Dear Theo,

Thanks for your letter. Please thank Mauve and his wife for theirs also; I enjoyed it very much. I am longing to see the two pictures by Mauve that are destined for the Salon.

Perhaps Gladwell will come back to his old room; he is to have my place at the gallery.

Are you having gales at The Hague like the ones we are having here? Do you know that I will first go to Etten, save for something unforeseen? I think I will leave the 1^st April, perhaps even the 31^st March.

Our parents have written me that you also intend to come to Etten. When do you leave?

I hope to have the opportunity to send you the Longfellow before your departure; it is perhaps a good book for a journey.

My hour approaches: just three more weeks. Now and then I have to remind myself, “Be patient and meek.”

Aunt Cornelie has lent me a beautiful book: Kenelm Chillingly by Bulwer-Lytton. It is full of beauty inside. The subject? The son of a rich Englishman who does not find anywhere rest and peace in his life and he tried to find it among the lower classes. He will end up nevertheless by returning home, without regretting anything that he has done.

And now à Dieu, a pleasant journey (enjoy yourself and see many beautiful things) if you leave before my next letter. Always

Your loving brother, Vincent