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My darling,
I'm starting this before breakfast partly as I may not have time later and partly to let Elliott and Melanie get off to the Congress without me. I feel a bit battered at the moment. To be a bit irreverent, it all reminds me of stories a friend of mine told me about Marlene Dietrich who, said he, was surrounded by a squad of the most beautiful – teutonically beautiful that is – young men, who leapt – that was the only movement permitted I gather – to fulfil her slightest wish, and to beat off any would-be intruder. If Melanie had her way, and she has a lot of
it, she would make the whole Klein group quite ridiculous in everyone's eyes. I have an excuse in my ‘nervousness’ so mean to arrive by myself on foot. I may be wrong, of course. But I don't think so.
I hope to find a letter from you this morning when I go down shortly. There was another thunderstorm last night and I see the streets are still wet. As it's a totally indoors occupation here I welcome it as a way of keeping cool. I hope the poor things who are having holidays in the mountains like it.
Evening. I have half an hour before a ghastly evening of reception and Argentinian party. There is still no letter so I shall not hear till tomorrow now. I hope you and the children have had better luck with my efforts.
The afternoon was a success but I feel a bit flat partly because it was pretty evident that no one understood a word I was talking about. M. K. says they will do later: perhaps. First B., who is a rogue, spoke for 29 minutes instead of 20 allotted; then Segal for 27 minutes instead of 20 allotted; then I, who spoke for 19 – a bit fast. In the discussion B. attacked me quite rightly for the clinical material, but it gave me the chance to explain what my paper was about and to explain a part of a part of an interpretation, and I gather from one or two people that it made an enormous difference to those who previously had been puzzled.
I feel most reluctant to go to this infernal cantonal recept