To I. L. Leontyev, 15 December 1891. Moscow.
И. Л. ЛЕОНТЬЕВУ (ЩЕГЛОВУ), 15 декабря 1891 г. Москва.
Headnote
Checked against the source for genuine multi-item concatenation (the failure mode seen elsewhere in this corpus) – none found; this is one letter.
Dating and setting: 15 December 1891, written from Moscow. This is a short note to Shcheglov ahead of his name-day (Ivan’s day, on or near 15 December, the Julian-calendar date attached to Ioann/Ivan), written roughly a year after the two earlier letters to the same addressee in this corpus (and, both from December 1890). Chekhov mentions a recent trip abroad (probably referring to travel associated with revisions to his short-story collections and other business that year) and a summer spent on a rented estate in Kaluga province – likely Bogimovo, where Chekhov stayed in the summer of 1891.
Addressee: Ivan Leontyevich Leontyev, who wrote under the pen name "Shcheglov" (Щеглов) – a close friend and fellow writer of Chekhov’s, as in the two earlier letters in this corpus. Chekhov again addresses him with the affectionate nickname "Жан" ("Jean"), rendered here as "Jean."
Chekhov promises to attend Shcheglov’s name-day celebration despite having sworn off noisy gatherings – a recent bout of influenza has left him unable to tolerate alcohol, which he takes wryly as a sign of encroaching old age. He looks forward to seeing Shcheglov, Barantsevich, and other mutual acquaintances. He responds with a joke to Shcheglov’s having called him "invariably treacherous," comparing the charge to something a feldsher (a doctor’s assistant) might level and himself, absurdly, to an old maid. He notes that Shcheglov has something serious to discuss, professes to have little that is serious himself but wants to talk anyway, and says he will announce his arrival date and stay with Suvorin, keeping to the house for the first few days. He reports having enjoyed a trip abroad (and run into debt over it), having spent the summer on a rented estate in Kaluga province, and now waiting out the Moscow winter, longing to get away somewhere warm. He closes with a lottery joke wishing Shcheglov a hundred-thousand-ruble win, sends regards to Shcheglov’s wife, signs off, and adds a closing greeting from his own family.