https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000011396573&view=1up&seq=85
http://www.alexanderpalace.org/letters/november14.html
Alexandra wrote this letter to Nicholas on November 28, 1914, and he sent a telegram the next day.
The letter:
Tsarskoje Selo, Nov. 28-th 1914
My very own precious One,
I could not manage to write to you by to-day's messenger, I had such a lot to do. We were at the hospital all the morning & as usual Viltchkovsky's report there. Then quickly changed, lunched & off to town to the Pokrovsky Committee on Vasiliev Island. The 3 Buchanans & some more English of the committee & nurses received us. A big ward for officers & a nice saloon for them with chintz & three rooms for men, quite simple & nice. Then we went through the wards & saw more wounded, & in the yard there was a big building belonging to the Committee of the City Hospital — in the upper story were 130 wounded. — From there we rushed to my store — masses of ladies working I am glad to see & heaps of things prepared. Then to Anitchkov to tea; — Mother dear looks well, I think my journeys alone astonish her. — but I feel its the time to do such things, God has given me better health & I find that we women must all, big & small, do everything we can for our touchingly brave wounded. At times I feel I cant any more & fill myself with heart-drops & it goes again — & our Friend wishes me besides to go, & so I must swallow my shyness. The girls help me. Then we came home I lay & read heaps of papers from Rost. — Lovy dear, I hope you wont be displeased at Fred.'s telegram to Voyeikov, we spoke it over by telephone, as he may not go out yet. You see its a national thing this exhibition with trophies of the war, & so its better the entry should be gratis — one can stand collection-boxes near the door, then it obliges nobody to pay. I do not wish Sukhomlinov harm, on the contrary, but his wife is really most mauvais genre & has made every body, the military especially, angry with her as she »put me in« with her collect on the 26-th. The day was alright & that singers wished to sing gratis in restaurants so as to get money for her store. And I allowed it. To my horror I saw the announcement in the papers, that in all the restaurants & cabarets (of bad reputation) drinks would be sold for the profit of her branch store (my name in big letters) till 3 in the morning (now all restaurants are closed at 12) & that Tango & other dances would be danced for her profit. It made a shocking impression — you forbid (thank Heaven) wine — & I, so to speak, encourage it for the store, horrid & with right all are furious, the wounded too. — And the ministers aides de camp were to collect money. There was no possibility any more to stop it — so we asked Obolensky to order the rest to be closed at 12 except the decent ones.
The fool harms her husband & breaks her neck. — She receives money & things in my name & gives it out in hers — she is a common woman, & vulgar soul, therefore such things happen, tho' she works hard & does much good — but she is harming him very much, as he is her blind slave — & all see this — I wish one can warn him to keep her in hand. When Rost. told them my displeasure, he was in despair, & asked whether she ought to close her store, so Rost. said of course not, that I know the good she does, only here acted most wrongly. — Enough of this, only I want you to know the story, as there were strong articals in the papers about it. — Therefore another collect for her would now make things worse. One wished my store to collect at Xmas, & I declined the project, one cannot go on begging incessantly, its not pretty. —
The Commandor of my 21-st Siberian regiment arrived to-day — happily his wounds are but slight. — Now I must get to sleep, its 1 o'clock. For the first time 2 degrees of frost to-day. — 29-th. How can I thank you enough for your sweetest letter of the 25-th which I received this morning. We follow with interest all you are doing — it must be a great consolation to see these masses of devoted happy subjects; I am glad you managed to go to yet two other towns where the Cosacks are. — We went to the local hospital & there I gave 4 medals to amputated soldiers — there were no very heavy cases otherwise. —
Then we went to the big palace to see all our wounded — they are already sorrowing that they wont see us so long. — This morning both »Nishegorodizy«, Navruzov and Yagmin were operated — so we want to peep in this evening & see how they feel. They were mad with joy over your telegr. which they read in the papers — that you called them »incomparable« is the greatest recompense, as such a word was never used before.
Kniazhevitch comes this evening about affairs. — Are going to Church, so must end, & want to rest before. — Very tenderest blessings & kisses, Nicky mine, from your very own
Wify.
Our love to N. P. — glad, you two sinners had pretty faces to look at — I see more other parts of the body, less ideal ones!! —
Nicholas's telegram:
Telegram.
Tiflis. 29 November, 1914.
Sincere thanks for dear letter, also to Olga and Alexey for their letters. Ideally warm weather. After a grand reception of deputations this morning I visited the Girls' Diocesan School and after that the Military College. I have received crowds of people. After lunch walked here in a charming garden; am now going into the town to tea. I am leaving for Kars in the evening.
Above: Nicholas and Alexandra.
Above: Marie Feodorovna, Alexandra's mother-in-law and aunt whom she referred to as "Mother dear".
Note: mauvais genre = a bad sort, an unpleasant person.
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