To A. S. Suvorin, 5 February 1891. Moscow.

A short, high-spirited note to Alexei Sergeyevich Suvorin, written from Moscow five days after the previous letter of 31 January 1891. Chekhov reports on his pet mongoose (acquired in Ceylon on the way back from Sakhalin) resuming its habit of breaking dishes, and on his own relief that the long Sakhalin expedition has not dulled his capacity for work: he is writing "at length, à la Yasinsky," chasing a thousand roubles. He proposes an Italian trip, contrasts his sleepless, dissipated but somehow healthier nights in Petersburg with his state in Moscow, and looks forward to summer and fishing. The letter closes with regards to Suvorin’s wife, Anna Ivanovna, his daughter Alexandra Sergeyevna, and the children.