To M. P. Chekhova, 17 March 1891. Petersburg.
М. П. ЧЕХОВОЙ, 17 марта 1891 г. Петербург.
Headnote
A short letter begun late at night on 16 March and dated 17 March 1891, from Petersburg, to Chekhov’s sister Maria Pavlovna ("Masha"). Chekhov had just seen the celebrated Italian actress Eleonora Duse perform in a Shakespearean "Cleopatra" (Antony and Cleopatra) and is still under the impression of the performance, which he uses as an occasion to disparage the leading lights of the Russian stage by comparison.
He reports having sent three hundred rubles home by promissory note and asks whether it arrived, then turns to an enclosed newspaper item – an address or notice praising touring actors for their popularity with student audiences – which he mocks as evidence of shallow, indiscriminate taste among the "young." He closes with travel news (departure for Warsaw the next day), family greetings including the household’s pet mongoose, and a brief sign-off.