Letter 36
| Date | 7/19 October 1851 |
|---|---|
| Addressed to | Aleksandra Tchaikovskaya and Ilya Tchaikovsky |
| Where written | Saint Petersburg |
| Language | Russian |
| Autograph Location | Saint Petersburg (Russia): National Library of Russia (ф. 834, ед. хр. 33, л. 51–52) |
| Publication | П. И. Чайковский. Письма к родным (1940), p. 33–34 П. И. Чайковский. Полное собрание сочинений, том V (1959), p. 38 |
| Notes | Postscript to a letter from Nikolay Tchaikovsky dated "7 October 1851" |
Text and Translation
Spelling and punctuation errors in the original text have not been indicated.
| Russian text (original) |
English translation By Luis Sundkvist |
Милые Папаша и Мамаша!
Вот уже это 2-рое письмо, которое я вам пишу. Я опять совершенно привык с тех пор как Папаша уехал но ещё все когда вспомню об этих неделях как я у вас провёл мне бывает скучно. Тётя Лиза которая хотела приезжать ко мне совершенно забыла об нас забыла и ни разу у нас не была; причина я надеюсь та которую вам пишет Коля. Надеясь на Декабрь и на Январь я очень, очень много утешаюсь и не замечая, как ско[ро] проходят минуты, часы, дни и недели. Мне кажется все что это не может быть! И душа моя как будто предчувствует что это непременно сбудется. И уже если Бог как будто предсказывает это, то неужели не сбудется! Верно вы не захотите мои Ангелы, чтобы все наши надежды не исполнились? Неужели все воздушные замки, которые я строю не исполнятся? Мне странно об этом подумать. И значит что все эти надежды непременно исполнятся. Поцелуйте Зину и всех братьев и сестёр. Целую ваши ручки и прошу вашего благословления. Ваш Сын, П. Чайковский |
This is already the second letter which I am writing to you. I have again got quite used to it since Papasha left, although whenever I recall those weeks and how I spent them with you, I still feel sad [1]. Aunt Liza, who wanted to come to me, has completely forgotten about us and hasn't once been to see us. I hope the reason for this is the one about which Kolya writes to you [2]. Setting my hopes on December and January, I console myself very, very much, and do not notice how quickly the minutes, hours, days and weeks pass. I keep thinking that all this cannot happen! And my soul has a kind of presentiment that this will come true without fail. And given that God seems to be presaging this, surely this must now come true![3] You certainly cannot want all our hopes not to be fulfilled, can you, my Angels? Will the castles that I am building in the air really not come true? It is strange for me to think about that. And that means that all these hopes will definitely come true. Kiss Zina and all my brothers and sisters. I kiss your hands and ask for your blessing. Your son, P. Tchaikovsky |
Notes and References
- ↑ In September, Ilya Tchaikovsky had come to Saint Petersburg from Alapayevsk in order to visit his sons Pyotr and Nikolay, who were attending boarding-schools in the Imperial capital. Ilya spent about three weeks with his sons before returning to the Urals.
- ↑ In his letter to his parents, Nikolay had written about the death of Mrs Schobert, who was probably the mother-in-law of Nikolay and Pyotr's maternal aunt Yelizaveta Schobert (née Assier) — note by Vladimir Zhdanov in П. И. Чайковский. Письма к родным (1940), p. 661.
- ↑ During his visit, Ilya Tchaikovsky seems to have explained to his sons that the whole family would be moving from Alapayevsk to Saint Petersburg the following spring, and that prior to that he (and possibly their mother too) would visit Pyotr and Nikolay again around Christmas or in January. Ilya did not in fact come to Saint Petersburg in January, but in early/mid-May 1852 he did finally make the move to the capital with his family.
