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Vienna, August 10, 1879
Dear Berganza,
At last I have time to write at leisure, having spent the past two weeks working on the translation of the essay by J. S. Mill on Plato
and his work.1 I could not sleep at night because it had to be finished by a certain deadline, which was the same as that for the Russian evacuation of Bulgaria.2 Now I fear nothing, save that the devil bring me uncles or aunts or cousins making demands on my time, more valuable to me during these months than ever before. I spend part of the morning in the clinic and the rest of the day is all mine. I give priority to studying, there being nobody here I know, no pleasures or any diversions, except that I shall be going to bathe in the Prater when the heavens are kind and send no rain! Up till now it has not been dry; in fact it has been so wet that even I, the arch-enemy of umbrellas, of which I always say that if it rains heavily they give no protection and if it rains moderately they are superfluous, have been forced to buy such a device.
I have some marvelous books to read, two volumes of Macaulay's magnificent essays, two more of his history of England, some short works by Fechner,3 a great philosopher and wit, Adam Smith's fundamental book on the wealth of nations,4 splendid new books on physiology, and so on. Thus time passes with reading, studying, and on occasion making plans for next year.
And so it could be said of me that I am feeling deprived of the noble Spanish language, and to remedy this I propose that upon receiving my translation fee (which, as Gomperz5 has told me, I can claim at any time) I shall buy myself a new Spanish book as a reward.
My family is well, and my sister has asked me to find out from you when you intend to return to Vienna, because she needs the information in order to carry out a task given to her by Your Honor's mother.
I very much hope that you will not leave me without news of your activities and the many delights you will be enjoying in Ischl.6 In this hope