progress and hope, that I can complete something

for You, so that I can pay You for the help,

You gave me this autumn – that trip did me

good. How are You doing in these difficult financial

times – I don’t know what – will happen

to us – for only 1 sack of flour and 2 cords of wood it

costs 140 Kr. and those are only the two most vital things, that we

consume pr. mo., – but what’s worse is, that people

now categorically refuse to sell wood, – they are waiting until

the maximum price reaches 100 Kr. pr. cord. I don’t

know what will happen, if it

continues like this – I will soon have to stop using medicine

and coffee I wish was impossible to get hold of any more, –

incidentally the shopkeepers here take more than is

reasonable in profits – 70 Kr. for a sack of flour, I

believe must be more than what is permitted – and now they

refuse to give us credit any longer – we are already in

the deepest debt and are sinking ever deeper – if only we ~~allo~~

are allowed to keep the farm – I have been spared

and had the interest transferred over to the next year for a couple of years now,

but that is no longer possible. It now comes up again

that I built a new cowshed last year and cemented the cel-

lar and cast 2 cisterns, – the cement cost much

more than I calculated for everything increases to 4 times the prices.

Well forgive my lamentations. Best wishes from Engel and "me"

Your ever devoted Astrùp

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