To P. A. Sergeyenko, 25 June 1889. Sumy.

1 Written from Sumy on 25 June 1889 to Pyotr Alexeyevich Sergeenko, writer and a friend of Chekhov’s from his university days, then apparently touring or working with a theater company in Sevastopol. The letter is in fact a telegram: a brief message text followed by the address written on the telegram form itself, both preserved here as transmitted (1-5).

2 Chekhov sends a one-line telegram asking Sergeenko to confirm that a theater colleague named Lensky is indeed "Alexander Pavlovich" – evidently to make sure he has the right man before setting out – and says he will leave on Tuesday if so; he asks Sergeenko to wire back which hotel to stay at (2). The telegram is signed "Chekhov" (3). The remaining two sections record the telegram form’s address block rather than further letter text: an editorial label "On the form:" (4) followed by the delivery address itself, "Sevastopol Theater Sergeenko," given without punctuation in the telegraphic style of the period (5).