To A. I. Smagin, 4 January 1892. Petersburg.
А. И. СМАГИНУ, 4 января 1892 г. Петербург.
Headnote
A short, twelve-section letter, dated 4 January 1892, from Petersburg, to Alexander Ivanovich Smagin – the same Poltava-province landowner and family friend addressed throughout the companion run of letters from 1891-92, through whom the Chekhov family was pursuing purchase of a small country property (the "khutor") in the south.
Content: Chekhov reports that he has had a power of attorney drawn up by the notary Ivanov, only to learn from a letter from his sister that the Yatsenko khutor – which he had hoped to buy, sending Smagin the power of attorney and 5 thousand rubles – is not for sale after all. He is despondent, asking where he is to spend the summer, and wonders whether the khutor at Sorochintsy, or some property in Ryazan province (which he dismisses as too cold and dull), might serve instead. He reports that his health has improved in Petersburg, describes a late night out to the entertainment gardens with the celebrated Ukrainian actress Zankovetskaya, and jokes that despite the champagne he still feels well and is not sneezing. He returns to his frustration over the stalled purchase – money was unavailable when khutors were being sold, and now that money is available none are for sale – noting that the large sum of 5 thousand rubles had at first alarmed him but that he was reassured on learning his books had been selling well over the holidays. He closes with New Year’s wishes, a brief sign-off, greetings to Smagin’s household, and instructions to write to him in Moscow.
Tone: a brief, plaintive-then-buoyant letter – real disappointment and mock despair over the collapsed khutor purchase, giving way to an account of a champagne-fueled night out and Chekhov’s characteristic wry self-report on his health, then a return to the money troubles (softened by good news about book sales) and a warm, quick close with New Year’s greetings, consistent with the rest of the Smagin correspondence.