To N. A. Leikin, 17 March 1886. Moscow.

1 Written from Moscow on 17 March 1886 to Nikolai Alexandrovich Leikin, editor of the humor magazine Fragments (Oskolki), for which Chekhov was a regular contributor. The letter is brief and businesslike: Chekhov reports that he has gone to see the journalist and writer Vladimir Gilyarovsky (referred to by his nickname "Gilyai," then abbreviated to "Gy") and talked him out of a short story originally intended for a rival humor magazine, plus some minor pieces and verses, all now being forwarded to Leikin for Fragments. He notes that a registered letter went out separately that same day, sends regards to Leikin’s wife Praskovya Nikiforovna and son Fedya, and closes with a postscript asking that Gilyarovsky’s story be returned to him if the censor blocks it, so he can place it elsewhere.

2 Though slight, the letter is a good specimen of Chekhov’s role as an informal literary agent and pipeline manager for Fragments in this period – scouting material from other writers, weighing censorship risk, and managing submissions on Leikin’s behalf, all in a tone of brisk, affectionate collegiality ("most kind Nikolai Alexandrovich").