Letter
6 Pages
Transcription: Turid Hagelsteen
Translation: Francesca Nichols
Transcription
Kjære Hr. Meyer!
Kjære Hr. Meyer!
Tùsend tak for Deres venlige
brev og for salget af træsnittene
og pengene – vedlægger kvitering –
De maa rigtig ùndskylde mig, at jeg
ikke har svaret för, – har tænkt
paa det hver dag omtrent, men jeg
har gaaet i en ren "örske", – denne
"spanske" vil ikke slippe mig, – jeg
har stadig feber og tilbagefald af
sygdommen, – stadig "sting", og lùngerne
er som efter den værste forkjölelse
"smaa spiker i lungerne" vil jeg kalde
det, – og jeg sveder som i dampbad
og orker ingenting.
Ja tùsend tak for Deres vevillige
orientering med hensyn til reisen.
Det var altfor galt, at De skùlde
have saa meget bryderi dermed, – jeg
har intet gjort med henvendelse til
Bennet’s reisebùreaù, da jeg ved mod-
tagelsen af Deres brev allerede var ble-
ven daarlig, – saa det ikke var at
tænke paa reise med det förste.
Jeg faar nù vente og se, om vaaren ikke
kùnde skaffe mig helt af med denne
"spanske", – endskjöndt "vaaren" er rent
i det blaa her, – isen ligger endnù
idag (29de) helt hvid over hele van-
det, – man har "kjört den" ganske
nylig, og et snefald har styrket den
saa den er beskyttet mod solens straaler,
og saa er her saa koldt, at der fryser
ny "tæle" paa de faa bare flekker, som
er komne paa marken, saa det blir
nok en sen vaar: – i fjor paa disse tider
havde vi alt saaet kornet, – og nù
ligger her megen sne og ùnder den en
alen dyb tæle, – her var nemlig ikke
sne för efter jùl, saa "tælen" fik tid at
fryse sig i dybden.
Jeg blir antagelig hjemme nù til ud paa
slùtten af sommeren og tager da en tùr
til Bergen og maler kanske lidt
der, förend jeg reiser til udlandet; – det
blir da for det förste til Paris, hvor
der nù opholder sig nogle andre
ùnge malere (norske); – derfra maa
det vel ogsaa lade sig gjöre at naa
til de Kanariske öer, hvis asthma-
en blir for slem, jeg vil da bli borte
saa længe, som det lader sig gjöre
af hensyn til mynten, – men jeg stùderer
paa, om jeg skulde tage familien med eller
ikke, – igrùnden er det vist lige billig
at leve i ùdlandet nù, som her i Norge,
her skal være det dyreste land at bo i
næst Rusland, har jeg hört sige, – jeg
tænker paa at lade min lille gaard
ligge öde; – thi det lönner sig ikke paa
nogen maade at holde arbeidshjælp
paa den nù, – der gaar over 2000 kr.
bare i lönninger, – og jeg avler ikke
saa meget, at jeg "föder" tjenerne dermed
end sige mig selv kone og börn, – men
jeg var nödt at have gaard, naar jeg
skulde bo her; thi folk nægtede at
sælge mig det nödvendigste, som söd
melk til börnene, – da jeg boede paa
Myklebùst.
Saa snart jeg faar trykt mine "sort og hvidt"
træsnit, skal jeg sende dem; – hidtil har
det været mig ùmùligt at gjöre noget.
Med de bedste hilsener Deres forbùndne
Kvitering
Undertegnede kviterer herved for
modtagelsen af Kr. 850 – otte hùnd-
red og femti – af hr. H. J. Meyer for
træsnit.
Sandal 29 april 1919
Translation
Dear Mr. Meyer!
Many thanks for Your kind
letter and for the sale of the woodcuts
and the money – enclosed the receipt –
You must forgive me for
not answering sooner, – have thought
about it nearly every day, but I
have been going about in a “daze”, – this
“Spanish flu” will not leave me, – I
experience constant fever and relapses of
the illness, – repeated “stings”, and my lungs
are as after the worst cold
“small nails in the lungs” I might call
it, – and I sweat as though in a steam bath
and am unable to do anything.
Well, many thanks for Your kind-hearted
instructions regarding the journey.
It is a terrible shame, that You should
have gone to such trouble, – I
have done nothing about the missive to
Bennet’s travel bureau, since upon re-
ceiving Your letter I was al-
ready poorly, – so that travelling
any time soon was unthinkable.
I will have to wait and see, whether the spring
might help me get rid of this
“Spanish flu”, – even though “spring” shows
no signs of appearing yet, – the ice still lies
white today (29th) across the entire
lake, – people have “driven on it” quite
recently, and a snowfall has reinforced it
so it is protected from the sun’s rays
and then it is so cold here, that new
layers of “frozen earth” are developing on the few bare patches, that
have appeared in the field, so it will be
another late spring: – around this time last year
we had already sowed the grain, – and today
the snow lies thick and beneath it
the ground is frozen up to an alen deep, – for there was no
snow until after Christmas, so the “frost” had time to
reach a great depth.
I will most likely remain at home until
the end of the summer and will then make a trip
to Bergen and perhaps paint a little
there, before I travel abroad; – the
plan is to head to Paris first, where
some other young painters
(Norwegian) are presently staying; – from there
it should be possible to arrive
at the Canary Islands, if the asth-
ma becomes too severe, I will then be gone
as long as the coins allow, – but I am considering
whether or not I should take the family
along, –it is actually just as cheap
to live abroad today, as here in Norway,
which is supposed to be the most expensive country to live in
next to Russia, I have heard tell, – I
am thinking of letting my little farm
lie fallow; – for it does not pay in
any way to hire help
to work it today, – it costs more than Kr. 2000
in wages alone, – and my crops do not
yield enough, to allow me to “feed” the servants
let alone myself my wife and children, – but
I was forced to have a farm, when I
decided to move here; because people refused to
sell me the basic necessities, such as sweet
milk for the children, – when I was living at
Myklebùst.
As soon as I can print my “black-and-white”
woodcuts, I shall send them; until now it
has been impossible for me to do anything.
With very best wishes Your obliged
Receipt
The undersigned hereby confirms
the receipt of Kr. 850 – eight hun-
dred and fifty – from Mr. H. J. Meyer for
woodcuts.
Sandal 29 April 1919