Letter 1151 - Revision history

Tony: Added commas for ease of reading

2024-07-12T10:38:48Z

Added commas for ease of reading

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:38, 12 July 2024
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	\|Translated text={{right\|''[[Kamenka]]''<br/>9 April}}		\|Translated text={{right\|''[[Kamenka]]''<br/>9 April}}
	Dear [[Tolichka]]! Here is a precise account of what has taken place recently. In [[Moscow]] I was bored, homesick and fuming. On the eve of my departure the ''viper'' burst in unexpectedly along with her sister and stayed for 2 hours. This time I wasn't as quick witted as in [[Piter]], feeling hot and bothered, but nevertheless I retained my composure throughout. When I said to her and repeated several times: ''never, never, not for the world'', instead of tears and hysterics she passed unexpectedly to the matter of ''provision''. I indicated that I was pleased to move the issue on to figures, and after she had made various insinuations concerning [[Nadezhda von Meck\|Madame Meck]] (who, according to her, has offered her a large sum of money), I asked her exactly how much she required. The reply: ''15 thousand''. According to her, she needs this money in order to permanently leave Russia, where everyone looks at her oddly, and where as a consequence she is unable to work. She wishes to move abroad in order to ''surrender herself to music''. I replied that I do not have such an amount of money, but I am glad to know what it is that she wants. She attempted once more to dwell on the past, saying that ''a stone'' could not fail to be moved by her scenes in [[Petersburg]], but she would vigorously counter the wounds I inflicted upon her a hundredfold, and she utterly refused to budge from her stated amount. I was imprudent enough to say that, besides a pension, I will from time to time grant her an exceptional allowance, and would permit her to contact me in cases of particular need. Finally she left. I was quite upset, but at dinner with [[Kondratyev]] at Patrikeyev's I ate and drank well, and returned home at 9 perfectly calm. Here I found a note from the viper in which she said that while in [[Petersburg]] she would require 50 rubles ''spending money''. I meekly sent her 25. The next day I left. I had very little money remaining, and so I was angry when I learned that [[Modest]] had all of 40 rubles, then I asked you to send him 100. But it all worked out perfectly. Derviz (as a result of my letter) provided us with 2 compartments in the through train and complimentary tickets for the Kursk–[[Kiev]] railway. We travelled very pleasantly and comfortably, but I was frightfully tormented by an incredibly excruciating itch all over my body. It turned out this was an urticaric rash, which had been brought on by nervous irritation. At [[Fastov]] we met Bernartovich, who gave the order to attach a separate carriage. On the approach to [[Kamenka]] I began to feel complete relief, and all the welts from the ''urticaria'' abruptly vanished. I'm now completely well. You could not imagine how glorious the weather is here — a perfect summer. The winter corn is wonderfully green, there are violets and a sea of flowers, the nightingales are already singing — well, in a word, it's wonderful. Everyone is in good health, except [[Sasha]] who had a little pain in her side last night. The children have recovered from their measles, although they are still thin and pale. [[Tanya]] has had a ~~hair cut~~, but looks much prettier. The apartment was wonderfully set out and very cosy. [[Modest]] and [[Kolya]] would not fit in with me, so I have the room to myself.		Dear [[Tolichka]]! Here is a precise account of what has taken place recently. In [[Moscow]] I was bored, homesick and fuming. On the eve of my departure the ''viper'' burst in unexpectedly along with her sister and stayed for 2 hours. This time I wasn't as quick witted as in [[Piter]], feeling hot and bothered, but nevertheless I retained my composure throughout. When I said to her and repeated several times: ''never, never, not for the world'', instead of tears and hysterics she passed unexpectedly to the matter of ''provision''. I indicated that I was pleased to move the issue on to figures, and after she had made various insinuations concerning [[Nadezhda von Meck\|Madame Meck]] (who, according to her, has offered her a large sum of money), I asked her exactly how much she required. The reply: ''15 thousand''. According to her, she needs this money in order to permanently leave Russia, where everyone looks at her oddly, and where, as a consequence, she is unable to work. She wishes to move abroad in order to ''surrender herself to music''. I replied that I do not have such an amount of money, but I am glad to know what it is that she wants. She attempted once more to dwell on the past, saying that ''a stone'' could not fail to be moved by her scenes in [[Petersburg]], but she would vigorously counter the wounds I inflicted upon her a hundredfold, and she utterly refused to budge from her stated amount. I was imprudent enough to say that, besides a pension, I will from time to time grant her an exceptional allowance, and would permit her to contact me in cases of particular need. Finally she left. I was quite upset, but at dinner with [[Kondratyev]] at Patrikeyev's I ate and drank well, and returned home at 9 perfectly calm. Here I found a note from the viper in which she said that while in [[Petersburg]] she would require 50 rubles ''spending money''. I meekly sent her 25. The next day I left. I had very little money remaining, and so I was angry when I learned that [[Modest]] had all of 40 rubles, then I asked you to send him 100. But it all worked out perfectly. Derviz (as a result of my letter) provided us with 2 compartments in the through train and complimentary tickets for the Kursk–[[Kiev]] railway. We travelled very pleasantly and comfortably, but I was frightfully tormented by an incredibly excruciating itch all over my body. It turned out this was an urticaric rash, which had been brought on by nervous irritation. At [[Fastov]] we met Bernartovich, who gave the order to attach a separate carriage. On the approach to [[Kamenka]] I began to feel complete relief, and all the welts from the ''urticaria'' abruptly vanished. I'm now completely well. You could not imagine how glorious the weather is here — a perfect summer. The winter corn is wonderfully green, there are violets and a sea of flowers, the nightingales are already singing — well, in a word, it's wonderful. Everyone is in good health, except [[Sasha]] who had a little pain in her side last night. The children have recovered from their measles, although they are still thin and pale. [[Tanya]] has had a haircut, but looks much prettier. The apartment was wonderfully set out and very cosy. [[Modest]] and [[Kolya]] would not fit in with me, so I have the room to myself.

	Here is a plan:		Here is a plan:

Brett: 1 revision imported

2022-07-12T12:19:57Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 14:19, 12 July 2022
(No difference)

Brett at 12:44, 31 March 2020

2020-03-31T12:44:10Z

New page

{{letterhead
|Date=9/21 April 1879
|To=[[Anatoly Tchaikovsky]]
|Place=[[Kamenka]]
|Language=Russian
|Autograph=[[Klin]] (Russia): {{RUS-KLč}} (a{{sup|3}}, No. 1225)
|Publication={{bib|1940/210|П. И. Чайковский. Письма к родным ; том 1}} (1940), p. 551–553<br/>{{bib|1963/6|П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений ; том VIII}} (1963), p. 168–169 (abridged)
}}
==Text and Translation==
{{Lettertext
|Language=Russian
|Translator=Brett Langston
|Original text={{right|''Каменка''<br/>9 апр[еля]}}
Милый Толичка! Вот точное описание всего бывшего в последнее время. В Москве скучал, томился и бесился. Накануне отъезда ко мне ворвалась совершенно неожиданно ''гадина'' вместе с своей сестрицей и просидела часа 2. На этот раз я был менее умён, чем в Питере, горячился и раздражался, но всё-таки ни разу не вышел из себя. Когда я ей сказал и несколько раз повторил: ''никогда, никогда и ни за что на свете'', то вместо, слез и истерик она перешла совершенно неожиданно к вопросу об ''обеспечении''. Я выразил удовольствие, что дело перешла к цифрам, и после разных её намёков на M[ada]me Мекк (которая, по её словам, подсылала к ней с предложением больших денег) спросил решительно, сколько ей нужно. Ответ: ''15 тысяч''. По её словам, эти деньги ей нужно, чтоб навсегда покинуть Россию, где на неё все странно смотрят и где поэтому она не может работать. Она желает переехать за границу, дабы ''предаться музыке''. Я отвечал, что денег этих у меня нет, но что я рад узнать, чего, она желает. Она пробовала опять возвращаться к прошлому, говорила, что ''один камень'' мог не быть тронутым её петербургскими сценами, но встретила с моей сто раны энергический отпор и совершенное нежелание выходить из области цифр. Я имел неосторожность сказать, что, кроме пенсии, буду иногда выдавать экстраординарные субсидии, и позволил в случае особенной нужды обращаться ко мне. Наконец она ушла. Я был довольно расстроен, но за обедом с Кондратьевым у Патрикеева хорошо ел и пил и возвратился часов в 9 домой совершенно спокойный за обедом с Кондратьевым у Патрикеева хорошо ел и пил и возвратился часов в 9 домой совершенно спокойный. Здесь я нашёл записочку гадины, в которой она говорит, что ''истратилась'' в Петербурге и что ей нужно 50 р[ублей]. Имел слабость послать ей 25. На другой день уехал. Денег оставалось у меня очень мало, и поэтому я разозлился, когда узнал, что у Модеста всего 40 рублей, тогда как я просил тебя выдать ему 100. Но все уладилось отлично. Дервиз (вследствие моего письма) дал нам 2 отделения в вагоне прямого сообщения и даровые билеты на К[урско]-К[иевокую] дорогу. Ехали мы очень удобно и приятно, но меня страшно терзал невероятно мучительный зуд во всем теле. Оказалось, что это крапивная лихорадка, которая была следствием нервного раздражения. В Фастове встретили Бернатовича, который велел прицепить нам отдельный вагон. Подъезжая к Каменке, я почувствовал совершенное облегчение, и всё мои опухоли от ''крапивки'' внезапно прошли. Теперь я совершенно здоров. Ты не можешь себе представить, что здесь за чудная погода — совершенное лето. Озимые хлеба чудно зеленеют, фиалок и цветов масса, соловьи уже поют, — ну, словом, чудно. Всех нашёл здоровыми, но у Саши вчера вечером болел немного бок. Детки после кори поправились, хотя ещё худы и бледны. Таня бритая, но очень похорошела. Квартирка моя устроена чудесна и очень удобно. Модест и Коля поместились не у меня, так что мне просторно.

Вот план:
[[File:1151 ex1.jpg|350px|center]]
{{centre|{{*}} тут был прежде подъезд, который уничтожен.}}

Сейчас написал ''гадине'' письмо о том, что мне нужно сперва собрать сведения о том, могу ли быть обеспеченным от её приставаний, если капитализирую пенсию, и что окончательный ответ дам позднее. Писать мне письма запретил ей. Завтра начну заниматься. Сейчас пойду гулять в Тростянку. Целую тебя как можно крепче.
{{right|Твой, П. Чайковский}}

|Translated text={{right|''[[Kamenka]]''<br/>9 April}}
Dear [[Tolichka]]! Here is a precise account of what has taken place recently. In [[Moscow]] I was bored, homesick and fuming. On the eve of my departure the ''viper'' burst in unexpectedly along with her sister and stayed for 2 hours. This time I wasn't as quick witted as in [[Piter]], feeling hot and bothered, but nevertheless I retained my composure throughout. When I said to her and repeated several times: ''never, never, not for the world'', instead of tears and hysterics she passed unexpectedly to the matter of ''provision''. I indicated that I was pleased to move the issue on to figures, and after she had made various insinuations concerning [[Nadezhda von Meck|Madame Meck]] (who, according to her, has offered her a large sum of money), I asked her exactly how much she required. The reply: ''15 thousand''. According to her, she needs this money in order to permanently leave Russia, where everyone looks at her oddly, and where as a consequence she is unable to work. She wishes to move abroad in order to ''surrender herself to music''. I replied that I do not have such an amount of money, but I am glad to know what it is that she wants. She attempted once more to dwell on the past, saying that ''a stone'' could not fail to be moved by her scenes in [[Petersburg]], but she would vigorously counter the wounds I inflicted upon her a hundredfold, and she utterly refused to budge from her stated amount. I was imprudent enough to say that, besides a pension, I will from time to time grant her an exceptional allowance, and would permit her to contact me in cases of particular need. Finally she left. I was quite upset, but at dinner with [[Kondratyev]] at Patrikeyev's I ate and drank well, and returned home at 9 perfectly calm. Here I found a note from the viper in which she said that while in [[Petersburg]] she would require 50 rubles ''spending money''. I meekly sent her 25. The next day I left. I had very little money remaining, and so I was angry when I learned that [[Modest]] had all of 40 rubles, then I asked you to send him 100. But it all worked out perfectly. Derviz (as a result of my letter) provided us with 2 compartments in the through train and complimentary tickets for the Kursk–[[Kiev]] railway. We travelled very pleasantly and comfortably, but I was frightfully tormented by an incredibly excruciating itch all over my body. It turned out this was an urticaric rash, which had been brought on by nervous irritation. At [[Fastov]] we met Bernartovich, who gave the order to attach a separate carriage. On the approach to [[Kamenka]] I began to feel complete relief, and all the welts from the ''urticaria'' abruptly vanished. I'm now completely well. You could not imagine how glorious the weather is here — a perfect summer. The winter corn is wonderfully green, there are violets and a sea of flowers, the nightingales are already singing — well, in a word, it's wonderful. Everyone is in good health, except [[Sasha]] who had a little pain in her side last night. The children have recovered from their measles, although they are still thin and pale. [[Tanya]] has had a hair cut, but looks much prettier. The apartment was wonderfully set out and very cosy. [[Modest]] and [[Kolya]] would not fit in with me, so I have the room to myself.

Here is a plan:
[[File:1151 ex1.jpg|350px|centre]]
{{centre|{{*}} there used to be a doorway here, which has been stopped up.}}

I've just written a letter to the ''viper'' to say that foremost I require assurances as to whether I can be safe from her harassment if her pension is realised, and that I shall give her a definitive response later. I have forbidden her to write to me. Tomorrow I shall start work. Now I'm going for a walk in the Trostyanka. I kiss you as hard as possible.
{{right|Yours, P. Tchaikovsky}}
}}