You may trust me, I most solemnly assure you that I did not ask for this appointment but tried my best and do everything possible to avoid it, not only because I would not want to stay away from you and the family but also because I knew that the great responsiblity would be beyond my capability. In addition, if I leave home for decades just to pursue a kind of happiness that is still far away in the future, I would rather stay a month with you at home for the real happiness. However, since the fate has assigned me to this task, I hope that this assignment will enable me to accomplish something.
I will believe in the God that always blesses me and brings me happiness. Deep inside, I believe that I will come back to you safely in the Fall. I will not suffer from the hardship and the danger of the expedition. What will sadden me is that you will be alone and anxious at home. For that, I implore you to muster all the courage and live happily. Nothing will make me happier than the message that you are living happily and it will comfort me further if the message is from your pen.
你可以相信我，我極其莊嚴地向你保證我根本沒有追求過這項任命，而是竭盡全力，千方百計地回避它。這不僅是因為我不願意同你以及全家人分別，而且因為我深知責任重大，非我力所能及。另外，倘若我出門數十載尋求前景非常遙遠的幸福，那還比不上在家中與你相聚一個月那樣真正幸福。但是，既然命運已賦予我這個使命，我希望，安排我來承擔這個任務是為了使我有所建樹。……
我將信賴一直保佑我和降福於我的上帝，深信到秋天我將平安地回到你的身邊。對出征所帶來的艱辛和危險，我不會感到痛苦，使我難過的是我知道你獨自一人留在家中必然感到焦慮不安。因此，我懇求你鼓起全部勇氣，盡量愉快地過日子.沒有什麽比聽到你過得愉快的消息--並且是從你的筆下聽到這消息，能使我感到更大的欣慰了．
