To N. A. Leikin, 26 February 1888. Moscow.

1 Written from Moscow on February 26, 1888, this short letter thanks Nikolai Leikin – editor of the humor magazine "Oskolki" ("Splinters"), where Chekhov had published extensively – for a letter and an accompanying prize book, and admits to having worried that Leikin’s long silence meant he was offended by some Moscow gossip. Chekhov mentions a possible joint trip to Petersburg with Leikin in the coming weeks, and jokes about his own hermit-like seclusion indoors.

2 The letter then turns to editorial business at "Oskolki": Chekhov asks why the contributor Ivan Shcheglov has stopped writing for the magazine, and objects – half in jest – to its recent taste for risque front-page material, urging Leikin to keep to the magazine’s established program. He closes with news of two other "Oskolki" contributors, Alexander Gruzinsky and Nikolai Yezhov, and warm regards to Leikin’s family.