To A. S. Suvorin, 24 October 1888. Moscow.

1 Written from Moscow on 24 October 1888 to Alexei Suvorin, six days after the detailed "Wood Demon" playbill letter of 18 October, this is a short note touching on four small pieces of literary business – a belated occasional piece, the illustrations for "Kashtanka," and two reflections on the play then called "The Wood Demon" – before closing with regards, a promise to visit in November, and a one-line postscript on Moscow news.

2 Chekhov reports that he was moved to write a short piece for an occasion, but that it came too late and turned out thin, since such things need to be dashed off in one sitting and he kept being interrupted by visitors and family (3). He mentions ordering illustrations for "Kashtanka" and is on his way to ask a painter-friend, an expert on dogs, to draw one for the cover (4). He then reflects, in two short successive notes, on the play/story project then called "The Wood Demon" ("Леший"): first that the material would suit a novel but that he lacks the strength for a novel just now and the favorable time hasn’t come, so a short story is what he can manage (5); then, shifting to the play itself, that if he were writing the comedy "The Wood Demon" he would foreground its "literariness" over its actors and stage, and would be grateful even for that much literary merit (6). He closes with regards from the household, a wish for Suvorin’s health, and a promise to come in November (7), signs off (8), and adds a final one-line postscript reporting that "Alexei Alexeyevich" is still in Moscow (9).