To Al. P. Chekhov, 7 September 1891. Moscow.
Ал. П. ЧЕХОВУ, 7 сентября 1891 г. Москва.
Headnote
Dated 7 September 1891, from Moscow, to Alexander Pavlovich Chekhov, Anton’s elder brother, then living in St. Petersburg.
Chekhov writes to say that the bearer of the note, a K. A. Karatygina, is asking to borrow 150 rubles; since he has none himself, he asks Alexander to give it to her, or, failing that, to check at the bookshop whether any money has accumulated from book sales owed to Anton and to hand that over instead. He adds, in a single flat sentence with no further comment, that Leonid Tretyakov is dying of consumption. The letter closes with the address panel as written on the back of the note – Alexander’s street address in St. Petersburg – and a brief aside that he believes the address to be correct.
The tone is terse and practical throughout, characteristic of Chekhov’s errand-running notes to Alexander: no banter here, just a favor requested and a piece of grim news delivered without comment, in keeping with his habitual restraint.