Thursday, 2 June 1881

It is my father's name day — see my letter to Julian.
No one was invited, as I wished — but company came all the same. M. Oustimovitch, Marshal of the Nobility; Alexandre and his young son Etienne; MM. Staritsky, Trégouboff, Wolkowitsky, Michel Orloff and Lihopoy, who went to fetch me a charming easel in Kharkov. There are all those peasant tributes I describe to Julian, then dinner — but nothing amuses me... and there is nothing amusing.

Notes

Name day (la fête): in Russian Orthodox tradition, one celebrates one's name day — the feast of one's patron saint — often with more festivity than one's birthday. This was a significant occasion for the Bashkirtseff household.