To A. S. Suvorin, 18 August 1891. Bogimovo.

A short business letter of 18 August 1891 from Bogimovo to Chekhov’s publisher Aleksei Sergeyevich Suvorin in Feodosia: dateline, short-form date, the announcement that the long story is finished and sent under separate registered cover, a request to hold printing until autumn so Chekhov can correct proofs in Moscow, an anxious request for a telegraphed acknowledgment of receipt, a report on the story’s length and the difficulty of finishing it along with a request for a 300-ruble advance against the fee, a mock-solemn refusal to visit Suvorin for lack of travel money, a note on mushrooms and hot weather, a question about how long Suvorin will remain in Feodosia, regards, a valediction, and the signature. Companion letter, also dated 18 August 1891 and addressed to Suvorin, is a separate, considerably longer letter written the same day in reply to correspondence Chekhov had just received from Suvorin – the text of 999 itself opens by noting that a first letter went out with the story ("вместе с рассказом") and that this is "another, in answer to yours, just received," confirming the two are genuinely distinct rather than duplicates.

The story in question is almost certainly "The Duel" ("Дуэль"), the long novella Chekhov was finishing at Bogimovo that summer for serialization in Suvorin’s "New Times" ("Новое время"). the story anxieties already visible in. Chekhov asks that publication wait until he can correct proofs himself in Moscow, notes that his own proof-corrections reliably shorten the text (a running joke about his editorial severity), and is candid about needing the fee to clear a standing debt to the newspaper and to cover living expenses – he asks for an advance of 300 rubles specifically. He closes with the same small domestic notes recurring across this Bogimovo run: an abundance of mushrooms, hot weather, and regards to Suvorin’s household.