Laiškai Williamui R. Schmalstiegui

LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS KLAUSIMAI, XXXIV (1994) LIETUVIŲ KALBOS TARMĖS IR JŲ TYRINĖJIMAI ANTANAS SALYS’S LETTERS TO WILLIAM R. SCHMALSTIEG* [1] 1966. XII. 30 Dear Colleague, Our secretary is on vacation now. Therefore I am writing by hand and in Lithuanian. I think you will be able to read it. Thank you for your letter of XII. 23 and for its frankness. But the news is sad for all of us: neither Kazlauskas nor Mažiulis can “show their faces” abroad. And both of them would so much like to look around the West. When we were in Vilnius, Mrs. Kazlauskienė kept repeating: I wonder whether they will let him go; perhaps they will not let him give lectures. That is how things are turning out. But perhaps your president’s letter to Iliutin will help. We must not give up hope yet. Mažiulis himself mentioned to me again that the Sorbonne had contacted Vilnius, asking that someone be sent to teach Lithuanian. And the best candidate, of course, is Mažiulis, since he knows French. — I was just a little surprised that Rector Kubilius, during the Vilnius University opening-of-the-academic-year festivities, stated in his speech (in the hearing of Gimbutienė and me, as well as a group of Lithuanians from America and England) as established facts that Kazlauskas and Mažiulis were going to the USA and France. It seems the rector was playing politics here. Without having Moscow’s consent, he announced everything publicly and made it widely known, so that it would later be awkward for Moscow not to let them go. And not letting them go would once again reveal Moscow’s foolish obstinacy and distrust even of official party members (both Kazlauskas and Mažiulis are party members and most likely joined for career reasons). If they still do not let them go, everyone in Vilnius will talk about it a great deal and curse the “Ruskies.” But their “hide” is tough, and a Lithuanian proverb says that a cursed goat grows fat... Incidentally, everyone in Vilnius kept telling me: We can do nothing; Moscow decides everything. We are glad if we sometimes manage to negotiate something or outwit the Russians. — It will be very interesting to hear whether you receive any reply from Iliutin. I am also sending most of the MLA bibliography materials, which I was assigned to prepare according to your letters of V. 6 and 28.1969. The burden was lighter this time. I hope that next time someone will handle the literature items from the journals carefully and comprehensively. Wherever I noticed them, I included books as well. My daughter is finishing retyping them, and tomorrow I will send the remaining cards. Incidentally, my supply of cards is now almost completely exhausted. Sometime in the summer I asked for some to be sent, but none arrived. Fortunately, quite a few cards were left over from last year. — I was surprised, while reviewing the 1968 bibliography, to see that the Belarusian field (White Russian) is being handled very poorly. In Vilnius I acquired quite a number of Belarusian publications. Everything I obtained or learned about, I included. *The spelling and punctuation of the letters written in Lithuanian have not been corrected. The letters written in English were translated into Lithuanian by Algirdas S a b a l i a u s k a s. — Ed. 51 Someone absolutely must take charge of the Belarusian field. This is an inexcusable oversight. It is especially important for Balticists to know what the Belarusians publish. — I will finish with the paper running out. New Year’s greetings to you and your family. Yours, A. Salys [2] May 22, 1968 Dear Professor Schmalstieg: Thank you for your letter of May 17. I am aware that it is time to submit the manuscript of my paper but during the past several weeks I have been busy writing an article on Lithuanian dialects for the supplementary Lithuania volume of Lithuanian Encyclopedia. Now I have finished it and will start working on the manuscript of my paper. I hope to finish it including a map in about two to three weeks. I hope I won’t be too late for your current issue of General Linguistics. With best wishes. Sincerely yours, A. Salys May 22, 1968 Dear Professor Schmalstieg, Thank you for your letter of May 17. I know it is already time to submit the manuscript of my article, but I have been busy over the past few weeks writing an article on Lithuanian dialects for the supplementary volume “Lithuania” of the “Lithuanian Encyclopedia.” I have now finished it and will begin preparing the manuscript of the article. I hope to complete it, together with the map, in about two or three weeks. I think I will not be too late for this issue of “General Linguistics.” With best wishes Yours sincerely, A. Salys [3] August 2, 1968 Dear Prof. Schmalstieg, I acknowledge the receipt of your letter July 30, 1968. Of course, I will be very glad to compare the texts of your article and that of Kazlauskas’ grammar. Unfortunately, I didn’t yet receive his grammar. I was informed that it has been sent to me, and I hope it will be soon in my hands. I must apologize that I didn’t finish my article in due time. You will have to postpone it to the following issue of the journal. I broke the wrist of my right hand and am now incapacitated even to write. I hope you will be soon on the way to Lithuania. I wish you all the luck in the interesting visit. I hope you will meet many of my former colleagues and students, e.g., Balčikonis, Kruopas, Ulvydas, Senkus, and many others. Please convey my greetings. Give my regards also to the director of Institute Korsakas. Yours sincerely, A. Salys 52 August 2, 1968 Dear Professor, I am writing to inform you that I received your letter of July 30, 1968. I will indeed be glad to compare the text of your article with Kazlauskas’s grammar. Unfortunately, I have not yet received his grammar. I have been informed that it has been sent to me, and I hope that it will be in my hands soon. I must apologize for not completing my article by the appointed time. You will have to postpone it to the next issue of the journal. I broke my right wrist and now cannot even write. I hope you will soon be on your way to Lithuania. I wish you the very best of luck during your interesting visit. I think you will meet many of my former colleagues and students, for example, Balčikonis, Kruopas, Ulvydas, Senkus, and many others. Please also convey my greetings to Korsakas, the director of the Institute. Sincerely yours A. Salys [4] August 9, 1968 Dear Professor Schmalstieg: Thank you for your letter of August 5, 1968. I read in the meantime, the xerox copy of your article and the corresponding pages of J. Kazlauskas’ work which I received a few days ago. The problem is attacked by you and Kazlauskas from different angles both opposing the previous explanations. Since Kazlauskas quotes the authors of other theories, he should have also quoted your theory, because he had a chance to learn it from your offprint. Kazlauskas’ book is very interesting and stimulating. I completely agree with his procedure: the philologist’s first task must be to explain the forms from the internal development of the language and only then make some conclusions concerning Common Baltic or Indo-European. However, the title of the book is misleading and wrong. It should be Klausimai or as Germans would say ”Beiträge” of the Lithuanian Historical Grammar. The work is actually a Ph.D. dissertation. He was promoted this spring and a Ph.D. in Soviet Union means a lot as far as salaries are concerned. The misleading title, of course, is more impressive than the Klausimai would be and maybe it was better for his career. By the way, my daughter, Rimgáila (short: Rimà), now a senior at Penn, will be in Vilnius at the same time with you (that means August 23 to 31st). She received a scholarship from Kansas University for the study of Russian in Leningrad. She was there for six weeks and now the whole group of 170 Americans are sightseeing in Moscow for a week. They will visit also Odessa and Kiev and the Kansas group (49 students) will be in a Russian youth camp for a week. After the other students leave from Kiev for Vienna on the 23rd of August, she will fly to Vilnius and later on the 2nd of September meet with the other Americans in Amsterdam for the flight back home. My wife and myself have relatives in Vilnius and my daughter will be visiting them. If 53 you would care to enjoy some hospitality in a Lithuanian family, please visit my relatives Aldoma and Vytautas Vitkauskai in Vilnius. The address is: Vilnius, 40 Naujakių Street, 16—1 They could be helpful for your to get around in the city and see the most interesting spots without the official guides. I will drop a line to Vitkauskai telling them that they should be aware of your presence in Vilnius. But, if you would have no time to visit them, just forget about it. They live in Antakalnis not far from the Institute of the Lithuanian Language. In your previous letter you mentioned that you received financial support for your trip from the Russian Center. I plan to go to Lithuania next summer and, of course, would like to get from somebody some financial support. May be your information could be helpful to me. With best regards, Sincerely yours, Anthony Salys, August 9, 1968. Dear Professor, Thank you for your letter of August 5, 1968. I am currently reading a photocopy of your article and the relevant pages of J. Kazlauskas’s work, which I received a few days ago. You and Kazlauskas criticize the problem from different points of view; both of you disagree with earlier explanations. Since Kazlauskas cites authors of other theories, he should also have mentioned your theory, as he had the opportunity to become acquainted with it from your offprint. Kazlauskas’s book is very interesting and stimulating. I fully agree with his research methodology: a philologist’s first task must be to explain forms on the basis of the language’s internal development and only then to draw any conclusions concerning Baltic or Indo-European languages in general. However, the book’s title is misleading and inaccurate. It should be “Questions of the Historical Grammar of the Lithuanian Language” or, as the Germans say, “Beiträge...”. The work is in fact a doctoral dissertation. He defended it this spring, and in the Soviet Union a doctoral dissertation is very significant for remuneration. The misleading title is actually more impressive than “Questions,” and perhaps that was more important for his career* Incidentally, my daughter Rimgáilā (short form: Rimà), currently a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, will be in Vilnius at the same time as you (i.e., August 23–31). She received a scholarship from the University of Kansas to study Russian in Leningrad. * Translator’s note. J. Kazlauskas may have been prompted to choose such a title for his book by the circumstance that at that time both dissertations and monographs had to address only “broad” problems. For example, Z. Zinkevičius’s book, which examined the relationship and baptismal records of the city of Vilnius in the early seventeenth century, also had to be titled “Lithuanian Anthroponymy” (V., 1977), while A. Valeckienė’s monograph, which examined the category of gender, was called “The Grammatical System of the Lithuanian Language” (V., 1984), and so on. 54 She was there for six weeks, and now the whole group of 170 Americans is touring Moscow for a week. They will also visit Odesa and Kyiv. Kenza’s group (49 students) will spend a week at a Russian youth camp. After the other students leave Kyiv for Vienna on August 23, she will fly to Vilnius and then meet the other Americans in Amsterdam on September 2 to fly back home. My wife and I have relatives in Vilnius, and our daughter will visit them. If you would like to stay with a Lithuanian family, visit my relatives Aldona and Vytautas Vitkauskas in Vilnius. Their address is: Vilnius 40, 16–1 Nujakurių St. They could help you get to know the city and, without official guides, visit the most interesting places. I will write to the Vitkauskases so they know you will be in Vilnius. However, if you do not have time to visit them, forget this suggestion. They live in Antakalnis, near the Institute of the Lithuanian Language. In an earlier letter, you mentioned that you had received financial support for your trip from the Russian Center. I plan to go to Lithuania next summer and, of course, would like to obtain financial support from somewhere. Perhaps your information would be useful to me. With best regards Sincerely yours, Antanas Salys [5] October 15, 1968 Dear Colleague: Thank you for your letter of October 6, 1968. It is perfectly all right with me to spend a Saturday morning working on your tape. I would suggest October 19 or 26. In the afternoon, we would like to welcome you to our home, and of course, the Ostrauskases would be invited. Please inform me what Saturday would be more convenient for you. If you would like to call, I will be at the Department on Thursday, October 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays I usually stay at home. My phone numbers are: Office — 594—8704 and Home: KI-4—1285. If you should decide to come on October 26, then, of course, we have plenty of time to communicate by letters. Looking forward to our interesting meeting, I am, Sincerely yours, Anthony Salys October 15, 1968 Dear Colleague, Thank you for your letter of October 6, 1968. I would be glad to spend Saturday morning working on your recording. I suggest October 19 or 26. In the afternoon, we would be delighted to have you at our home, and Ostrauskas would of course be invited as well. Please let me know which Saturday would be more convenient for you. If you would like to call, I will be at the faculty on Thursday, October 17, from 9 to 1630 o’clock. On Fridays I am usually at home. My telephone numbers are: office — 594—8704, home — KI-4—1285. 55 If You decide to come on October 26, then, of course, we have enough time to correspond by letter. Looking forward with pleasure to our interesting meeting Sincerely yours Antanas Salys [6] 70.II.9 Dear Colleague, Thank you for Your kind letter. Indeed, we are in a vicious circle with Kazlauskas. I heard from You for the first time that the State Department does not want to let him in. Please write what these obstacles to his entry are: is it because he is a party member, or something else? Or perhaps the obstacle is that the USA does not recognize the incorporation of the Baltic states into the Soviet Union? In short, I want to hear more precisely from You. If nothing comes of the route by which Your university invited him, perhaps another way would be possible, namely, private invitation. It may, however, be harder to arrange the financial side. A private invitation would be like a tourist invitation. For this purpose, You would issue a personal invitation, as to an acquaintance and fellow scholar, to visit You. Such permits are granted in Lithuania without Moscow's knowledge. And once he has arrived, perhaps You could still pay Kazlauskas what had been planned, or at least part of that sum, so that it would be worthwhile for him to travel without incurring his own expenses. Try to find out whether those obstacles might somehow be circumvented. We must try every possible way. And as for his giving lectures after arriving to visit You, it seems there can be no obstacles to that. After all, foreign scholars come from various countries, and they give lectures in several places. The important thing is only that the institution or organization find a way to pay him. With a visitor’s visa, people usually come for three months. Then they extend it for even longer. If it were possible to invite him with a private invitation, the money set aside would not go to waste. And if invited that way, he would certainly be able to arrive by the beginning of the fall semester. I, too, went to Lithuania outside Moscow’s exchange arrangements and without their knowledge, but I did have a fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies. I arranged the trip privately through Korsakas. By the way, I issued a personal invitation to a friend, a surgeon at Vilnius University. They reported that permission had been granted for him and his wife. They will pay their own travel expenses. And here we will take care of them with the Lithuanian doctors. If Kazlauskas were certain he would be paid here, he could buy his own round-trip plane ticket. The paper is running out, so I will finish. Give it a try. Yours, A. Salys P.S. It would be better not to talk about Kazlauskas’s matter in greater detail to anyone—that is, to Lithuanians. Otherwise all sorts of rumors will start. A. S. [7] 70. III. 30 Dear Colleague, Thank you for both photographs of the letters. So I have the latest news. 56 Conclusion: Rector Kubilius was unsuccessful in breaking through Moscow’s “steel” curtain. And, of course, you can’t break through a wall with your forehead. Still, it is good that Moscow finally replied. The phrase в ближайшей (!) будущем seems to allow us to guess that perhaps something will come of it later. Or perhaps they are only trying to console you in your disappointment. Writing to L. Vladimirov (head of the United Nations Library, a good acquaintance of mine; his wife was once my student), I remembered Kazlauskas’s case. He too thinks it was a mistake to invite officially through an exchange program (which goes through Moscow). If you had invited him privately, he would probably have come. But, of course, it would have been awkward for you to arrange the financial side. If you visit the Union this summer and take part in the planned conference on Baltic studies (probably всесоюзная + демократические страны), you will have the opportunity to discuss everything with Kazlauskas, including how to get through the bureaucratic maze. I will look forward to further news, if you receive any. With best wishes Yours, A. Salys [8] 70. IV. 1 Dear Colleague, I seem to have misplaced Prof. Meserole’s address. Please forward the proof to him. By the way, you asked about collaborators for the Belarusian bibliography. Write to Prof. Charles E. Bidwell (University of Pittsburgh). Perhaps he will agree. The Belarusians have elected him to the ”Vučony ū Bielarusaviedzie internacyjanalnaha instituta Bielarusaviedy pakrova šviatoj Eŭfrasini Polackaj”. With best wishes Yours, A. Salys [9] 70. IV. 10 Dear Doctor, Thank you for your letter and all the information. I too heard that Bidwell has cancer. Perhaps it would be better to look for another collaborator. It would be best to find someone from Minsk. Belarusian publications often remain unknown to others. If you decided on Minsk, I could recommend one or another Belarusian linguist. But, of course, we can never be sure whether the person invited will agree, even if they very much want to. Only the party organs decide who is permitted to maintain ties with foreign scholars. Although political restrictions are being tightened considerably at present, an invitation to collaborate on the Bibliography would not put the person invited in danger. If the “great ones” decide no, he will decline, having invented some excuse. Don’t worry about Bazhanov’s letter. You can take it and show it to Kazlauskas (the original itself!). It is a public document, so no one can reproach you for anything. You can also briefly express regret in your letter to Kazlauskas that Bazhanov informed you Kazlauskas was so “overwhelmed” with work in Vilnius. Advise him to look after his health and not overwork himself, since there are so few good linguists. With kind regards Yours, A. Salys 57 [10] 70. VI. 1 Dear Doctor, I gladly accepted your kind offer and took advantage of your service. Today I sent a package in your name by Special Delivery, with those little gifts for the people in Vilnius. The plastic bag contains things for the Vitkauskas family. Since you will no doubt also visit Korsakas, in order to make use of some of the Institute’s collections, I have included a few small things for his family as well (a doll for his adored granddaughter!), and the book on literature he requested for him. The items for the Korsakas family are loose in the package. Perhaps you will find a little corner in your suitcases to tuck those gifts into. I feel rather bad imposing this package on you. But perhaps when I visit Lithuania again (in about two years), I’ll be able to bring something for you. By the way, I received very late a letter from J. Kazlauskas, dated III. 30 (a very pleasant one). I suspect our secretary had misplaced it somewhere. He invites you, of course, to that conference on Baltic studies as well. Please thank him sincerely. But even my pocketbook would not allow me to fly to Lithuania every year. I will have to wait and save up for a trip later on. I’ll write to him myself about everything before long. For now, just convey our warm regards from both of us. They are both so pleasant, unassuming, and warmhearted. If you manage to invite them to visit America by one means or another, tell them they will be most welcome guests at our home. Prof. A. Marcinkevičius (a surgeon) and his wife are staying with us now. He also visited that remarkable heart surgery center in Houston. They fly to Lithuania on 29. VI. When they return, they will have to meet with the Kazlauskas family. K. Korsakas runs his Institute with a very “firm hand.” If you need anything, go straight to him. At the Institute, they had begun preparing Bretkūnas’s Bible for publication by making a transcription. A considerable amount of work was done, but then something got in the way. Korsakas himself will tell you about it. That transcription will also help you read Bretkūnas’s rather difficult manuscript more easily. I wish you and your wife a safe journey and a pleasant stay in Lithuania. Yours, A. Salys [11] 70. XII. 28 Dear Doctor, I am sending the greater part of my bibliographic contribution. About a dozen additional cards will still be prepared, which I will send in a few days. My latest issue of Baltistikos is V(2), 1969, and my issue of Kalbos kultūros is no. 17. I have no others. If you have later issues, include them. Thank you for your letter with the copy of Sabaliauskas and your transcription intended for Linguistics. The list of speakers at Kazlauskas’s funeral is remarkable. Only the “lesser figures” spoke (the most prominent was Palionis, the dean). Rector Kubilius and Korsakas were absent, as was every Russian working in the field of Lithuanian studies (and there are several of them). I know nothing about Stepanov either. There are several of them, but not one has any connection with Lithuanian studies. Indeed, in general, they wanted Kazlauskas’s death to pass unnoticed. But apparently, as the rumors began to spread, they could no longer keep silent, and on XII. 4 Tiesa published that fabricated version of his death. So they stayed silent for two whole months! 58 I am sending you a photograph of K. Bradūnas’s article. He was in California and may have learned something from Kojelis. Have you heard anything from the AP editors? Through that lady, having agreed on a code, I would check the rumors about K.’s death. She is returning to Lithuania on January 13 and will write to me soon. If the US news agencies do not want to publish anything, we will publish the whole story in detail (without a signature or under a pseudonym) in a Lithuanian journal, for example, Aiduose. We cannot remain silent. What do you think: would American Baltic and Slavic studies scholars agree to make some public statement or protest once we have verified information? I agreed with that lady that if anyone trustworthy visits the US soon, she will bring back more detailed information orally as well. We will see to it that Voice of America and the Vatican and Madrid radio stations publish it too. I do not think your obituary article is satisfactory. It gives the impression that you believe the version of the death published in „Tiesos“. That would be playing into the Soviets’ hands. They would say that Americans accept the official version of the death at face value, and that only “bourgeois nationalists” publish slanders and fabrications. — I do not think Kazlauskienė needs material assistance. If the Soviets have abducted someone and want to conceal the matter, they provide the family with especially good material support. Besides, it would be difficult to get anything to her through a stranger, since she would be afraid to accept it in case she was later accused. With kind regards, A.S. P.S. Perhaps you have some clearer photographs of Kazlauskas. A larger one would be preferable. I will return it. I am also returning the envelope. [12] January 5, 1971 Dear Doctor, You have probably already received my part of the bibliography. I am sending several more slips. That is all for this year. I have not yet received volume VIII of the academic dictionary or issue 18 of Kalbos kultūra. If you have received them, include them in the bibliography. By the way, correct the entry for Kalbos kultūros on my card. The number should be 17 (not 16, as it was incorrectly printed). I spoke by phone with Mr. Dambriūnas. He said that Voice of America had conveyed news about J. Kazlauskas to him on December 22. He gave him what had been written in Lithuanian newspapers in the US. You have received copies of those reports from me (except for Naujienos). He also told me that another rumor had come through Poland: Kazlauskas had sensed that he might be arrested and had asked two friends to follow him from a distance in the street. Those friends had watched as he was arrested. One of them was the literary specialist Umbrasas (he taught at the Vilnius Pedagogical Institute). He too died suddenly in Lithuania, while still young (he had been my student). The young art historian Budrys also died suddenly. Only later will it become clear whether those deaths have any connection with Kazlauskas’s death. Dambriūnas wanted more information about Kazlauskas. I sent him the information that you had sent to the NYT and AP. In Washington, they will try (through their contacts) to get news about Kazlauskas into the Washington Post or another newspaper. Perhaps this way we will break the silence in the American press as well. I hope to get confirmation or denial of the rumors at the end of this month from the lady returning to Lithuania on January 13. I will let you know at once. No news from Klimas. 59 I haven’t received it. Did he write to you about what happened with Kojelis’s reply? Last time I mentioned that I find unacceptable the part of your Kazlauskas obituary where you quote Tiesą. Ostrauskas thinks so too: the Soviets would immediately use you for propaganda. Until the matter has been fully clarified, I think that in the obituary you could simply write: died in unknown circumstances (perhaps: mysterious or unclear?). I wonder who will be the next editor of Baltistica. It would seem that it ought to be V. Mažiulis. After all, he is also a party member, whereas Z. Zinkevičius is not. Has Mažiulis written to you lately? He must now be afraid even to think about the Sorbonne. And in general, he is not known for his courage. If you get or come across anything new, send me some photographs too (Xerox). Do you have a somewhat clearer photograph of Kazlauskas? With best wishes, yours, A. Salys [13] 71. V. 24 Dear Doctor, Thank you for all the letters and for the other photographic material you sent. Your correspondence is indeed extensive. With the semester over, I am replying to all the questions you raised. First of all, concerning the late Jonas. His death still remains a mystery for now, though in time it will have to be explained. The woman with whom I had arranged a secret cipher for communicating news has remained silent to this day. Why she is silent is unclear to me. I would think that she too has no clear evidence (apart from rumors) of how Jonas died. Otherwise, she would have let me know one way or another (confirming or denying the rumors circulating). In any case, other regime representatives who have come from Lithuania are trying to spread the story that Kazlauskas had been overworked, mentally disturbed, and had therefore committed suicide. I let one of these people read the Akiračiai article and said plainly that, judging from all the circumstances of his death (especially the strange adherence to Tiesos), we do not believe he would have committed suicide out of the blue. Finally, when pressed, he agreed that Jonas’s death remains a mystery. In addition, it was confirmed that on about the third day after Jonas disappeared, his photograph was shown on television and his appearance was described, with a request to report whether anyone had seen him anywhere. Dr. Klimas’s first report, supposedly confidential, that the television news had reported Jonas seriously injured in a car accident, was incorrect. Nothing of the kind was reported. The only thing left to clarify is the rumor about the black Volga, mentioned by Draugas and the magazine Į Laisvę. For now, that too cannot be taken as true. One must be very cautious about such rumors. For example, Draugas wrote that J. Lebedys, Umbrasas, and J. Senkus had also been eliminated (killed) by the Soviets. As for Senkus, that is an outright lie. When I was in Lithuania, I saw for myself that he was already a human wreck (he was seriously ill with Parkinson’s disease). The fact that they write to you about a new apartment for Kazlauskienė and a state prize for Jonas’s book shows a troubled conscience and a desire to reassure you and “smooth over” a sordid story. This is the usual Soviet tactic for dealing with unpleasant stories in this way. The fact that the Party considered Jonas guilty is clearly shown by Tiesos 60 the silence about his funeral and the authorities’ failure to attend it. When I emphasized this to my interlocutor, he could not explain it to me. That the deceased’s colleagues helped Kazlauskienė move to a new apartment is entirely understandable. They did so, of course, sincerely, showing respect for the deceased’s family. And as for the regime’s decision (too late!) to honor Jonas’s memory and provide for his family, his colleagues too face no danger in showing kindness and consideration to the widow. If any of the colleagues know the true circumstances of his death, they will keep silent about it officially, like the grave. Such is, in Sabaliauskas’s words, “Soviet reality.” If you should visit Lithuania again, it is unlikely that anyone would dare tell the truth. Everyone is afraid for their own skin. What I am writing to you here about Jonas, keep for your information, and do not use my name. You may use the arguments in your own name, wherever needed. After all, some “superpatriots” consider me pro-Communist (after my visit to Lithuania). Now, linguistic matters. — First of all, concerning Bretkūnas’s rupinais. The expression is from the Book of Wisdom (Buch der Weisheit) 12:13. I agree with your translation. I checked the English Jerusalem Bible. There it is translated: For there is no God, other than you, who cares for every thing (variant: all men). Skvireckas translated it into Lithuanian: For there is no other God besides you who would care for all things. I have no doubt that rūpinąis is 3rd sg. pres.; precisely this form is known among the coastal Samogitians (Darbėnai, Kretinga): rūpinąis (dialectally: rūpėnās) = rūpinasi. Here we have the postposed particle ai, as among the coastal Samogitians, who say: yrāi, eināi, sākāi = yrā, einā, sākō. By the way, Bezzenberger writes wissu in Geschichte (Beiträge). This would mean “of all” (gen. pl.), that is, “with all” (= all men). As for Bretkūnas writing 2nd sg. pažįstai (Geschichte 193), that may be a Prussianism, or it could also be pažįstai. That this 2nd sg. seemed unusual to the reviewers is also shown by the correction ne mekstais į nesimeksti. That Bretkūnas cannot be trusted completely is also shown by his 3rd pl. pres. spellings randosi, randose, randos instead of randasi, randas (Gesch. 193 f). For he had ā in his native dialect and, when writing Lithuanian, produced hypernormalizations: eidomas, bilodoms, turėdomi etc. (Gesch. 223 f) = eidamas, bylodamas, turėdami, as well as Tiewomus, senome, kalbom = tėvamus, sename, kalbam(e), dowonots, Wakoro = dovanotas, vakaro (Gesch. 59 f.). Only later, in his Bible translation, did he begin to use the endings -damas more consistently and correctly. Also concerning the forms uraisin etc. I do not recall anyone explaining them as you have. It seems you deserve priority. But just to be sure, check the detailed bibliography of Prussian-language studies by that Polish woman, cited in our PMLA bibliography. In Lithuanian, forms such as the one you mention, pirmās, have been noted, for example, in the Giedraičiai dialect. There, indeed, definite adjectives have fallen into disuse, and pirmaasis is declined like an indefinite adjective. Semantically, definite forms are somewhat similar in meaning to comparatives. Your explanation is no worse than the older, traditional one. I must bring this long letter to an end. By the way, we will not get to meet in Chicago, since I will be unable to attend the conference because of family circumstances. My daughter has had an addition to her family. Perhaps you will also elect a new head of the Lithuanian language section at the conference. I have resigned to make way for someone younger. It would be nice to see you in Philadelphia sometime. We would have a few things to talk about. After all, I will be retiring in 1973. If you ever come, I would invite you to stay with us 61 overnight. With best wishes Yours, A. Salys P.S. It was announced that the Bibliography contributors would not have to pay the MLA membership fee. Accordingly, I informed them that I am a committee member, as Prof. Messerole had indicated. But my PMLA subscription was already suspended at the end of last year. I did not even receive the program for the previous conference. Something is wrong. Perhaps you could remind the professor to sort it out. A. S. [14] 72. I. 12 Dear Doctor, I am sending all the bibliographic material I was able to compile from the Library and the journals I have. Among them you will also find Kalbotyra 22, iii. We had only that one issue. I grabbed whatever I could and included a few items from books as well, including a couple in Belarusian. For now I do not foresee any additions. Thank you for the photographs of the letters. I find everything interesting. One more small item. In the Press Yearbook I found a bibliographic entry listed as a separate item: Skausmas [In memory of Dr. of Philology J. Kazlauskas. Speeches: J. Palionis, V. Mažiulis, Alf. Maldonis, G. Andrašiūnienė, A. Lana, A. Sabaliauskas, J. Stepanovas, S. Kavaliauskas] Tarybinis Studentas November 27, 1970. These, it seems, are the speeches delivered at the late Jonas’s funeral. After all, Sabaliauskas also mentioned these speeches in his letter. It is strange that he did not send you that issue of T. S. Get hold of him and ask him to send it. If that issue cannot be obtained now, have him make a Eros (that is their Xerox) copy. Those speeches may be very interesting, and perhaps you may be able to glean something interesting between the lines. I was recently in Washington and also spoke with that lady who was in Vilnius during the summer. She again confirmed that Mrs. T. Katilienė (my former student) had seen Jonas that day, the day he disappeared, driving (sitting) in a car, and that he seemed to want to say something to her, but the car drove away. The next day Katilienė apparently told the wife of that Washington lady’s brother (she works with her). But later Katilienė denied having seen him. She says she was mistaken, that she confused Jonas with another man. My guess: when the security service found out what Katilienė had told, they evidently seized her at once and threatened her into denying that she had seen him. Do not mention what I have written here to anyone, not even Dr. Klimas. Klimas or someone else may go and write it in the press, and then the Soviets will resort to reprisals against Katilienė and perhaps other people. We must be very careful. With kind regards Yours, A. Salys P.S. I wonder what Endzelīns’s grammar costs? Perhaps we could order it for the bookstore. A.S. 62 [15] 72. III. 27 Dear Doctor, At the same time, I am replying on all matters and questions. Today I sent that recommendation to the Philosophical Society. I hope it will be of some use. It is good that you are yourself planning to visit Toporov and Mažiulis to consult them on questions of the Prussian language. The exchange of ideas will, of course, be beneficial. But do not expect to solve all the “Prussian riddles.” Enough “paper” theories have already been concocted in the past. One must remember—I repeat, remember well—that the texts were written according to the conventions of the German local written language and orthography of that time. The texts have to be interpreted much as the old monuments of Latvian written in German are interpreted. I wish you success. The Lithuanian writers themselves are another matter! I wonder whether, while in Vilnius, you will have an opportunity to meet Mrs. Kazlauskienė. The matter is very sensitive. But if you do not visit her, you might offend her. On the other hand, bearing in mind the watchful eye of the Soviet security service, she herself may also avoid meeting you. After all, to “cover up” the tragedy of Jonas, the regime gave her enough material benefits, including an award. I suspect that you will most likely be advised to visit her accompanied by someone. Then the regime is safe: the widow will say nothing and will play her part in the official version. It would be different if you were to speak with her privately, one-on-one, and not in her apartment. But even in that case, it is doubtful whether she would risk saying anything. Regarding permission to translate the late man’s grammar, his daughter said that they had received no reply for three months. She was informed from Indiana that they would ask again. We shall see when we get to the bottom of it. As for Romuva, I stand by the information I gave. It is 120 miles from Toronto, in the direction of Wasaga Beach. Klimas must have missed the mark. When you are in Vilnius, you will of course visit the Korsakas family. I have not yet finished corresponding with him about the detained surname material. If things take a positive turn, I will give you a small gift to take to his wife. With kind regards Yours, A. Salys 63