1. Taken from Jules Michelet’s La femme; see letter 189, n. 28.

2. From 25 to 27 November 1881 Van Gogh had been in Amsterdam, attempting to win Kee’s love, but his efforts had ended in rejection. See letters 191 and 193.

a. Meaning; ‘sterker worden’ (to grow stronger).

3. Francis Montague Holl, The deserter, in The Graphic 12 (25 September 1875), pp. 312-313. Ill. 941 .