To I. L. Leontyev, 31 December 1888. Moscow.

1 Written from Moscow on 31 December 1888 to Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who wrote under the pen name "Shcheglov" and whom Chekhov here addresses by the affectionate nickname "Jean" – a New Year’s letter, brief and warm, mixing holiday greetings with theater news touching both correspondents’ plays.

2 After the dateline (1-2), Chekhov opens with New Year’s wishes for Shcheglov’s health and literary productivity, framed half seriously, half as a joke about Shcheglov’s prolific output and his frustration with theater work (3). He reports that the actor and director Nikolai Solovtsov visited and discussed Shcheglov’s play, which Solovtsov wants to stage (4). He then turns to his own play "Ivanov": the director Fyodorov-Yurkovsky wants to give it as his benefit performance in Petersburg, with the actresses Strepetova and Savina, and Chekhov suspects Potekhin is behind the gesture as well (5). But Chekhov is anxious about the play’s flaws and has written asking that it be withdrawn if it fails to meet conditions he specified in a separate letter, reasoning that a play given such prominence deserves to be excellent (5-6). He reiterates that the flaws are incurable, in his own judgment and that of trusted others, and tells Shcheglov to forget about "Ivanov" and wait for his next play (6). The letter closes with an invitation to visit Moscow if Shcheglov’s own play is staged, a note on the cold weather, a domestic detail about sending the household’s Misha out for wine to see in the New Year, and closing good wishes and signature (7-10).