The wind was blowing so hard here yesterday afternoon that Mr Stokes didn’t want the boys to go out. I asked permission anyway for 6 of the oldest boys and myself to go out for a walk. We went to the beach; the seas were high and it was difficult to walk against the wind. We saw the lifeboat being pulled by a steamboat, coming back from a ship that had been stranded on a sandbank a long way off;1 but they hadn’t brought anything back.

I know that painting by Willems very well;2 the drawing by Mauve you wrote about  1v:2 must be beautiful.3 Do you ever go and see him in his studio?4

And now you ask what I have to teach the boys; chiefly French, fundamentals, one boy has started to learn German, and also a variety of things like sums, hearing them their lessons, giving dictations &c. For the time being, then, giving the lessons isn’t so difficult, but it’ll be more difficult to make the boys learn them.

And now today is your birthday, I shake your hand in thought, and once again I sincerely wish you blessings and all the best.

Outside school hours, of course, the boys are pretty much under my supervision, and that takes up quite a lot of my time and will probably do so more and more. Last Saturday night I washed 6 or so of the young gentlemen; I did this for fun, though, and because it helped us to finish on time, not because I had to do it. I’ve also tried to get them to read, I have quite a few things that would be suitable for them, ‘The wide, wide world’5 &c. &c.

And now good-day, thanks for your letter, for placing the advertisement, and for sending the newspaper,6 and ever

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