Letter · 1891

To A. S. Suvorin, 28 October 1891. Moscow.

А. С. СУВОРИНУ, 28 октября 1891 г. Москва.

Headnote

Dated 28 October 1891, from Moscow, to Aleksei Sergeyevich Suvorin, publisher of "Novoye Vremya" and Chekhov’s close friend and correspondent.

Chekhov reports that his servant Ivan has just brought him the plan for a school (evidently a project of Suvorin’s, likely tied to the famine-relief and local-improvement efforts Chekhov was involved with in this period) that Suvorin had asked Ivan about. Since the plan is dense with figures and would be tedious for Suvorin to read on paper, Chekhov – after conferring with Ivan – decides instead to bring the plan with him to Petersburg and walk Suvorin through it in person with detailed comments. He adds that he has just sent off a separate, long letter, then signs off. The closing lines are the address panel: to Suvorin in Petersburg, at Malaya Italyanskaya (the street of the Novoye Vremya offices, where Suvorin’s own residence/office was located), addressed simply "at Novoye Vremya."

Businesslike and brief, with a small note of consideration for Suvorin’s patience (sparing him a column of figures).

28 October 1891. Moscow.
28 октября 1891 г. Москва.
Ivan has just brought me the plan for the school that you spoke to him about. Since in this plan one figure chases another, and it would bore and depress you to read it, I have, after conferring with Ivan, decided: to bring the plan to Petersburg and show it to you with detailed comments.
Сейчас Иван принес мне план школы, о котором Вы говорили ему. Так как в этом плане цифра погоняет цифрой, и Вам будет скучно и грустно читать его, то я, посоветовавшись с Иваном, решил: привезти план в Петербург и показать Вам его с подробными комментариями.
I have just sent off a long letter.
Сейчас послал большое письмо.
On the reverse:
На обороте:
Мл. Итальянская, в "Новом времени".

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To A. S. Suvorin, 28 October 1891. Moscow.

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