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梵高书信集

编号001  
时间 1872年8月18曰  
写信地点 The Hague 海牙
收信人 Theo 提奥



Letter 001

The Hague,c. 18 August 1872
海牙 1872年8月18曰
  
Dear Theo,
Many thanks for your letter,I was glad to hear you arrived home safely. I missed you the first few days and it felt strange not to find you there when I came home in the afternoons. 在你刚走的几天里我十分想你，而且下午回家后，你的离去总使我感到很不习惯  

We have had some enjoyable days together, and managed to take a few walks and see one or two sights between the spots of rain.

What dreadful weather! You must have sweltered 热得难受 from the heat on your walks to Oisterwijk 地名 . There was harness racing yesterday for the Exhibition; but the illuminations 灯饰 and the fireworks were put off because of the bad weather, so it 's just as well you didn' t stay on to see them. Regards from the Haanebeek and Roos families.

Always your loving Vincent.

Letter 002...我们应该经常的通信...

The Hague, 13 Dec 1872
海牙 1872年12月13曰  
Dear Theo,

What good news I' ve just read in Father' s letter. I wish you luck with all my heart. I' m sure you will like it there, it' s such a fine firm. It will be quite a change for you.  
I am so glad that both of us are now to be in the same profession and in the same firm. We must be sure to write to each other regularly.
I hope that I' ll see you before you leave, we still have a lot to talk about. I believe that Brussels is a very pleasant city, but It' s bound to feel strange for you in the beginning. Write to me soon in any case. Well, goodbye for now, this is just a brief note dashed offein haste, but I had to tell you how delighted I am at the news. Best wishes, and believe me, always,

Your loving brother,

Vincent

I don't envy you having to walk to Oisterwijk every day in this awful 可怕的 weather. Regards from the Roos family.

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Letter 003 圣诞节我们过得多么开心呀！  

(1872年圣诞节，凡高和弟弟提奥都回到了海尔沃特 Helvoirt 家中
度过了几天难忘的曰子。所以凡高说：
What happy days we spent together at Christmas!



The Hague, January 1873

My dear Theo,

I heard from home that you arrived safe and sound at Brussels  and that your first impression was good.

I know so well how strange you must feel in the beginning, but don't lose courage, you'll get on all right.

You must soon write me how you are getting along and how you like your boardinghouse. I hope it will be satisfactory  . Father wrote me that you are on good terms with Mr. Schmidt; that is right - I think he is a good fellow from whom you can learn a great deal.

What happy days we spent together at Christmas! I think of them so often. You will also remember them a long time, as they were the last days you spent at home.Don't forget to tell me what pictures you see and which you like best.

I am very busy just now at the beginning of the year.

My New Year began well; they have granted me an increase of ten guilders  (I therefore earn fifty guilders per month), and they have given me a bonus  of fifty guilders as a present. Isn't that splendid ? I hope to be able to shift for myself  now.

I am very happy that you work in the same firm. It is such a splendid house; the more one works there, the more ambition  it gives you.

The beginning is perhaps more difficult than anything else, but keep heart, it will turn out all right.

Will you ask Schmidt what the price of the Album Corot, lithographs by Émile Vernier is? Somebody asked for it at the store, and I know they have it in Brussels. Next time I write, I'll send you my picture, which I had taken last Sunday. Have you already been to the Palace Ducal  ? Don't fail to go there when you have a chance.

Well, boy, keep your courage up. All the friends send you their compliments 问候 and good wishes. Give my regards to Schmidt and Eduard and write to me soon. Adieu.

Your loving brother, Vincent.

You know my address is,

Lange Beestenmarkt , 32

Or Goupil & Co., Plaats

4

Letter 004....一切都会好起来的，没人能指
望在一开始的时候就得尝所愿......

(1873年，提奥开始在古比尔公司布鲁塞尔分店工作，与凡高成了同行)

The Hague , 28 January 1873

Dear Theo,

I was glad you answered me so soon and that you like Brussels  and have found a nice boarding-house. Don ' t lose heart if it is very difficult at times, everything will come out all right and nobody can in the beginning do as he wishes.

How I pity Uncle Hein [ 注1] , I heartily hope he will recover, but, Theo, I fear he will not. Last summer he was still full of enthusiasm  and had so many plans and told me that business was flourishing . It' s very sad. Last Sunday I was at Uncle Cor' s and spent a very pleasant day there as you can imagine, and saw so many beautiful things. As you know, Uncle has just come back from Paris and brought some beautiful pictures and drawings with him. I remained in Amsterdam till Monday morning and went to see the museums again. Do you know that they are going to build a large new museum in Amsterdam, instead of the Trippenhuis? I think it is right, for the Trippenhuis is small and many pictures are hung so that they can hardly be seen.

How I should have liked to see that picture by Cluysenaer, I have only seen a few pictures of his and those I liked very much. Tell me if that other picture is by "Alfred" Stevens, or else what the first name is. I know the photograph after the Rotta and have even seen the picture at the Exhibition in Brussels. Be sure to let me know what pictures you see, I am always glad to know. The album of which you gave me the title is not the one I meant, which is only lithographs  after Corot. But I thank you for the trouble you have taken. I hope to get a letter from sister Anna soon, she is rather laggard  about writing of late. Do surprise her with a letter, that would be such a pleasure to her. I suppose you are very busy, but that is not bad. It is cold here and they are skating already. I walk as much as I can. I wonder if you will have any chance to skate. Enclosed you will find my photograph, but if you write home don't mention it, as you know it is for father's birthday. I have already sent you my congratulations upon that day. My best compliments  to Uncle and Aunt, also to Mr. Schmidt and Eduard. Always

Your loving brother, Vincent.

Kind regards from everybody at Haanebeek's, Aunt Fie and Roos.


[ 注1]："Uncle Hein" (Hendrick Vincent van Gogh 1814 - 1877)凡高和提奥的叔叔

5

Letter 005 ..... 我强烈建议你抽烟斗；这对于
低落的情绪是一剂良药...  


(由于凡高在海牙古比尔分店工作出色，他将被调往古比尔伦敦店工作 )

The Hague , 17 March 1873

Dear Theo,

It is time for you to hear from me again. I am longing to hear how you and Uncle Hein are, so I hope that you will be able to find time to write me.

I suppose you have heard that I am going to London  , probably very soon. I do hope that we shall see each other before then. If there is any chance, I shall go to Helvoirt9(海尔沃特，当时凡高父母居住的地方 )at Easter  , but that depends on Iterson 人名, who is away on business. I cannot go away before he comes back.

It will be quite a different life for me in London, as I shall probably have to live alone in rooms. I' ll have to take care of many things I don't have to worry about now.

I am looking forward very much to seeing London, as you can imagine, but still I am sorry to leave here. Now that it has been decided that I shall go away, I feel how strongly I am attached to The Hague. Well, it can' t be helped, and I intend not to take things too hard. It will be splendid for my English - I can understand it well enough, but I cannot speak it as well as I would wish.

I heard from Anna that you had your picture taken. If you have one to spare, don't forget me.

How is Uncle Hein? Not better, I am afraid. And how is Aunt? Can Uncle keep himself busy, and does he suffer much pain? Give him my warmest regards. I think of him so often. How is business? I think you must be rushed with work; we certainly are here. You must feel at home in the business by this time.

How is your boardinghouse - does it still please you? That's an important thing. Be sure to tell me more about the pictures you see. A fortnight ago I was in Amsterdam to see an exhibition of the pictures that are going from here to Vienna. It was very interesting, and I am curious to know what impression the Dutch artists will make in Vienna  . I am also curious to see the English painters; we see so little of them because almost everything remains in England.

In London Goupil( 古比尔画廊，凡高工作的地方 )has no gallery, but sells only directly to art dealers. Uncle Vincent will be here at the end of this month, and I am looking forward to hearing more particulars  from him.

The Haanebeeks and Aunt Fie always ask how you are and send you their best wishes. What delightful weather we are having! I enjoy it as much as I can; last Sunday I went out boating with Willem 1. How I should have liked to stay here this summer, but we must take things as they are. And now adieu. Best wishes and write to me soon. Say goodbye for me to Uncle and Aunt, Mr. Schmidt and Eduard. I am looking forward to Easter.

Always your loving brother, Vincent.

Theo,I strongly advise you to smoke a pipe; it is a remedy for the blues , which I happen to have had now and then lately.I just received your letter, many thanks. I like the photograph very much, it is a good likeness. I will let you know as soon as I know something more about my going to Helvoirt; it would be nice if you could come on the same day. Adieu.

This was Willem Valkes  , a cousin of the Roos family and a fellow boarder with Vincent

6

Letter 006

The Hague, 24 March 1875

Dear Theo,

Would you kindly find out if there is still a painting by Schotel in Brussels ?
It was sent from here on commission May 6, 1870. Perhaps Uncle has already sent it back to Paris.

But if not, please have it returned here immediately. We have a chance of selling it, but it is urgent. Last summer I saw it at your gallery, so I think it may still be there.

Give my compliments to Uncle and Aunt, Mr. Schmidt and Eduard.

I suppose you have got my letter already. Adieu and best wishes.

Vincent.

[img]http://www.vangogh.com.cn/history/letter/letter_pic/letter006_b.gif[/img]

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Letter 007

（凡高正准备前往伦敦，开始古比尔公司伦敦店的工作。
从海牙分店调往伦敦店可以说是一种提升，这说明凡高在海牙的工作很出色。）

The Hague, 5 May 1873
  
Dear Theo,

You must forgive me for having forgotten your birthday. My best wishes. I hope this year will be a happy one for you, and that you will like your work more and more.

My time here is almost up. Next Saturday I go home to say goodbye, and then on to Paris on Sunday. I fear, however, that it will be Monday before I can start, and that I shall have to stay over in Helvoirt  on Sunday. I hope that I shall be able to write you when I'll be passing through Brussels  in time. I may not be able to, as I do not know for sure when I have to be in Paris.

How are Uncle and Aunt - have they moved already? You must write me about this soon, my address is below. I am writing in a hurry; as you can imagine, I am very busy. Adieu, best wishes. Compliments to Uncle, Aunt, Mr. Schmidt and Eduard.

Always your loving Vincent.

V. W. van Gogh

C/o Messrs. Goupil & Co .,

17 Southampton Street, Strand, London

Don' t forget to write V. W. van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh  ; otherwise it might be confused with Uncle Vincent's mail, he is only called V., you know.

8

Letter 008

The Hague, 9 May 1873

Dear Theo,

Monday morning I leave Helvoirt  for Paris , and shall pass Brussels at 2.07 P. M. Come to the station if you can, I should be so glad to see you.

I must not forget to tell you that I showed your photograph to Mrs. Tersteeg  Uncle Vincent  , and she would like very much to have one. Is there a chance of your having another and sending it to me? If not now, maybe another time.

Theo, you have no idea how kind everybody here is to me, and you can imagine how sorry I am to have to leave so many friends.

Adieu, boy. Compliments to Uncle and Aunt, hope to see you soon.

Vincent.

Inquire if you have to be at the north or the south station.

9

Letter 009 ....到目前为止我对住宿还算满意....


（显然，凡高已经在伦敦安顿了下来
还有三个同住的，喜欢音乐的德国人做朋友）

London, 13 June 1873
  
Dear Theo,

My address is c/o Messrs. Goupil & Co., 17 Southampton Street, Strand, London  . You must be eager to hear from me, so I will not keep you waiting any longer for a letter.

I hear from home that you are living with Mr. Schmidt now and that Father has been to see you. I certainly hope this will please you better than your former boardinghouse, and I'm sure it will.

I am very anxious for a letter; write me soon, and tell me how you spend your day, etc. You must tell me especially what pictures you have seen lately, and also if any new etchings  or lithographs  have been published. Let me know as much as you can about these things, for I do not see much of them here as it is only a wholesale  house.

Considering the circumstances  , I am doing pretty well. So far the boardinghouse where I am staying pleases me. There are also three German boarders who are very fond of music, they play the piano and sing, so we spend very pleasant evenings together. I am not so busy here as I was in The Hague  ; I work only from nine in the morning to six in the evening, and on Saturdays we close at four o'clock. I live in one of the suburbs  of London, where it is relatively quiet. It reminds me of Tilburg or some such place.

I spent some very pleasant days in Paris, and, as you can imagine, I enjoyed all the beautiful things I saw at the exhibition and in the Louvre  and the Luxembourg . The house in Paris is splendid and much bigger than I had thought, especially the one in the Place de l'Opera 1.

Life is very expensive here, my accommodation alone costs me eighteen shillings  by week, washing excepted, and then I still have to take my dinner in the city. Last Sunday I went to the country with Mr. Obach？, my principal, to Boxhill; it is a high hill about six hours by road from London, partially chalky and overgrown with box and on one side a wood of high oak trees. The country is beautiful here, quite different from Holland  or Belgium  . Everywhere you see charming  parks with high trees and shrubs  . Everyone is allowed to walk there. At Easter , I made an interesting excursion  with the Germans, but these gentlemen spend a great deal of money and I shall not go out with them in the future.

I was glad to hear from home that Uncle Hein's health is good. Give him and Aunt my best and tell them something about me. Give my compliments to Mr. Schmidt and Eduard and write to me soon. à Dieu, best wishes,

Vincent

1. Goupil 古比尔画廊 had three branches 三个分店 in Paris, the main branch was on the Rue Chaptal, another on Boulevard Montmartre, of which Theo became the head later on, and a third branch was on the Place de l'Opera.

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Letter 010 我们在海牙度过了多么愉快的曰子呀

London, 20 July 1873
Dear Theo,

Thanks for your letter, which was very welcome. I am glad you are doing well and that you like living with Mr. Schmidt, Mr. Obach was very pleased to have met you. I hope that in the future we shall do much business with each other. That picture of Linder's is very beautiful. As to the photo engravings 雕版画？, I have never seen them being made; I know a little about how they are done, but not enough to explain.

At first English art did not appeal to me; one must get used to it. But there are clever painters here, among others, Millais, who has painted: “The Huguenot,” “Ophelia,” etc., of which I think you know the engravings; his things are beautiful. Then there is Boughton, whose “Puritans Going to Church” is in our Galerie Photographique; I have seen wonderful things by him. Among the old painters, Constable 康斯太勃 was a landscape painter 风景画家 who lived about thirty years ago; he is splendid - his work reminds me of Diaz and Daubigny 杜比尼 . Then there are Reynolds and Gainsborough, whose forte was very beautiful ladies' portraits 肖像 , and Turner 透纳 , whose engravings you must have seen. Some good French painters live here, including Tissot, of whose work there are several photographs in our Galerie Photographique; and Otto Weber and Heilbuth. The latter is at present painting exquisitely beautiful pictures in the manner of Linder.

Sometime you must write me if there are any photographs of Wauters's work other than “Hugo Van der Goes” and “Mary of Burgundy,” and if you know about any photographs of pictures by Lagye and De Braekeleer. I don't mean the elder Braekeleer, but, I think, a son of his who had three beautiful pictures called “Antwerp,” “The School” and “The Atlas” at the last exhibition in Brussels.

I am quite contented here; I walk a lot and the neighborhood where I live is quiet, pleasant and fresh - I was really very lucky to find it. Still, I often think with regret of the delightful Sundays at Scheveningen and other things, but what's the use of worrying? Thanks for what you wrote me about pictures. If you happen to see anything by Lagye, De Braekeleer, Wauters, Maris, Tissot, George Saal, Jundt, Zeim, or Mauve 安东·莫夫 1838 - 1888 海牙画派的代表人物 他的妻子是凡高母亲的妹妹的女儿, you must not forget to tell me; those are the painters I am very fond of, and whose work you will probably see something of.

Enclosed is a copy of the poem about the painter who “entered `The Swan,' the inn where he was lodging,” which I am sure you remember. It is typical Brabant, and I am fond of it. L. copied it for me the last evening I was home 1.

How I should like to have you here. What pleasant days we spent together at The Hague 我们在海牙度过了多么愉快的曰子呀 ; I think so often of that walk on the Rijswijk road, when we drank milk at the mill 磨房 after the rain. When we send back the pictures we have from you, I will send you a picture of that mill by Weissenbruch 魏森勃鲁赫 ; perhaps you remember him, his nickname is Merry Weiss 欢乐的魏斯 . That Rijswijk road holds memories for me which are perhaps the most beautiful I have. If we meet again, maybe we shall talk about them once more.

And now, boy, I wish you well. Think of me from time to time and write me soon, it is such a delight to get a letter.

Vincent

1. Lies, an abbreviation for their sister Elisabeth 凡高的妹妹伊利莎白的缩写

11

Letter 011 我拥有了一个我一直渴望的卧室

London, 13 September 1873

Dear Theo,

In my letter to Uncle Hein I enclose a little note for you. I wonder if you were in Helvoirt (海尔沃特 凡高父母居住的地方) for Mother's birthday and how you enjoyed it.

Did you get my letter and the lithograph  after Weissenbruch  which I put in the box with the pictures? Oh! Old man, I so want that you come here to see my new lodgings  , the one I have already spoken about to you. I now have a bedroom such as I always longed for , without a sloping ceiling and without blue wallpaper with green fringes.I lodge with some charming people now; they keep a school for little boys.

One Saturday some time ago, I went boating on the Thames  , in the company of two Englishmen. It was glorious  .

Yesterday I saw an exhibition of Belgian art, where I noticed many of the same pictures that were at the Brussels  exhibition. There were several beautiful things by Alb. and Julien de Vriendt, Cluysenaer, Wauters, Coosemans, Gabriel, De Schampheleer, etc. Have you ever seen anything by Terlinden? If so, tell me about it. It was a real pleasure to see those Belgian pictures; the English ones are with a few exceptions very bad and uninteresting . Some time ago I saw one which represented  a kind of fish or dragon, six yards long. It was awful  . And then a little man, who came to kill the above-mentioned dragon. I think the whole represented “The Archangel Michael, Killing Satan.”

Adieu, boy, best wishes and write soon,

Vincent

Another English picture is “Satan Possessing the Herd of Swine at the Lake of Gadarena.” It represented about fifty black pigs and swine running helter-skelter  down the mountain, and skipping over one another into the sea. But there was a very clever picture by Prinsep.

I just received your letter. Going to The Hague will be a great change for you. I imagine it will be hard to leave beautiful, pleasant Brussels, but you will enjoy The Hague, too. Thanks for what you wrote me about the pictures. That picture by Millet must have been splendid. à Dieu, I will write soon again.

12

Letter 012 有时间你一定要写信告诉我你最喜欢的画家  

London, 19 November 1873

Dear Theo,

I want to be sure you hear from me soon after your arrival at The Hague . I am eager to hear what your first impressions were of your new position and home. I heard that Mr. Schmidt gave you such a beautiful souvenir  . That proves you have been very satisfactory  in every respect  . I am glad that we now work in the same house of Goupil  . Lately we have had many pictures and drawings here; we sold a great many, but not enough yet - it must become something more established  and solid. I think there is still much work to do in England, but it will not be successful at once. Of course, the first thing necessary is to have good pictures, and that will be very difficult. Well, we must take things as they are and make the best of it.

How is business in Holland ? Here the ordinary  engravings ？ after Brochard do not sell at all, the good burin engravings sell pretty well. From the “Venus Anadyomene” after Ingres we have already sold twenty épreuves d'artiste. It is a pleasure to see how well the photographs  sell, especially the coloured ones, and there is a big profit  in them. We sell the Musée Goupil & Co. photographs only en papillottes, on an average of a hundred a day.

I think you will like the work at the house at The Hague as soon as you have got used to it. I am sure you will like your home with the Roos family. Walk as much as your time will allow. Give my best love to everybody at Roos's.

You must write me sometime whom you like best among the older painters as well as among the moderns. Don't forget, as I am curious to know. Go to the museum as often as you can; it is a good thing to know the old painters also. If you have the chance, read about art, especially art magazines, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, etc. As soon as I have the opportunity  , I will send you a book by Burger about the museums at The Hague and Amsterdam  . Please send it back when you have read it.

Ask Iterson  to write me when he has time, and especially to send me a list of the painters who have won awards  at the Paris exhibition  . Is Somerwill still in the office or did he leave when you arrived?

I am all right. I have a pleasant home, and although the house here is not so interesting as the one in The Hague, it is perhaps well that I am here. Later on, especially when the sale of pictures grows more important, I shall perhaps be of use. And then, I cannot tell you how interesting it is to see London and English business and the way of life, which differs so much from ours.

You must have had pleasant days at home; how I should like to see them all again. Give my compliments to everybody who inquires after me, especially at Tersteeg's, Haanebeek, Auntie Fie, Stockum and Roos; and tell Betsy Tersteeg something about me when you see her. And now, boy, good luck to you, write to me soon.

Vincent

Do you have my room at Roos's or the one you slept in last summer?

13

Letter 013 最好多出去散步，保持你对大自然的热爱


(1874，提奥也开始在凡高曾工作的古比尔画廊分店工作)


London, Jan.1874
  
My dear Theo,  

Many thanks for your letter. My warm good wishes for a very happy New Year. I know you are doing well at The Hague, because Mr. Tersteeg told me so. I can see from your letter that you are taking a keen interest in art, and that's a good thing, old fellow. I'm glad you like Millet , Jacque, Schreyer, Lambinet, Frans Hals, etc., for as Mauve （Anton Mauve 1838 - 1888 海牙画派代表画家，后与凡高的表妹 Jeanette(Jet) Carbentus 1856 - 1894 结婚） says, “That's it.” That painting by Millet, L'angélus du soir  , “that's it,” indeed - that's magnificent , that's poetry  . How I wish I could have another talk with you about art; but we'll just have to keep writing to each other about it. Admire  as much as you can; most people don't admire enough.

Here are the names of a few the painters I particularly like. Scheffer, Delaroche, Hébert, Hamon, Leys, Tissot, Lagye, Boughton, Millais, Thijs [Matthijs] Mans, De Groux, De Braekeleer, Jr., Millet, Jules Breton, Feyen-Perrin, Eugène Feyen, Brion, Jundt, George Saal, Israëls, Anker, Knaus, Vautier, Jourdan, Jalabert, Antigna, Compte-Calix, Rochussen, Meissonier, Zamacois, Madrazo, Ziem, Boudin, Gérôme, Fromentin, de Tournemine, Pasini, Decamps, Bonington, Diaz, Th. Rousseau, Troyon, Dupré, Paul Huet, Corot, Jacque, Otto Weber, Daubigny, Wahlberg, Bernier, émile Breton, Chenu, César de Cock, Mile. Collart, Bodmer, Koekkoek, Schelfhout, Weissenbruch, and last [but] not least, Maris and Mauve.

But I could carry on like that for I don't know how long, and then there are still all the old masters, and I am sure I have forgotten some of the best of the modern ones.

Do go on doing a lot of walking and keep up your love of nature, for that is the right way to understand art better and better. Painters understand nature and love her and teach us to see.
And then there are painters who never do anything that is no good, who cannot do anything bad, just as there are ordinary people who can do nothing but good.

I'm getting on very well here. I've got a delightful home and I'm finding it very pleasurable taking a look at London and the English way of life and the English people themselves, and then I've got nature and art and poetry, and if that isn't enough, what is? But I haven't forgotten Holland and especially not The Hague and Brabant. We are busy at the office doing stocktaking , but it will all be over in 5 days, we got off more lightly than you did in The Hague.

I hope that, like me, you had a happy Christmas.

And so, my boy, best wishes and write to me soon, Je t'écris un peu au hasard ce qui me vient dans ma plume [I have written to you in this manner just as it came into my pen], I hope you'll be able to make something of it.

Goodbye, regards to everybody at work and to anybody else who asks after me, especially everybody at Aunt Fie's and at the Haanebeeks'.

Vincent

I am enclosing a few lines for Mr. Roos.

14

Letter 014

London, 20 February 1874

Dear Theo,

Thanks for your letter. I don't want the book just now; take your time  and send it back when you have finished it. I have not read the book by Van Vloten, but I should like to see it. I have read another book on art by Van Vloten, and did not quite agree with him, though it was very learned. Burger is simpler, and whatever he says is true.

I am glad you have been in Amsterdam  . When you see him, will you thank Uncle Cor for the pamphlet  he sent me? I am glad you feel so comfortable at Roos's . As I already let you know through Anna Carbentus, you are quite right about those priggish  girls. I also agree with you about Bertha Haanebeek; but watch your heart, boy.

Have you seen Mr. Jacobson's collection yet? He will certainly ask you to come to see it, and it is well worth while. Give him my respects and tell him I am doing quite well here and that I see many beautiful things.

I am all right and am very busy. Thank Willem for his letter and greet everybody at Roos's and Iterson and anybody who may ask after me. Best regards.

Vincent

15

Letter 015 你应该尽你的所能去博览各种艺术书籍


(3月30曰是凡高的生曰。)


London, 30 March 1874
  
Dear Theo,

I have received your gift  , included in a letter to me, of a guilder intended for the purchaseof a pair of cuff links  . I thank you very cordially  , old man, but you should not have, I have more money than necessary.

Thanks for the letter which I received this morning. I was very glad to hear that Mauve is engaged to Jet Carbentus（安东·莫夫 Anton Mauve 1838 - 1888 海牙画派代表画家）Jet Carbentus ( Carbentus 1856 - 1894） . That is fine…I was pleased to hear that you are doing so well.

You have done well to read the book by Burger; you should devour books on art as much as possible  , especially The Gazette de Beaux-Arts, etc. By all means  try to get a good knowledge of pictures. That picture by Apol we have here now is good, but last year he painted the same subject and I thought it was better and brighter than this one.

I am glad that you go to see Uncle Cor  Cornelis Marinns van Gogh (1824 - 1908)  now and then  ; he has pictures and prints which you can never see at the house in The Hague.

I, too, am very busy just now and am glad of it, for that is what I want. à Dieu  , boy, keep in good spirits. I wish you well. Greetings to Iterson.

Vincent

16

Letter 016 海牙就像我的第二故乡

London, 30 April 1874

Dear Theo,

Many happy returns of your birthday, “Do well and don't look back, then all will come right.” 1

I was glad to receive your last letter. A few days ago I sent you a photograph, “Young Girl with a Sword” by Jacquet, as I thought you would like to have it.

The picture by Van Gorkom is not very dirty. (Entre nous, I have not seen it, but tell him I said it was not very dirty.) How are Mauve and Jet ? Tell me about them.

I am glad you visit the Haanebeeks (凡高在海牙的朋友) often. When I return to Holland, I will stop for some days in The Hague 作, because for me The Hague is like a second home to me. (I will stay at your place.)

I would have liked to accompany  you on this walk to the Vink. I seize every opportunity  to make a tour of the area but, for the moment, I am very busy. It is very beautiful here (although it is in the city). Lilac, hawthorns and laburnums flower  in all gardens; the chestnut  trees are splendid.

He that sincerely  loves nature, finds pleasure everywhere. Nevertheless  I miss Holland  , especially Helvoirt  .

I am very busy gardening now, I have sown scented peas, poppies and daisies ; I have nothing more to do than to wait to see what they will give.

I have to tell that I am happy every morning to have to walk the distance between my accommodation  and the shop and, in the evening, that between the shop and my accommodation, it is a good three-quarters of an hour walk each time .

It is a fine thing that business finishes so early; the office closes at six o'clock, and yet there is no less work done. My compliments to all the friends, especially to Tersteeg (特斯蒂格 海牙古比尔画廊经理), Haanebeek and Carbentus, also to everyone at Uncle Pompe's because they are going to Kampen, and to Mr. Bakhuyzen. Best wishes.

Vincent

啊  啊   啊  叫首富来翻译哈