Dear Theo,
I arrived here safely yesterday, at about one in the
afternoon. The first thing that struck me was that the windows
of this not so very big school look out onto the sea. It is a
boarding school, and there are twenty-four boys from ten to
fourteen years old. Mr. Stokes is on a trip for a few days, and
so I haven't seen him yet. They expect him this evening. There
is another assistant teacher seventeen years old.
Last night and this morning, we all went for a walk along
the seashore. Enclosed is a spray of seaweed.
On the waterfront, most of the houses are built of yellow
brick in the style of those in Nassaulaan in The Hague, but
they are higher and have gardens full of cedars and evergreen
trees of a somber green.
Dikes of stone, upon which you can walk, protect the
harbour, where all sorts of ships are tied up. Yesterday
everything was grey.
By and by I shall go and unpack my trunks, which have just
been delivered, and I am going to hang some prints in my
room.
The holidays are not yet over, so I have not had to give any
lessons so far. I am anxious to see Mr. Stokes.
I must go for a walk with the boys.
Adieu, always
Your loving brother, Vincent
At this time, Vincent was 23 year oldSource: Vincent van Gogh. Letter to Theo van Gogh. Written 17 April 1876 in Ramsgate. Translated by Mrs. Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, edited by Robert Harrison, number 061. URL: https://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/4/061.htm.
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