To N. A. Leikin, 19 April 1886. Moscow.

1 Written from Moscow on 19 April 1886 to Nikolai Alexandrovich Leikin, editor of the humor magazine Oskolki ("Fragments") and Chekhov’s publisher at this stage of his career. The letter is business correspondence about the forthcoming story collection Motley Stories (Pestrye rasskazy), addressing the choice of cover stock and, at some length, Chekhov’s objection to including the story "The Nightmare" alongside "The Swedish Match." Chekhov closes with brief personal notes: the weather in Moscow, his planned trip to Petersburg before May 1st, and news (or lack of it) of mutual acquaintances – the poet Liodor Palmin, the journalist Vladimir Gilyarovsky ("Gilyai"), and one "Agafopod."

2 The letter is a good example of Chekhov’s brisk, half-joking editorial voice with Leikin in this period: firm about his artistic judgment (he did not want "The Nightmare" – a somber story about a village priest’s poverty – jarring against the lighter "The Swedish Match" in the same collection), while keeping the tone familiar and affectionate ("голубчик," here rendered "my dear fellow"). It captures the practical, deadline-driven texture of Chekhov’s early literary life, when he was negotiating book design and content decisions by mail while still writing prolifically for the comic press.