To L. N. Lenskaya, 15–16 February 1889. Moscow.

1 Written from Moscow on 15 or 16 February 1889 (the source dateline itself gives the day as uncertain, "15 or 16 February"), this short, warm letter goes to Lidiya Nikolaevna Lenskaya, named in the source’s own archival heading ("Л. Н. ЛЕНСКОЙ," dative of "Lenskaya"), wife of the Maly Theatre actor Alexander Pavlovich Lensky, one of Chekhov’s close friends in theatrical circles in this period; she is addressed together with her husband, referred to throughout as "Alexander Pavlovich," a natural fit given his prominence as an actor and their being, in Chekhov’s own later phrase elsewhere in the corpus, "acquainted as families."

2 Chekhov opens with literary business: Lenskaya had given him a "legend" (a legendary tale or subject) that he has now worked into a forthcoming novella, due to be printed that summer. He formally returns her the right of ownership over the material, noting this costs him nothing since he means to use the legend regardless – many writers, he observes, can take up the same subject without crowding one another (2). He explains, with a wry historical allusion ("Heavy is the cap of Monomakh!"), that he missed a Maslenitsa bliny visit to her house because "Severny Vestnik" had sent him the proofs of his play and he had to rush them off by courier train (3). He proposes a Lenten evening gathering at his own place – a "sour cabbage" spread of pickled vegetables and a meatless vinaigrette – provided Alexander Pavlovich drinks at least three glasses (4). He promises to send her a children’s story about a boy who runs away from a hospital at night, to appear in a forthcoming collection of child-themed stories, "Little Folk" ("Detvora"), in the "Cheap Library" series (5). He closes with greetings passed on from Suvorin and his own, asking her to convey them to her husband as well (6), followed by the sign-off "Devotedly yours" (7) and signature "A. Chekhov" (8), a note that his sister sends her greetings (9), and two closing lines returning to the legend: an assurance that he will alter it enough that even Alexander Pavlovich will not recognize it, so she should feel free to give the subject to anyone else who wants it (10), and a final compliment on how well she set the legend down in writing, with an offer to send a copy or the original letter if needed (11).