To F. O. Shekhtel, 12–16 September 1886. Moscow.

1 A short, teasing note from Chekhov to his close friend Fyodor Shekhtel (Schechtel), the architect, written from Moscow in September 1886. Addressing him jokingly as "Deceived Man," Chekhov apologizes for standing him up — he had gambled that Shekhtel wouldn’t return to Moscow on schedule after a mishap on a trip ("shipwreck with the bulls"), and was in any case called away on business to see the theatrical impresario Fyodor Korsh. Chekhov adds that he doesn’t have the address of the journalist Vladimir Gilyarovsky ("Gilyai") but that it can be found through the newspaper Russkiye Vedomosti, then invites Shekhtel to join him that evening at Korsh’s theater for a production of Turgenev’s comedy "The Bachelor," praising the lead actor Davydov’s performance.

2 The letter is a small window into Chekhov’s Moscow social circle in the mid-1880s — friendships with an architect, a journalist, and a theater manager — and into his taste for teasing, affectionate banter with intimates, as well as his active theatergoing life just before his own turn toward playwriting.