To Al. P. Chekhov, 17–18 November 1886. Moscow.

1 A brief note from Chekhov to his elder brother Alexander, written in Moscow on 17 or 18 November 1886. Chekhov reports his social itinerary for the day – an appointment with Nikolai Leikin, the editor of the humor magazine "Oskolki" ("Splinters"), followed by a visit to an unnamed poet’s gathering, where talk of the magazine’s affairs is expected to outweigh the drinking. He passes along the address of the poet Liodor Palmin and pointedly waves off any notion that Alexander needs his blessing to attend.

2 Though slight, the letter is a good specimen of Chekhov’s clipped, ironic epistolary voice of the mid-1880s, when he was juggling Leikin’s demands at "Oskolki" with his own literary ambitions. The closing "And again it’s strange..." echoes his earlier jab about being consulted needlessly, underscoring his impatience with being treated as an arbiter of his brother’s social calendar.