To V. N. Davydov, 7–10 March 1888.
В. Н. ДАВЫДОВУ, Между 7 и 10 марта 1888 г.
Headnote
1 Written from Moscow between March 7 and 10, 1888, this brief note goes to the actor Vladimir Nikolaevich Davydov, who had played the lead in Chekhov’s one-act "Kalkhas" (the piece later retitled "Swan Song"). With the theater season ending and Davydov about to leave Moscow, Chekhov asks him, half in jest, to return the censor-approved copy of the script – sending a bearer to collect it, or asking Davydov to leave it behind, or to simply bring it along to Petersburg, where Chekhov himself would be arriving that Saturday.
Between March 7 and 10, 1888.
Между 7 и 10 марта 1888 г.
I congratulate you, dear Vladimir Nikolaevich, on the fast, on the close of the season, and on your departure for your native parts. The bearer of this letter is authorized to ask you for my censor-approved copy of "Kalkhas," which I need. If this letter does not find you at home, be so good as to leave "Kalkhas" with someone to be passed on to me, or else take it with you to Petersburg, where I shall arrive this coming Saturday. In Petersburg I shall call on you and take "Kalkhas" myself.
Поздравляю Вас, милый Владимир Николаевич, с постом, с окончанием сезона и с отъездом в родные Палестины. Податель сего уполномочен попросить у Вас моего цензурованного "Калхаса", каковой мне нужен. Если это письмо не застанет Вас дома, то, будьте добры, передайте кому-нибудь "Калхаса" для передачи мне или же возьмите его с собой в Питер, куда я прибуду в субботу на этой неделе. В Питере побываю у Вас и возьму "Калхаса".
Keep well. A good journey to you!
Будьте здоровы. Хорошего Вам пути!
Yours, A. Chekhov.
Ваш А. Чехов.
On the reverse:
На обороте:
To His High Nobility
Его высокоблагородию
Vladimir Nikolaevich Davydov.
Владимиру Николаевичу Давыдову.