1. That Van Gogh corresponded frequently with H.G. Tersteeg at this time emerges from the following remark made by Mrs van Gogh to Theo: ‘When Vincent was home last year, he let us read letters from Mr Tersteeg which he received in London. So nice, and enjoyable’ (FR b972, 31 March 1878).

2. The early Christian legend of John and Theagenes treats the apostle John, who asks a bishop near Ephesus to keep an eye on the promising youth Theagenes. The bishop fails in this endeavour and the lad becomes the leader of a band of robbers. Later, however, John succeeds in making him repent: Theagenes shows remorse and is converted to a new, God-fearing life. In the Netherlands the story was known from Bernard ter Haar’s adaptation titled Joannes en Theagenes. Eene legende uit de apostolische eeuw. Arnhem 1838 (and several reprints).

3. Le conscrit (The conscript) is the French title of an originally Flemish story set in an idyllic village, titled De loteling (1850) by Henri Conscience. It recounts the heartrending story of Jan, whose conscription into the army forced him to take leave of his family and his beloved Trien. The book had been reprinted several times before 1876 (the year in which this letter was written), and there were a number of French translations.

4. Regarding Madame Therèse, see letter 55, n. 24.

5. The short story ‘Die Neujahrsnacht eines Unglücklichen’ (A wretch’s New Year’s Eve) by Jean Paul, (the pseudonym of Johann Paul Friedrich Richter) is about an old man who regrets his past mistakes, and upon hearing the chimes ringing in the new year, recalls with longing his innocent youth and realizes that it is not too late to turn over a new leaf and lead a virtuous life. See Jean Pauls Sämtliche Werke. Ed. Eduard Berend. Vol. 7, section 1. Weimar 1931, pp. 392-394. A Dutch translation, ‘De oudejaarsnacht van eenen ongelukkigen’, appeared in Gedachten van Jean Paul. Met eene inleiding door J.A. Weiland. 2 vols. Amsterdam 1837, vol. 1, pp. 85-88.

6. Andersen's fairy tales ‘De geschiedenis eener moeder’ (Andersen 1872, pp. 413-419), which appeared as ‘The story of a mother’ in Andersen 1861, pp. 394-400; ‘De roode schoentjes’ (Andersen 1872, pp. 253-260), which appeared as ‘The red shoes’ in Andersen 1861, pp. 271-277; ‘Het kleine meisje met de lucifers’ (Andersen 1872, pp. 319-321), which appeared as ‘The little matchseller’, Andersen 1861, pp. 324-326.

The first is the story of a horror-stricken mother who sets out in search of her daughter, who has been claimed by Death. At first prepared to go to any lengths to recover her daughter, the mother ultimately accepts God’s will. The second fairy tale is about a girl called Karen who is obsessed with red shoes. When her shoes are put under a spell and cannot stop dancing, she has her feet chopped off. She goes to work for a preacher, whom she helps ‘diligently and thoughtfully’, finally realizing that it is not splendour and finery that is important, but the attainment of God’s grace. ‘The little matchseller’ is the tale of a little girl who is sent out on a cold New Year’s Eve to sell matches. She manages to stay alive by lighting one match after another, in the course of which beautiful and joyous things happen to her. Just before freezing to death, she is lovingly gathered up in the arms of her grandmother, and together they are embraced by God.

7. Regarding ‘King Robert of Sicily’ by Longfellow, see letter 66, n. 12.

8. John 17:15.

9. A prayer written and often recited in the family circle by Mr van Gogh; see letter 113.

10. ‘Vrijmoedigheid hebben’ (to have confidence) is a pietistic manner of speaking.

11. Van Gogh’s striving for greater godliness was viewed with dismay by his family. Lies, for example, wrote to Theo on 18 August: ‘I believe he is intoxicated with piety’ (FR b2766).

12. For a long time it was thought that Van Gogh was referring here to Boughton’s The pilgrim’s progress, also called: Godspeed! Pilgrims setting out for Canterbury; Time of Chaucer, 1874 (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum). Ill. 1815

. There is reason to doubt this identification, however. Parts of Van Gogh’s description do not correspond to this work: the woman who is being addressed is not wearing black, for example, and there is no sign of either the evening sun or mountains in the distance. Moreover, Van Gogh refers again to this work in letter 99, in which he explicitly mentions a ‘sketch’. Sund therefore imagines a work ‘in the mode of Bearers of the Burden’, in Sund 1992, p. 259 (n. 77). See also Hope B. Werness, ‘Vincent van Gogh and a lost painting by G.H. Boughton’, Gazette des Beaux-Arts 106 (September 1985), pp. 53-75, and Xander van Eck, who stated: ‘It seems very probable that Boughton did indeed make a painting based on Bunyan’s immensely popular Pilgrim’s Progress, even though no such painting has yet come to light.’ See ‘Van Gogh and George Henry Boughton’, The Burlington Magazine 132 (1990), pp. 539-540 (quotation on p. 540); and De Leeuw 1995.

13. 2 Cor. 6:10.

14. From the poem ‘Up-hill’ by Christina Georgina Rossetti; see letter 54, n. 1.

15. Rhy. ps. 42:7.

16. 2 Cor. 6:10.

17. Cf. Matt. 5:3 and Luke 6:20.

18. Biblical; cf. Matt. 13:33.

19. Cf. 2 Cor. 5:14.

20. Ps. 73:25.

21. 1 Cor. 13. To verse 4 of this passage Van Gogh added the phrase ‘zij is zacht... moed’ (it is meek... woe and spirit), which is based on Gal. 5:22, Eph. 4:2 and Col. 3:12.

22. Hymn 180, verse 5.

23. In letters 87 and 88, Vincent had asked Theo to inquire about the price of butter. Apparently Theo had written the information requested on the above-mentioned postcard.

24. Cf. Rom. 14:3 and Rom. 15:7.

25. Concerning ‘Tell me the old, old story’ from the book The old, old story by Arabella Catherine Hankey, see letter 82, n. 1.

26. Mariënhof was a country estate lying due south-west of Helvoirt. The Van Goghs – who were friends of the owners, the De Jonge van Zwijnsbergen family – visited the estate regularly, as emerges from the family correspondence.

27. ’s-Hertogenbosch, a city c. 10 km north of Helvoirt.

28. Gen. 37:1.

29. The village of Sint-Michielsgestel is c. 8 km east of Helvoirt.

30. Cf. Isa. 35:10.

31. Jer. 31:15.

32. Cf. Jer. 31:16, ‘and they shall come again from the land of the enemy’.

33. Isa. 35:3.

34. Isa. 55:8-9.

35. Albertina Brugsma, a school friend of Lies, spent the Christmas holidays with the Van Gogh family in 1875 (FR b2224, b2379 and b2385).

36. The city of Breda is c. 35 km west of Helvoirt.

37. Anna had left on Friday, 25 August and therefore could not have arrived in Welwyn before Saturday, 26 August (FR b2768).

38. Regarding the Mater Dolorosa

by Paul Delaroche, see letter 54, n. 14.

39. For the passage ‘Je vois d’ici une dame’ from the chapter ‘Les aspirations de l’automne’ from Jules Michelet’s L’amour, see letter 14, n. 19. There is a sheet in the estate with this passage in Theo’s handwriting (FR b4527).

40. Rhy. ps. 65:2.

41. Rhy. ps. 32:1.

42. Cf. John 3:9.

43. Cf. Mark 16:3.

44. Isa. 45:2. Van Gogh wrote ‘heengaan’ (go forth) instead of ‘gaan’ (go).

45. Rev. 22:13.

46. Isa. 49:15.

47. Isa. 51:21-22.

48. Isa. 54:10.

49. Isa. 60:19-20.

50. Cf. Isa. 66:13.

51. Jer. 3:4.