TAGANROG,
May 10, 1877.
... If I send letters to my mother, care of you, please give them to her
when you are alone with her; there are things in life which one can confide
in one person only, whom one trusts. It is because of this that I write to
my mother without the knowledge of the others, for whom my secrets are
quite uninteresting, or, rather, unnecessary.... My second request is of
more importance. Please go on comforting my mother, who is both physically
and morally broken. She has found in you not merely a nephew but a great
deal more and better than a nephew. My mother’s character is such that the
moral support of others is a great help to her. It is a silly request,
isn’t it? But you will understand, especially as I have said “moral,”
i.e., spiritual support. There is no one in this wicked world dearer to
us than our mother, and so you will greatly oblige your humble servant by
comforting his worn-out and weary mother....