To F. A. Kumanin, December 1890. Moscow.

Sent from Moscow in mid-December 1890, shortly after the "Around 10 December 1890" letter to the same addressee in which Chekhov reports having just returned to Moscow, coughing and housebound with a cold caught in the Archipelago on the voyage home from Sakhalin. This letter continues that homebound period: Chekhov thanks Kumanin for a copy of his journal (most likely Artist, the Moscow literary-artistic journal Kumanin edited), says he would like to call on him to talk over old business, but is confined to the house – this time by hemorrhoids rather than the cold – and asks that if Kumanin is driving past, he give the cabman an extra five kopecks to turn in to Chekhov’s courtyard, presumably so Kumanin can stop by in person rather than Chekhov having to go out.

The return address given – Malaya Dmitrovka street, the Firgang house – is the address of the apartment Chekhov’s family was renting in Moscow that winter.

a brief personal note of thanks and apology, explaining his confinement (hemorrhoids) and proposing that Kumanin visit him instead, with a small practical request about directing the cabman to the courtyard entrance. No literary or business substance beyond the passing thanks for the journal issue and the "bygone business" Chekhov wants to discuss in person, left unspecified.