My dear Theo,

With great pleasure I received your letter and the rough draft of the letter to Tersteeg and the 50-fr. note.

Your letter to Tersteeg was just right in the draft; I hope you won't have to chop it about too much when you make the fair copy.

It seems to me that your letter to Tersteeg complements mine, I regretted the state in which I posted it. For you will have seen that the idea of making Tersteeg take the initiative in introducing the impressionists into England only came to me while I was actually writing the letter, and it was only inadequately expressed in a P. S. in hindsight. Whereas you explain to him this idea in detail in your letter. Will he understand? Hang it, that's his own lookout.

I have had a letter from Gauguin which says that he has been sick in bed for a fortnight [GAC 28]. That he is on the rocks since he has had to pay some noisy creditors. That he wants to know if you have sold anything for him, but he can't write to you for fear of bothering you. He is so pressed for a little money that he would be ready to reduce the price of his paintings even more.

The only thing I can do in this business is to write to Russell, and I am going to do this today.

And after all we have already tried to make Tersteeg buy one. But what is to be done? He must be hard pressed. I send you a line for him in case you have anything to write him about, only you must open any letters that come from him for me, because in that way you will know the contents sooner, and save me the trouble of repeating them to you. I'm telling you this once and for all.

Would you risk taking his marine for the firm? If that were possible, he would be safe for the moment.

It is a very good thing that you have taken in young Koning, I am so glad that you are not going to be alone in your apartment. In Paris one is always as down in the mouth as a cab horse, and if on top of that one has to stay all alone in the stable, it's too much.

For the exhibition of the Independents, do as you think best. What do you say to showing the two big landscapes of the butte Montmartre? It is all more or less the same to me. I am counting rather more on the work from this year.

Down here it is freezing hard and there is still snow in the countryside. I have a study of a white landscape with the town in the background. Then 2 small studies of an almond-tree branch already in flower in spite of it.

So much for today. I am also going to write a note to Koning.

Indeed I am very glad that you wrote to Tersteeg, and I hope that this will mean a revival of your business relations with Holland.

With a handshake to you and to the comrades you happen to meet.

Ever yours, Vincent