Diamonds To Sit On/Chapter 32
CHAPTER XXXII
A LETTER
A Leiter from Father Theodore written to his Wife from Baku.
MY DARLING AND PRECIOUS KATYA, 'Every hour brings us nearer to our happiness. I am writing to you from a furnished room, which I have taken after having been on my feet all day attending to various little affairs. Baku is a very large town. I am told that there are oil wells here, but you have to go by an electric train if you want to see them, and I have no money. This picturesque town is on the edge of the Caspian Sea, which is immense. The heat is appalling. I always Carry my overcoat over one arm and my short coat over the other, for it is almost too hot to breathe. My arms are always bathed in sweat and I drink lots of tea. I have hardly any money left, but that doesn't matter, my darling, for very soon we shall have masses of money. We shall travel and then settle down in Samara near to our little candle factory and we shall drink liqueurs.
'But now to business: Baku is considerably superior to Rostov, both in its geographical position and in the number of its inhabitants, but I think Kharkov is a busier town. There are many foreigners here, especially Armenians and Persians, for we are not very far from Turkey. I went to the market and found many Turkish things and some scarves. I wanted to buy you a Mussulman veil as a present, but I had no money, so I decided that when we are rich—and it is only a matter of days now—I shall buy you a veil. 214
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DIAMONDS TO SIT ON
to teU you about that have happened to me here : (I) I dropped your brother’s coat into the Caspian I was at the ^t. Both these events greatly surprised me. I can t understand why the authorities allow such things to happen to visitors to the town, especially as I didnT 3 ^ts nostrils wth a straw I thought it would amuse it. As for the coat, lots of people helped me to fish it out but when it was rescued it was simply reeking of oil’ I don t know what I’ll say to your brother, the baker but, mind you keep this to yourself, my love Does Evsti^eyev stiU come in for dinner ? And If not, why not ? + through this letter and I see I’ve not yet told you anything about the principal business The engmeer Bruns does work at the oil wells, but he BatumHe has gone on leave to
family lives there. + to several people here and I have been o d that Bruns has his own furniture in Batum He I M «pcnsive place, •'•
roubles so wire me twenty roubles and I shall wire all details to you from Batum. Please spread the rumour that 1 am still at my aunt’s bedside in Voronezh. ‘ Your faithful husband ‘ Theodore’
"'^0 ir^st opened this letter to tell you that your brother’s coat the one which was reektag of S. it is'’'th” J “■ “■ despair. It is just as well brother aStt/' J’”