Diary of Marie Bashkirtseff
CZENUKFR

Thursday, 9 November 1876

At the very least, my stay here will have served to acquaint me with the splendid literature of my country. But what do these poets and writers speak of? Of over there.

# Jeudi 9 novembre 1876

And first, let us cite Gogol, our star of humour.1

Et d'abord citons Gogol notre étoile humoristique.

His description of Rome made me both weep and groan, and one cannot have any conception of it without reading it. Tomorrow I shall translate it. And those who have had the happiness of seeing Rome will understand my emotion.

Sa description de Rome m'a fait et pleurer et gémir et on ne peut en avoir une idée qu'en lisant. Demain ce sera traduit. Et ceux qui ont eu le bonheur de voir Rome comprendront mon émotion.

Oh, when shall I ever leave this grey, cold, dry, sad country... even in summer, even in bright sunshine the leaves are puny and the sky is less blue than... over there.

O quand donc sortirai-je de ce pays gris, froid, sec, triste... même en été, même au clair du soleil les feuilles sont chétives et le ciel est moins bleu que., là-bas.

I believe I am falling in love with Grand Duke Nicolas.2

Je crois que je deviens amoureuse du grand-duc Nicolas.

Notes

Nikolai Gogol (1809–1852), the great Russian writer; his novella Rome (1842) contains an ecstatic description of the city that moved Marie to tears. ↩
Grand Duke Nicolas Nikolaevich (1831–1891), commander of the Russian forces in the approaching Russo-Turkish War. ↩