To M. V. Kiseleva, 1 October 1885. Moscow.

Written on October 1, 1885, from Moscow, this short letter is addressed to Maria Vladimirovna Kiseleva, mistress of Babkino, the family estate near Voskresensk where the Chekhovs had spent their summer, and mother of young Sofa (Sofochka) and the children Serozha and Vasilisa mentioned in the letter. Chekhov, having returned to the city, writes half in jest that he is claiming a corner of his sister’s allotted space in the family correspondence to open his own heart to Kiseleva, just as young Sofa had apparently done in a letter of her own.

The result is a wistful, comic miniature of post-Babkino homesickness: Chekhov confesses that his mind is still full of fishing rods, ruffe, camphor oil, and the path through the marsh, and that he wakes each morning half-expecting to check his lines. Moscow, by contrast, is "infernally dull," relieved only by a small win at the races and a mounting pile of work. The letter closes with playful, mock-formal bows to Kiseleva’s husband Alexei Sergeyevich and warm greetings to the children, before Chekhov signs off. It is a slight but characteristic piece – affectionate, self-deprecating, and steeped in the rural idyll that recurs throughout his Babkino-era correspondence.