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Vienna, March 4, 1895
Dearest Wilhelm,
Have left you unconscionably long without a reply; now a great deal has accumulated. To begin with, the picture; it is the only photo that could be considered. I have put in my order for it. Beautiful we are not (or no longer), but my pleasure in having you close by my side after the operation clearly shows.
So, then, your correction; I searched for it several evenings after receiving your letter, it did not appear. Breuer thinks there is nothing to be done about it because you are quoted only as asserting that the matter has not been brought to a conclusion, and that you cannot dispute.1 I believe one should let it go; it is not worth the effort; as long as you have assured Chrobak that you are blameless, all possible harm has been prevented. For the rest, the whole thing does not matter. Naturally, they are now talking a lot about your experiments and spreading the word that they did not succeed. Schauta2 supposedly did not confirm them. Don't let yourself be impugned.
Third, I know that both of you have influenza or, I hope, soon will have had influenza. I did not send you a telegram inquiring about your health because this, I presume, is reserved for the contact with your mama. I hear that her influenza has recurred. All of us are still well. Otherwise, there are many cases, but light ones.
Fourth, Eckstein's condition is still unsatisfactory:3 persistent swelling, going up and down “like an avalanche”;4 pain, so that morphine cannot be dispensed with; bad nights. The purulent secretion has been decreasing since yesterday; the day before yesterday (Saturday) she had a massive hemorrhage, probably as a result of expelling a bone chip the size of a heller;5 there were two bowls full of pus. Today we encountered resistance on irrigation; and since the pain and the visible edema had increased, I let myself be persuaded to call in Gersuny. (By the way, he greatly admired an etching of The Isle of the Dead [by Böcklin].) He explained