To M. P. Chekhova, 16 January 1891. Petersburg.
М. П. ЧЕХОВОЙ, 16 января 1891 г. Петербург.
Headnote
A short, jocular letter of 16 January 1891, from Petersburg, to Chekhov’s sister Maria Pavlovna ("Masha"), written on the name-day of Ivan Pavlovich Chekhov (16 January was the feast of St. John), and continuing the running comic business of Chekhov’s Petersburg winter of society calls and Sakhalin-fundraising talk.
He reports celebrating the name-day by shuttling between a tavern and a theatrical benefit performance, complains again of constant interruption by visitors wanting to hear about Sakhalin, and describes a call on his brother Alexander’s family – praising the children but noting the same domestic troubles recurring as had marked their household at Luka (the Lintvaryov estate where the family had summered). He relates at length a comic anecdote about "Drishka," a discovered neighbor with a farcical tale of fleeing an engagement, and her singing triumph at actor Pavel Svobodin’s name-day party. He asks after news of Lidia Stakhiyevna Mizinova’s rumored marriage "out of spite," reports a visit from a priest with a gilded cross, promises to come to Moscow within the week, asks after Sakhalin-school fundraising progress from several named acquaintances, and closes by reporting a summons from Anatoly Fyodorovich Koni, the eminent jurist, wanting to discuss Sakhalin.