THE FIRST SECTION

Confirming Dates

Though we have said that the date of the letter is a bit uncertain, there are several clues that can help us confirm when it was written. The writer says, ". . . there are already 13 established colonies" in Bessarabia. Since Paris was Colony #13, established in 1816, one can assume this letter was written sometime after that year—probably a few years later, since the writer uses the phrase "during those first years, it was difficult for us." Arzis, from where this letter was apparently written, was established in 1816. It seems reasonable that this letter was written in 1818.

Personal Couriers

This letter was hand delivered to Poland. Several men from Bessarabia were, for some reason, travelling there, and they offered to carry any correspondence with them. The writer jumped at the "precious opportunity" to pen this correspondence. Though we can only speculate who these "several men from Bessarabia" were, because they were personal couriers, they represented a less expensive and very reliable form of mail!

Was the letter written in haste because it was discovered rather late that these several men were traveling to Poland? That seems possible, given the sentence, "We ask that all of you be content with this letter because the time and circumstances did not allow for anything else."

Written To More Than Acquaintances

This letter is written to very close friends (i.e. "dear" / dearest"/ "beloved" friends) still living in Poland. Though the Bessarabian German colonists had begun to set down new roots in South Russia, the Arzis letter writer did not forget those he and others left behind. People still living in Poland could still count on their Bessarabian counterparts as "remaining your true friends."

The first few lines have\a focus on health, which is not uncommon for any letter. Even today in our correspondence, we often exchange info about our well-being. However, in the early 1800s, with so many illnesses that today we no longer worry about because of modern medicine, referring to each other's health was not just exchanging pleasantries. It was a serious matter.