Question about and/or Help with Picture(s)

[Sarushka]

I've never seen photos of those particular letters, but they're discussed nearly to death here:

Alexandra as Empress and Mother

I think the letters are quoted near post #70. (If you do a search on "remain alone with Trina" it'll bring up that precise post.)

[blessOTMA]

This is not about a  picture, but I can't find it else where on the fourm .  When Marie was  describing the worsening conditions of their imprisonment in Yekaterinburg .... she  added " However God does not abandon us...." and I believe she futher said "  the birds still sing the Church bell still ring,"  but I'm not sure and the book where i have it has done missing...if anyone can post or send the whole quote from her letter , I'd be most grateful!

Thank you!

[nena]

"It's difficult to write about anything cheerful, because there's all too little cheerfulness here. On the other hand, God doesn't abandon us. The sun shines, the birds sing, and this morning we heard the bells sounding matins.... Oh, my darlings, how I long to see you!"

[Sarushka]

"It's difficult to write about anything cheerful, because there's all too little cheerfulness here. On the other hand, God doesn't abandon us. The sun shines, the birds sing, and this morning we heard the bells sounding matins.... Oh, my darlings, how I long to see you!"

Do you know the date of this letter?

[blessOTMA]

oh nena  thank you!! I knew the quote  was better than I remembered...I used what I remembered in my Maria painting video and posted it already...but what Maria actually wrote is so much more beautiful! Thank you !

[nena]

I don't know the date. Sites state that it must have been written in Ekaterinburg. Here is bit bit extensive version:

The dining room is dark . . . There is dust everywhere, we can't figure it out, since there aren't any carpets . . . Even this paper is dirty . . . Eveyone who comes into the house inspects our rooms . . . It's difficult to write about anything cheerful, because there's all too little cheerfulness here. On the other hand, God doesn't abandon us. The sun shines, the birds sing, and this morning we heard the bells sounding matins . . ."

So the 'house' Maria is referring at, is 'most likely' Ipatiev House. To Check in 'The Fall of the Romanovs'? I'd look around the Russian site (there is one featuring their last letters in Ekaterinburg).  

Here is:

http://www.tzar-nikolai.orthodoxy.ru/n2/pism/12.htm#10

But I can't come across that letter. I begin to doubt in this letter. I mean, it seems unlikely to have been written at Ekaterinburg. There are many their letters that say 'Sun shines...', especially from the Empress.

See:

http://www.pokaianie.ru/article/romanovs_family/read/354
http://www.nik2.ru/documents.htm?id=192

[blessOTMA]

I have a book with this letter, which I cannot find at the moment , hence why I asked for the quote...but it is from Ekaterinburg. When the book turns up, I'll post the date. etc.  It's a deep red dust covered book with a 1916  photo  of the family on it...if that rings any bells ...and has their letters  as well as official documents from this time ...  from the 90's at some point.

[Sarushka]

I don't know the date. Sites state that it must have been written in Ekaterinburg.

These lines were definitely written in Ekaterinburg, but they are not all from the same letter!

The dining room is dark . . . There is dust everywhere, we can't figure it out, since there aren't any carpets . . . Even this paper is dirty . . .

This is a fragment from a letter written by Maria on 23 April/6 May. It appears in Le Tsarevitch.

Eveyone who comes into the house inspects our rooms . . .

This is from a letter of 27 April/10 May. Also in Le Tsarevitch.

It's difficult to write about anything cheerful, because there's all too little cheerfulness here. On the other hand, God doesn't abandon us. The sun shines, the birds sing, and this morning we heard the bells sounding matins . . ."

I still can't find this quote. Neither in Le Tsarevitch, nor Fall of the Romanovs (which is probably the book blessOTMA is thinking of).

But I can't come across that letter. I begin to doubt in this letter.

I'm doubting it as well.

[blessOTMA]

Indeed, Sarushka ...it was The Fall of the Romanovs...I finally found the book. It was in a book shelf all this time , so no wonder I couldn't find it for a week. To my dismay, and as you yourself discovered, the quote is not there. Plainly I read the quote elsewhere and believed I read it in FOTR. I apologize for that . The only thing even in the same universe  as  the quote,  is Marie's mention of the sun and the birds in her April 18 ( May 1) 1918 letter  to Olga and the others left in Toblosk  The sun shines as it does in our hall, the  upper pane is  open  and the chirping of the birds can be heard; the elect streetcar. it's quite on the whole. Funny to find a remote  concept of the quote...but not nearly as artfully expressed of course.  Also it is interesting that , they could have an open window at that time . But I'm sorry for the misinformation.

[Sarushka]

The quote also appears on a number of fansites including Lavadia.org, but without attribution. I'm curious to see if we can ferret out its origin.

Also it is interesting that , they could have an open window at that time .

NAM arrived in Ekaterinburg on 17/30 April. The windows were painted over on 2/15 May. I believe they were also sealed on the same day, but I don't have that in my notes and I don't have AF's diary at hand to verify. Even after the windows were sealed, the IF was permitted to open a small fortochka pane in N&A's bedroom for ventilation. I've circled what I believe is the fortochka in this photo:

[nena]

I think you are both correct. At moment I thought that those lines 'must' have been written by the Empress actually, since that spirit of writing, so poetic and full of hope really reminds me on the Empress' letters from 1917. I must admit that I even thought that letter contains more of them.

Empress' diary , May 2/15 1918:

Wednesday. ... They were told not to leave the house this morning. The old man removed a white paint all the windows from the outside, so that only the top you can see a piece of the sky, and it looks as if we were in a thick layer of fog, not quite comfortable. Breakfast. Sedinev feels bad and he is wheezing. N. read to us. We were allowed to go into the garden for an hour. N. again read, we played bezique ... Dinner. Cards. Sedniev's inflation. [temperature] 38,6.

[blessOTMA]

and it looks as if we were in a thick layer of fog

....awful.

When people  says how can royals from 100 years ago interest you? I say their example of grace under fire grows ever more relevant! Not less!

Thank you for that nena .  Well how about the Maria quote I have read else where  " Time flies by with a horrible quickness. Soon it will be a year since we saw our friends. Well, it's nothing - God will grant us all to meet again." Can that be traced? Because if so, she speaks of God in a way similar to  the quote under discussion .

In researching this I ran into Anastasia's letter to Marie of  April 24 / May 7th 1918 . What a heart warming treasure trove that is! We are fortunate to have this letter between them .  Among the many things of interest , it's worthy of  note that by this point, the girls seems have become demonstrations connoisseurs ...and Anastasia say the ones they saw " wasn't much of anything".

[tian79]

The dining room is dark . . . There is dust everywhere, we can't figure it out, since there aren't any carpets . . . Even this paper is dirty . . . Eveyone who comes into the house inspects our rooms . . . It's difficult to write about anything cheerful, because there's all too little cheerfulness here. On the other hand, God doesn't abandon us. The sun shines, the birds sing, and this morning we heard the bells sounding matins . . ."

This letter is from Peter Kurth's Tsar: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra (p. 187), but he doesn't cite his source.

[Sarushka]

Well how about the Maria quote I have read else where  " Time flies by with a horrible quickness. Soon it will be a year since we saw our friends. Well, it's nothing - God will grant us all to meet again." Can that be traced? Because if so, she speaks of God in a way similar to  the quote under discussion .

I have that in an undated letter by Maria:

The four of us live in one room. in the mornings we keep ourselves busy studying history, language etc. We go for a walk twice a day in the yard and the tiny garden. We built a snow mountain in the yard and slide down it.
 
To pass the time, we practice little French and English plays which we perform on holidays. Previously we were allowed to go to Church on holidays, but it was later decided we could not go to Church except on major Feast Days. They let us have the vigil service and Liturgy at home though. It takes place in the hall   it's comfortable enough and we organized it like a Church with icons, but, it is not so nice as it is at Church. With sadness we remember the Feodorovsky Cathedral. Do you remember how we all prepared for Communion there in the grotto? That place always put me in such a marvellous mood. Now we don't know how we shall fast. Soon it will be Lent.

Time flies by with a horrible quickness. Soon it will be a year since we saw our friends. Well, it's nothing   God will grant us all to meet again.

Just now Mama and my sisters are singing. I'm not sure how it will work out   I haven't sung with the choir yet, but we often sing ourselves.

Some of the old injured soldiers (from the lazaret) write to us.

Today we have been rehearsing an English play. Tomorrow is Sunday and we shall perform it. I've played male roles sometimes   it's very easy now since I have short hair.

Judging by the reference to the plays they performed, it was probably written in the early winter of 1918. Unfortunately, I didn't make note of the source. If I can track it down I'll let you know.

[blessOTMA]

Sarushka  , that sounds familiar, I may have run into that while looking for the other quote . If I find it , I'll post it as well