To A. S. Lazarev, 22 March 1888. Moscow.

1 Written from Moscow on March 22, 1888, this short letter finds Chekhov playing literary broker for his friend Alexander Lazarev (Gruzinsky), a fellow writer of humorous sketches. Chekhov has arranged a possible opening for Lazarev at the "Petersburg Gazette" and coaches him on the flattering note he should send to Nikolai Leikin, the editor who can make the introduction – so that Lazarev can finally stop placing his work with lesser humor magazines.

2 Chekhov then reports briefly on his own recent trip to Petersburg, where he stayed with the publisher Alexei Suvorin and calls him "a remarkable man of our time." He notes he has not yet raised Lazarev’s book with the printer Golike, who happened not to be at the station among the friends seeing Chekhov off, but promises there will be time. He closes with news of his own forthcoming books: a second edition of "Twilight," a new collection, and a children’s book.