1. When exactly Sien left is not known. On Tuesday, 13 June she visited Vincent in the hospital, as shown by letter 245 in combination with his father’s account of his visit (cited in letter 239, n. 7). In letter 239 of 22 June Van Gogh says that she is then in the hospital in Leiden.

a. Means: ‘het ziekenhuis’ (the hospital).

2. Van Gogh might be referring here to Guide de l’alphabet du dessin and Traité d’aquarelle by Armand Cassagne among other works. See cat. Amsterdam 1996, pp. 19-21.

3. The mystery of Edwin Drood (1870) is the last work by Charles Dickens, and because of his death was only half finished. As a result the mysterious disappearance of Edwin Drood in this detective story – in which his opium-addicted uncle probably had a hand – was never explained.

b. Read: ‘lig’ (lie).

4. Jan Vermeer of Delft. Like E.J.T. Thoré (under the pseudonym W. Bürger) in his Musées de la Hollande (1860) and many of his contemporaries, Van Gogh consistently referred to this artist as ‘Van der Meer’.

c. Means: ‘aangenaam, vriendelijk’ (kind, friendly).

5. The parents received this letter on Saturday, 10 June, and Mr van Gogh wrote to Theo about it on 14 June, after he had been to visit Vincent (FR b2240). For the text, see letter 239, n. 7.