was a persistent irritation for Meck and not necessarily a reason for her ending patronage of Tchaikovsky. Nevertheless, one logical explanation of giving him a year's allowance at once would be that she feared not having the funds to send later, in their usual arrangement of monthly installments. Others discount this idea. Most tellingly, Meck asked Tchaikovsky, in her final letter, not to forget her. Two facts contributed to Nadezhda von Meck's decision to make the break: By 1890, she was gravely ill. She was in the latter stages of tuberculosis and would succumb two months after Tchaikovsky's death. An atrophy of her arm made writing nearly impossible. Dictating letters via a third party would have been awkward—especially messages as frank, informal and personal as the ones she and Tchaikovsky had exchanged. She was under intense family pressure to end the relationship. Her children were embarrassed by her closeness with Tchaikovsky. There was society gossip about the composer and "La Meck." Increasingly, at least in the eyes of hostile relatives, the situation seemed scandalous. Worse, to them, he continued to take Meck's money freely even after he had received a generous pension from Tsar Alexander III. As the children's own financial situations worsened, they grew more resolved to end the arrangement between their mother and Tchaikovsky. By mid- to late 1890, over a two-month period, she had been visited by all but one of her elder children and may even have been given a final ultimatum. The final letter and payment from Meck to Tchaikovsky were delivered by a trusted servant of hers, Ivan Vasilyev, for whom he held warm feelings. She had never sent anything to him this way before and had always sent letters and checks by post. Von Meck also knew that Tchaikovsky was often in need of cash, despite the large sums she gave him. Tchaikovsky was a poor manager of money and would ask her for the next year's allowance several months in advance. Knowing of this habit, she might have anticipated his needing the money. Brotherly jealousy One person who may have welcomed the break was Tchaikovsky's brother Modest. When the two brothers discussed Meck's action, Modest did not try to explain her behavior. Instead, he stated his opinion that what had been to Tchaikovsky the unique and mutual relationship of two friends had been for Meck merely the passing fancy of a wealthy