Letter 17, page 1

My dear old Bernard,
I'm writing a line to thank you kindly for your drawings; I find them done in a bit too much of a
rush, and I like the two drawings of whores the most; but there's an idea in all of them. I've been
overloaded with work these past few days, because the weather's really beautiful and you have to
make the most of the fine days, which are short.

I can't alter the price that I quoted to you, 3 francs for food alone, and in addition, well, whatever
there would be on top of that. But I have no doubt that everything Gauguin tells you about
the prices down here is correct. But I see you near your departure to do your service, and would
like to be able to persuade your father to supply you with enough to strengthen you thoroughly
first, without your work suffering as a result.

Let him stump up at last, to the point of giving you whatever's fair during the interval between
now and your service.

I have not ceased writing this same thing to you all the time, that if you go to Africa you'll
work there and you'll see just the kind of

© 2007 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam