To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 8 November 1889. Moscow.

A short, hastily written note dated 8 November 1889, sent from Moscow to Alexei Nikolaevich Pleshcheev (1825–1893), the poet and senior editor at the journal Severny vestnik (The Northern Herald), where Chekhov was then publishing and with whom he maintained a warm, mentor-like friendship in these years. Chekhov explicitly flags the letter’s own brevity – he has guests at the table and promises a longer letter soon – and the note reads accordingly as a quick errand rather than a considered piece of correspondence.

The occasion is a favor: Chekhov had recently forwarded Pleshcheev two poems by a young, admiring poet identified only as "N. O.," who is literally sitting at Chekhov’s table as the letter is being written and pressing Chekhov to find out whether Severny vestnik will take them. Chekhov does not otherwise vouch for the poems’ quality beyond calling their author "talented" and "a very nice fellow" (милого человека) – mild, hedged praise consistent with Chekhov acting as an intermediary rather than an enthusiastic advocate. The identity of "N. O." is not resolved within the letter itself; he is a visiting acquaintance, not a named public figure, and no further biographical detail is given. The remainder of the note is purely personal: greetings to Pleshcheev’s family, a mention that Chekhov’s younger brother Mikhail ("Misha") Chekhov is currently in St. Petersburg (where Pleshcheev also lived), and a query whether Misha had called on him – plus the closing formula "Yours to the grave" (Ваш до гробовой доски), an affectionate, faintly ironic sign-off Chekhov used with intimates.