumy. §3 Dear Zhanchik

  "Zhanchik" (diminutive of "Zhan"/"Jean") is Chekhov's affectionate private nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who wrote under the pen name Shcheglov -- a running joke on his francophone pseudonym-persona.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 18 September 1889. Moscow. §3 Mr. Theatergoer!

  Chekhov's mock-formal salutation for Ivan Shcheglov (g. Teatral!) -- a running joke on Shcheglov's avid theatergoing and playwriting ambitions.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 21 October 1889. Moscow. §3 Dear, tragic little Jeanne!

  "Жанушка" -- Chekhov's recurring pet name for Shcheglov, punning on his pen name "Щеглов" ("goldfinch") via the sound-association with the French name "Jeanne"; carried through the letter in "finch nerves" (\S3, "щеглиные нервы") and "finch paw" (\S11, "щеглиную лапку").

• To A. S. Suvorin, 23 October 1889. Moscow. §8 Shcheglov

  Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov (pen name of Leontyev), Chekhov's friend and frequent theatrical correspondent; here Chekhov reports having written to him with mock-harsh "serves him right" mockery over the poor stage adaptation of his own novel.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 20 November 1889. Moscow. §10 Shcheglov-Jean is preparing to come to Moscow to show the public a chambermaid and a young man in love with her.

  Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov, Chekhov's close friend and frequent theatrical correspondent, already established in this corpus; "Zhan"/"Jean" was Shcheglov's own affectionate literary nickname. The 'chambermaid and a young man in love with her' is a dry, deflating one-line description of the plot of Shcheglov's new play, left otherwise unglossed.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 15 December 1891. Moscow. §3 your name-day

  Shcheglov's name-day (imeniny), the feast of his patron saint Ivan/Ioann, fell on or near 15 December -- the occasion for this short note, written the same day, promising Chekhov's attendance despite his recent resolve to avoid noisy gatherings.

• To A. S. Suvorin, 17 December 1891. Moscow. §8 Jean Shcheglov will end up becoming an abbot

  A closing joke, unconnected to anything else in the letter, at the expense of Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who wrote under the pen name Shcheglov and whom Chekhov elsewhere addresses by the nickname "Zhan"/"Jean" (e.g., two days earlier). An igumen is the head of an Orthodox monastery, roughly equivalent to an abbot; the joke's premise is not explained.

• To V. A. Tikhonov, 24 January 1892. Moscow. §6 the name-day party at Ivan Leontyevich's

  Identified in the source only by first name and patronymic, "Ivan Leontyevich"; almost certainly Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, the playwright who published under the pen name Shcheglov, a close mutual friend of both Chekhov and Tikhonov whose canonical entity record already carries the full "Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov" name -- a strong match on both patronymic and social circle. Flagged for confirmation since the letter itself supplies no surname or pen name to cross-check against.

• To V. A. Tikhonov, 22 February 1892. Moscow. §4 Shcheglov's name-day party

  The party referred to here is the same name-day gathering, at the home of the playwright Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev (pen name Shcheglov), recalled from the other side a month earlier in, S6 ("the finale of the name-day party at Ivan Leontyevich's turned out brilliant"), where Tikhonov's trick riding on the cabman's box is likewise remembered.

• To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 15 February 1890. Moscow. §6 As for my having left for Moscow with Shcheglov by horse

  The first of two rumors Chekhov debunks in this section. Suvorin had sent a joking telegram to the Chekhov household in Moscow claiming Anton had left Petersburg for Moscow overland by horse-drawn sleigh together with Ivan Shcheglov; the household took the joke at face value. Chekhov's tone here is amused rather than aggrieved -- the correction is offered as a small piece of gossip-management, not a grievance against Suvorin.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 16 March 1890. Moscow. §6 we shall each write an exotic story or a vaudeville, "Oh, the Tropics!" or "A Reluctant Tourist" or "A Captain by Nature" or "The Theatrical Albatross," and so on

  Four invented, deliberately absurd travel-piece titles, tossed off in the vein of the pulpy exotic fiction and vaudeville stock-titles of the day. "Ай да тропики!" ("Oh, the Tropics!") is an exclamation of mock-admiration; "Турист поневоле" ("A Reluctant Tourist") plays on the stock formula "X поневоле" ("X against one's will," as in Moliere's "Le Medecin malgre lui"); "Капитан по натуре" ("A Captain by Nature") and "Театральный альбатрос" ("The Theatrical Albatross") continue the joke by grafting Shcheglov's own theatrical world (he is a playwright) onto exotic travel-adventure cliches. None of these pieces were ever written; the joke is the half-serious invitation itself -- Chekhov proposing that Shcheglov, a man of the Petersburg literary-theatrical world with no real intention of joining a penal-colony expedition, come along and co-author farcical exotica.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 16 March 1890. Moscow. §7 Drop me a line, ein wenig

  "Ein wenig" ("a little") is German in Chekhov's own source text, there glossed by the source edition's own footnote ("немного (нем.)"); left untranslated here to preserve Chekhov's habitual code-switching into scraps of French and German with literary friends, matching how the corpus treats other authorial foreign-language insertions elsewhere (rendered in the original language, not translated into English, since the switch itself is part of the letter's register).

• To I. L. Leontyev, 22 March 1890. Moscow. §10 миленький штабс-капитан с усами

  "Staff-captain" (штабс-капитан) was a specific mid-level rank in the Imperial Russian army; the endearment plays on Shcheglov's own background as a former military officer before he became a writer (see the headnote), and pairs the rank with a comic, affectionate physical detail ("mustachioed") in the same bantering register as the letter's opening "Zhanchik."

• To I. L. Leontyev, 5 June 1890. Irkutsk. §4 милейший из всех капитанов

  "Kindest of all captains" continues the corpus's running bantering address to Shcheglov built on his former army rank (compare "миленький штабс-капитан с усами" in) and the affectionate diminutive "Zhan"/"Жан" used here in \S3, a play on the French "Jean."

• To I. L. Leontyev, 10 December 1890. Moscow. §3 Jean

  "Жан" ("Jean"), the French form of Ivan, is Chekhov's habitual affectionate nickname for I. L. Leontyev (Shcheglov) throughout their correspondence -- the same register as Chekhov's own family nicknames "Antoine"/"Antuan" elsewhere in this corpus. It names no one but Shcheglov himself and is kept untranslated as the pet name it is, per this corpus's practice of preserving French-flavored Russian nicknames rather than normalizing them to plain English equivalents.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 26 December 1890. Moscow. §3 captain

  A running joke on Shcheglov's background as a former military officer (he had served in the artillery before turning to writing); Chekhov's holiday greeting mock-formally wishes him everything "befitting your rank" as if addressing a superior officer.

• To M. P. Chekhova, 14 January 1891. Petersburg. §3 Shcheglov repeats every piece of gossip going round about me

  Ivan Leontyevich Shcheglov, a close friend elsewhere in the corpus's letters; the charge here of gossip-mongering sits in tension with his cheerful arrival minutes later at section 9, part of the letter's characteristic swerve from grievance to daily incident.

• To I. L. Leontyev, 1891. Florence. §3 dear Jean

  Chekhov's playful French nickname for Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, pen name Ivan Shcheglov, a close friend and fellow writer; the Gallicized "Jean" answers Chekhov's own self-Italianizing signature "Antonio" two sections later, both part of the touristic, costume-play persona he adopts across the postcards sent home during this trip.