1. For the passage from Michelet's L’amour, see letter 132, n. 8.
2. 1 Kings 17.
3. Cf. Acts 2:46, Eph. 6:5 and Col. 3:22.
4. Cf. Matt. 5:3.
5. 2 Cor. 6:10.
6. For these atlases, see letter 134, notes 5-6.
7. Cf. 1 Kings 19:4.
8. Isa. 53:3.
9. There were a number of portrait prints of Dickens in circulation; see letter 127, n. 5.
10. ‘Die britischen Inseln und das umliegende Meer’ (The British Isles and the sea surrounding them) and ‘Grossbritannien’ (Great Britain). Map no. 45 and 46 in Stieler’s Hand-Atlas über alle Theile der Erde und über das Weltgebäude 1876 (Amsterdam, Universiteitsbibliotheek). Ill. 1355 [1355] and Ill. 3012 [3012].
[1355] [3012]
11. ‘Schottland u. der nördlichste Theil England’s’ (Scotland and the northernmost part of England). Map no. 47 (Amsterdam, Universiteitsbibliotheek). Ill. 1356 [1356].
[1356]
12. ‘Ireland’. Map no. 48.
13. ‘Dänemark und die dänischen Kolonien’ (Denmark and the Danish colonies). Map no. 44.
14. ‘Norwegen, N. Schweden & Finnland’ (Norway, northern Sweden & Finland). Map no. 50.
15. ‘Griechenland und der griechisch-türkische Archipel’ (Greece and the Greco-Turk archipelago). Map no. 57.
16. Ps. 104:24 and rhy. ps. 104:12.
17. Uncle Jan and Uncle Cor.
18. In those days Uncle Cor’s bookshop and art dealership were located at Keizersgracht 453.
19. The haulage firm of Van Gend & Loos had its offices at Dam 2-4, opposite which there was a departure point for carriages operated by the Hollandsche Spoorweg (Dutch Railway). Cf. Groot and De Vries 1990, pp. 68-70. In cooperation with the railways, the firm developed a fine-meshed network of collection and delivery services, arranging transport to and from the railway from offices close to the stations. See Joost Dankers and Jaap Verheul, Twee eeuwen op weg. Van Gend & Loos 1796-1996. The Hague 1996, esp. pp. 40, 47.
20. Luke 14:26.
21. Rom. 7:24.
22. Taken from Thomas a Kempis, L’imitation de Jésus-Christ, book i, chapter 2 (end). Ed. 1850, p. 6.
23. Thomas a Kempis, L’imitation de Jésus-Christ, beginning of book i, chapter 3. Ed. 1850, p. 7. Also quoted, with deviations from the source text, in letter 134.
24. Cf. 1 Cor. 2:9.
25. John 6:35 and John 6:48.
26. John 6:68.
27. Matt. 4:4.
28. For Landseer’s The mountain top [208], see letter 133, n. 79.
[208]
29. The ‘Bois de Cambre’ is south-east of Brussels.
30. The ‘news’ to which Vincent refers concerns the condition of Uncle Vincent, who was suffering from bronchitis.
31. For Gruson, Histoire des croisades, see letter 134, n. 16.
32. Gustave Brion died on 5 November 1877 in Paris.
33. Gustave Brion, A burial on the banks of the Rhine (present whereabouts unknown; Salon 1859). The reproduction Un enterrement (Bords du Rhin) (A burial (on the banks of the Rhine)) appeared in L’Illustration 34 (30 July 1859), p. 92. Ill. 645 [645].
[645]
34. For Gustave Brion, The end of the flood (Noah): letter 55, n. 7.
35. Cf. Jas. 4:13.
36. As far as could be ascertained, Gustave Brion did not make any illustrations for the books by Erckmann-Chatrian. Van Gogh’s mistake was probably prompted by the regional character of some of the painter’s work, which is also a feature of the writings of these collaborating authors, who situated many of their works in Alsace-Lorraine.
37. Gustave Brion, Vosges peasants fleeing before the invasion, 1867 (Saint Louis, Washington University Art Gallery, Missouri). Ill. 647 [647]. Goupil published the work in the series ‘Galerie photographique’ and ‘Musée Goupil’. Van Gogh could also have known the smaller version of this painting, which fetched 1,550 guilders at the auction of Uncle Vincent’s estate. See auct. cat. The Hague 1889, p. 15, cat. no. 23 (Lugt 1938-1987, no. 48116).
[647]
38. Mr van Gogh performed the marriage ceremony of the farmer Marijnus (Marijn) Aertsen and the maidservant Johanna Kaufman on Sunday, 25 November 1877 (RAW and FR b2571). Marijn was a son of the recently deceased Jan Aertsen (see letter 110).
39. This lithograph has not been traced.
40. Johann Georg Meyer von Bremen painted a number of domestic scenes, several of which were published by Goupil & Cie. The descriptive phrase ‘mothers with children’ refers to Das erste Gebet – La première prière – The first prayer, 1859; the ‘pendant’ was Das artige Kind – Le gentil enfant –The good child 1861. The engraver of both was Hermann Sagert. Printed by J. Becker, Berlin (Paris, BNF, Cabinet des Estampes). Ill. 639 [639] and Ill. 1861 [1861].
[639] [1861]
41. See letter 85, n. 7, regarding the prints after Ary Scheffer’s Christus Consolator [1771] and Christus Remunerator [1772].
[1771] [1772]
42. As far as is known, there is no aquatint of the Dutch admiral Michiel Adriaensz de Ruyter. The etching by Abraham Blooteling bears the inscription aqua forte (Hollstein 27 and 28), which might have led to Van Gogh’s confusion as to the technique. We also know of mezzotint portraits of De Ruyter, one by J. van Somer and another by Abraham Blooteling after a lost painting by Jan Lievens (H39-1). Van Gogh’s characterization of the portrait as having ‘a stormy or thundery expression’ suggests that he is referring to the latter print (Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet). Ill. 1862 [1862].
[1862]
43. Erskine Nicol, The sabbath day, engraved by William Henry Simmons (London, British Museum). Ill. 1201 [1201].
[1201]
44. The ‘English church’ is the Reformed Church of the Presbyterians on the Begijnhof.
45. Haggai 2:10 (in KJ Haggai 2:9). The Vulgate has ‘in loco isto’.
46. Van Gogh is most likely referring here to the passage (telling of the eagle above Numa’s head) in Livy, Ab urbe condita, i, 34, 8. See Livy (‘Ab urbe condita’). Ed. B.O. Foster. Vol. 1. London and New York 1919, p. 125 (LCL). Livy, book i, was widely used in the instruction of latin. Cf. also Otto Keller, Die antike Tierwelt. 2 vols. Leipzig 1909-1913, vol. 2, p. 3.
47. Cf. 1 John 5:20.
48. Heb. 13:8.
49. Van Gogh knew the story of Odysseus and Telemachus from Les avontures de Télémaque by Fénelon (see letter 125).
50. Biblical; see, for example, Ps. 19:11 (in KJ Ps. 19:10) and Isa. 13:12.
51. The battle of Hastings in the south of England (in the year 1066) is described in chapter 7 of Dickens’s A child’s history of England.
52. For Motley, De opkomst van de Nederlandsche Republiek, see letter 133, n. 3.
53. Matt. 6:22 and Luke 11:34.
54. This entrance examination, required for the study of theology, tested one’s proficiency in the following subjects: the Dutch language, Latin, Greek, algebra, geometry, history and geography (see letter 134).
55. The Rev. William Macfarlane preached the 10 a.m. sermon in the English Church on Sunday, 25 November.
56. Jas. 1:12.
57. The streets around Zwanenburgwal and Zwanenburgerstraat (now no longer in existence), which formed the quay alongside the River Amstel.
58. The Groenburgwal leads to the Zuiderkerk, which is located in Zandstraat.
59. Van Gogh is again referring to the English church.
60. Rudolph Herman Christiaan Carel Scheffer was the director of the botanical gardens at Buitenzorg (Java) from 1867 until his death. Paul Stricker had been hired in February 1876 as both a teacher at the agricultural school and an amanuensis at the botanical gardens. After being given a leave of absence in December 1877 owing to illness, he received an honourable discharge which took effect on 1 January 1880. See ARA, Inventaris van het Archief van de stamboeken van burgerlijke ambtenaren in Nederlands-Indië, vol. 3 (2.10.08).
61. Cf. 2 Tim. 4:7.
62. Jan Willem Wierda, an employee in Uncle Cor’s bookshop. See Groot and De Vries 1990, pp. 87-89.
63. Pieter Kornelis Braat.
64. Johan Christiaan Schröder, a bookseller whose business was located at Kalverstraat 174.
65. This person, who is mentioned in more specific terms in letter 136, has not been identified.
66. This expression of Mr van Gogh, which is frequently quoted, could derive from hymn 56:1 and hymn 56:9.
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